Candidates answer The Wren’s questions on climate change and sustainability

The photo shows a full view of the landscape in Kamloops. It showcases the entire city. — *The view of Kamloops from a trail in Peterson Creek.* ***Photo by Macarena Mantilla / The Wren***

To ensure Kamloops has a voice in the federal election conversation, The Wren surveyed readers to identify their top questions and concerns for candidates in the lead-up to the April 28 election.

The Wren took the most-asked questions on the survey and reached out to all of the candidates. Climate change and sustainability were often included as a top issue by survey respondents.

The Wren requested responses from all candidates for the Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola and Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies ridings. As of April 22, candidates Jenna Lindley for the Green Party of Canada, Frank Caputo and Mel Arnold for the Conservative Party of Canada did not respond. We will update the story if responses are provided. To request that additional information be included, send us an email.

These responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What are your party’s specific plans for tackling climate change and mitigating the impacts associated with climate change?

Candidates for Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola riding

Iain Currie, LPC: I mean the big one, the consumer price on carbon had become untenable because of the public perception of it. It had become incredibly divisive and so we’ve got rid of that, but importantly retaining the industrial price on carbon.

A number of reasons for that but the most significant is that industrial emitters are responsible for the vast majority of the carbon released. That’s a big part of the platform, and also expanding investment in the clean energy sector, making Canada into a clean and conventional energy superpower. Unlike the conservatives are proposing, we’re not proposing to sort of throw out our international obligations. Instead to continue to fund clean energy programs and leading the way to transition to making Canada into a strong building energy grid across the country and electrical energy grid across the country. Continuing to fund clean energy projects and invest in those.

Miguel Godau, NDP: Human-caused climate change is real – we’ve had massive wildfires, floods and heat domes. The Conservatives reject climate science, Carney is backtracking and the Liberals have failed to meet a single GHG reduction target.

The NDP will take strong action on the climate crisis plan that safeguards your job, lowers your bills and builds a better future. We’ll scrap the consumer carbon tax for good, keep the industrial carbon price, eliminate oil and gas subsidies and reinvest billions into a national retrofit plan—lowering energy costs for millions of families.

New Democrats fight for workers, not for Big Oil billionaires. We have a powerful plan to fight the climate crisis, make life more affordable and create good jobs across the country. Here’s how: Save you money on your energy bills with free and easy-to-access home energy retrofits and clean power, eliminate handouts to Big Oil once and for all, stop letting big polluters off the hook and make them pay for their pollution, tax the over-the-top profits of oil and gas companies,stop big banks greenwashing, invest in climate adaptation and disaster preparedness and create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs by investing in clean energy, energy efficient affordable homes, electric transit and zero-emission vehicles.

Chris Enns, PPC: Humans can have a profound influence on localized micro-climates, an example being urban heat-islands which are caused by densification.

However, it is an undisputed fact that the world’s climate has always changed and will continue to change. The planet’s temperature is currently reverting to its long-term historical mean. The largest influence on global temperature is the sun.

CO2 is not a pollutant. It is an essential ingredient for life on Earth and needed for plant growth. Humans are a minor player in climate change, but a major player in environmental damage. For example, the mining of ‘green’ battery-minerals consume and contaminate water, land and ecosystems. Geo-engineering and weather modification efforts have the same effect, even though they are pitched as ‘necessary’ to prevent climate Armageddon. The People’s Party will prioritize implementing practical solutions to make Canada’s air, water and soil cleaner, including bringing clean drinking water to remote First Nations communities.

Editor’s note: CO2 is a greenhouse gas, and traps heat in the atmosphere. While CO2 enters the atmosphere through natural processes, it is also produced through human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation and industrial processes.

Showcasing part of the bridge and Kamloops mountain

Kamloops City Council defunded the Community Climate Action Plan. What does this mean for Kamloopsians?

Candidates for Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies riding

Ken Robertson, LPC: Canada needs a climate policy that moves past division and focuses on the future we want. We need a climate policy that is unifying, credible and predictable; that reduces emissions, drives investment and builds the economy of the future.

A Mark Carney-led government will prioritize Government of Canada purchases to be low carbon emission and when applicable, sustainability certified products and materials. We will invest in clean growth and climate initiatives, such as working with provinces and territories to support the adoption of clean technology and retrofits, because climate change has an even greater impact on women, seniors, individuals with disabilities, Indigenous communities and other underrepresented communities.

To help communities get back on their feet after natural disasters (that are increasing with climate change), we will provide disaster mitigation and recovery funding where infrastructure that connects Canada is under threat.

Phaedra Idzan, NDP: Climate action shouldn’t mean higher costs for families; it should mean polluters pay, and people benefit.

The NDP will end subsidies to big oil and gas, invest in wildfire prevention and disaster response, and support retrofits that lower energy bills. We’ll also expand public transit, create jobs in clean energy, and ensure rural communities like ours are supported in the transition.

This isn’t just about targets; it’s about protecting our air, water, homes and futures.

Owen Madden, GPC: Climate change is now costing us in our everyday lives, and will increase in cost should we continue to build our economy around fossil fuels. We would transform our economy by linking Canada’s regional power grids to create a true national grid powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. We would set a carbon budget for all facets of our economy, and ensure that polluters pay to exceed that budget.

