Canada

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Liberal leader praises Alberta oilsands at Calgary Stampede

By: Staff Writer

5/07/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Jeff McIntosh / THE CANADIAN PRESS �The Liberal Party of Canada must never, ever, ever run against (the oil) industry or against Alberta.� � Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff (CP)

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CALGARY -- Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff touted Saturday the economic virtues and national reach of Alberta's oilsands, urging Canadians to take pride in the mammoth industrial development, which has touched off international environmental opposition.

Speaking at a party fundraiser Stampede breakfast in Calgary, Ignatieff said financial ripples from the oilsands can be felt throughout the country -- from East Coast workers flying to Alberta for jobs to a northern Ontario factory making pipes for the oilpatch.

He also said Canada's "centre of economic gravity" will shift west to Calgary within his lifetime.

"The one instinct I've had from the beginning about the industry at the heart of this economy is this is a national industry -- a national industry in which all Canadians should take pride," Ignatieff told about 600 Grit supporters.

"The Liberal Party of Canada must never, ever, ever run against that industry or against Alberta."

Ignatieff acknowledged several environmental and social challenges may be thwarting a national embrace of the oilsands. The massive development is a significant producer of greenhouse gases and toxic waste ponds.

Mount Royal College political scientist Duane Bratt noted Ignatieff's continuing overtures to Alberta and the oilpatch are a "clear repudiation" of the policy plank former leader Stéphane Dion put forward for the October 2008 federal election: the Green Shift carbon tax plan.

"The bigger question that I would have for Ignatieff is that's fine, saying that in Calgary. Let's see you say it in Montreal. Let's see you say it in Toronto," Bratt said.

While Ignatieff's oilsands stance has earned a smattering of praise from the Stelmach Conservatives, winning even a single seat in Alberta will be a difficult challenge for the Liberals -- but not impossible, Bratt suggested.

The party was shut out in the last campaign, as the Harper Conservatives won all but one of the province's 28 federal ridings. The last time a Grit was elected in Calgary was in 1968.

Though Ignatieff urged supporters to prepare for the next election, shared his vision of Canada on its 150th birthday in 2017 and accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of taking Alberta voters for granted, he wouldn't speculate on when the next election may come.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice rejected Ignatieff's assertion that the Conservative government is faltering on climate change.

-- Canwest News Service

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 5, 2009 A7

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