LIBERAL Leader Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday in Richmond, B.C., that in this important election, Canadians have a clear choice: move forward with a real plan to cut pollution and create jobs, or let Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole take us backwards to the Stephen Harper days of inaction that would rollback Canada’s climate goals.

He said that after a summer of deadly heat waves, raging wildfires, and severe droughts, Canadians want serious action on climate change. The Liberals are the only team with a real plan that will address the climate crisis with the urgency it demands and not leave workers behind. O’Toole wants to take us backward to the days when nothing was done to fight climate change, and the NDP plan would be both largely ineffective and unnecessarily costly. We need to move forward.

“From putting a price on pollution that puts more money back into Canadians’ pockets, to protecting historic amounts of our lands and oceans, we’ve come a long way in the fight against climate change,” said Trudeau. “But to build a green recovery that will create jobs and a cleaner future for Canadians, we can’t stop now. While Erin O’Toole wants to take us back to the inaction of the Harper years, we’re moving forward to protect our environment and grow our economy.”

A re-elected Liberal government will continue to fight climate change, protect nature, and grow the economy by:

• Continuing to price pollution across the country and ensure Canadians are better off.
• Making zero emission vehicles more affordable and accessible to even more Canadians through $5,000 rebates for purchasing a vehicle and building even more charging stations.
• Helping more Canadians upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient with a rebate of up to $5,000.
• Banning single-use plastics and cleaning up our ocean coastlines.
• Continuing to support the thriving clean technology sector in B.C. in scaling up and cutting pollution.
• Protecting and conserving historic amounts of nature across the country, including more iconic old growth forests in B.C. and better protecting Pacific Salmon.

“The Liberal Party of Canada’s climate plan is both bold and thoughtful,” said Andrew Weaver, former leader of the BC Green Party and climate scientist. “It is the only credible, science-aligned plan put forward by any political party at the federal level to date. This is a plan that reflects the urgency and scale of the crisis, and I am extremely impressed by how ambitious the Liberal Party of Canada’s climate plan is. This is the right path for Canada.”

“Canadians expect climate action now,” said Trudeau. “If Erin O’Toole is in charge, it’s no surprise he would build the Northern Gateway pipeline through BC’s Great Bear Rainforest and take us backward on climate action – and the good jobs that go with it. There is a clear choice and while [NDP Leader] Jagmeet Singh has said it makes no difference to him whether there is a Conservative or Liberal government fighting the climate crisis, it makes a big difference to Canadians. We need to keep building a cleaner Canada and creating the jobs of the future. We need to keep moving Canada forward – for everyone.”

Backgrounder: More Jobs. Less Pollution. Cleaner Communities.