John Michael Henry, PPC: The People’s Party of Canada believes in real environmental stewardship — not climate alarmism and globalist control schemes like carbon taxes and Net Zero mandates that punish Canadians and devastate our economy. We will:

Immediately cancel the carbon tax and Net Zero agenda, which are making life unaffordable without measurably impacting the climate.
Invest in adaptation strategies — like wildfire mitigation, flood control and infrastructure upgrades — to protect communities from extreme weather events.
Encourage innovation in clean Canadian energy — including nuclear, hydro and carbon capture — without forcing businesses or families into poverty.
Exit the UN’s climate agenda and restore Canadian sovereignty over our natural resources and environmental policies.
Support reforestation, conservation, and practical environmental solutions led by local communities — not unelected global bureaucrats.

Climate change is real — but the solution isn’t panic or poverty. The PPC stands for smart, Canadian-made solutions that protect both our environment and our prosperity.

How will your party balance environmental sustainability and biodiversity and the need for improved economic reliance on our natural resources?

Candidates for Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola riding

Iain Currie, LPC: That’s a very challenging thing to do. First step is to acknowledge that those two things need to go hand-in-hand. It’s a complicated balancing act, but Mark Carney was the UN envoy on climate change and finance. He wrote a 500 and some odd page book called Values which is largely about how the world achieves that balance through the levers of government and finance and exactly the problem that Canada is facing right now.

The commitment to making Canada an energy superpower includes expanding the ability to have our Canadian oil and gas used across the country. So we can escape reliance on American oil, but also foreign oil that is now used in Eastern Canada. But also at the same time continuing investments in clean energy and recognizing that we have an obligation that’s moral but also self-preservation in terms of dealing with the climate crisis. North is so much more impacted by climate change than basically anywhere else in the world. Our Arctic is the front lines of the battle against climate change.

Now our riding which has expanded to include areas like Lytton and Ashcroft areas. I toured Lytton earlier this week and saw the devastation firsthand and the cost of rebuilding that town compared to the cost of climate mitigation and attempting to make us more resilient. It’s fundamental achieving that balance is fundamental to the liberal platform and fundamental to my interest in representing this riding.

Documentary sparks conversation about Indigenous-led wildfire resilience

Miguel Godau, NDP: Along with a strong commitment to environmental sustainability and protecting biodiversity, the NDP has consistently supported the development of renewable energy sources that will allow for a phase-out of reliance on fossil fuels. Jagmeet Singh has advocated for an east-west electricity grid that would allow for the transfer of cheap, low-cost, clean energy across the country from jurisdictions like Manitoba, B.C. and Quebec.

This plan will enhance home-grown economic opportunities for manufacturing and investment because of reduced energy costs. And the plan uses our abundant Canadian natural resources (such as hydroelectric power) in a responsible manner that helps address the climate crisis.

Chris Enns, PPC: It is entirely possible to allow for resource extraction and accelerated timelines while putting into place punitive legislation for environmental damage, especially when deemed wilful. We need to put the responsibility for environmental protection on the private sector, and make them pay any cleanup costs, but we cannot slow down every project or they will seek opportunities elsewhere.

Candidates for Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies riding

Ken Robertson, LPC: Instead of pitting jobs against the environment, we’re investing in industries that can do both—like sustainable forestry, low-emission agriculture, hydrogen and renewable power. These sectors will create well-paying, resilient jobs for the future. We will also protect more nature by advancing the creation of at least 10 new National Parks and Marine Protected Areas; supporting the creation of 15 new urban parks and green spaces in municipalities; halting and reversing nature and biodiversity loss through reinforced efforts to conserve 30% of lands and waters by 2030; and implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework. We have far more in our plan than I can share here—I encourage people to view our plan at liberal.ca.

Phaedra Idzan, NDP: We can’t afford to pit jobs against the environment. The NDP believes in a just transition that puts workers at the centre of building a clean economy.

That means creating good-paying jobs in renewable energy, sustainable forestry and climate-resilient infrastructure. We’ll support Indigenous stewardship, protect biodiversity, and ensure rural resource communities like ours are not left behind. We’ll build local economies, not just extract from them.

It’s not about choosing between jobs and the environment, rather, it’s about making both sustainable.

Owen Madden, GPC: We would phase out raw resource exports by prioritizing domestic reserves, processing and manufacturing. We would increase productivity by incentivizing value-added resource use through tax incentives, innovation grants and industrial partnerships.

John Michael Henry, PPC: The People’s Party of Canada believes we don’t have to choose between a strong economy and a healthy environment. In fact, it’s Canada’s resource workers, farmers, and small-town communities who have always been the best stewards of our land. We will:

Streamline resource development approvals while enforcing tough, common-sense environmental standards — because protecting nature doesn’t require destroying jobs.
Unlock responsible development of Canada’s oil, gas, forestry, mining, and agricultural sectors to create wealth and self-sufficiency — not dependence on foreign regimes.
Reject UN environmental treaties that undermine our sovereignty and shut down rural economies.
Support biodiversity through conservation efforts led by Canadians — not dictated by global NGOs with anti-development agendas.
Promote Canadian-made technologies that improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and safeguard our ecosystems without sacrificing growth.

The PPC stands for sustainable prosperity — where we honour our environment, respect our workers, and unleash the full potential of Canada’s natural resources.

Further reading: The Wren collaborated with Thompson Rivers University students for a series created as part of the Climate Disaster Project, featuring stories from students and community members to illustrate how climate disasters both locally and globally are impacting Kamloops. Explore that series.