Federal leaders clash over energy, pipelines at Calgary debate

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Sparks flew over issues of energy development, pipelines and carbon emissions as federal leaders debated the fragile state of the Canadian economy in the hard-hit heart of the oilpatch.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper clashed in Calgary on Thursday night in an economic debate sponsored by the Globe and Mail, Google and CPAC.

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The dramatic slide in oil prices since last fall has made Calgary ground zero for the economic turmoil that has hit Canada since last fall, with the country in a recession during the first half of 2015.

And in the opening moments of the 90-minute debate, Mulcair said the current situation showed Harper as prime minister has left the country’s economy over-reliant on the natural resource sector.

“Mr. Harper put all the eggs in one basket — and then he dropped the basket,” said the New Democrat.

But Harper swung hard at his rivals when moderator David Walmsley turned to questions around the energy sector and environmental plans.

Mulcair is proposing a national cap-and-trade plan to cut carbon emissions, while Trudeau is advocating a national framework and environmental targets that would allow provinces to implement their own greenhouse gas reduction plans.

Harper — whose Tory government has not yet imposed its long-promised emissions regulations for the oil and gas sector — said that whatever approach the other parties take, it is simply aimed at raising revenue for the government, not helping the environment.

And he lashed out at Mulcair for the NDP’s opposition to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would link the province’s oilsands to the U.S. Gulf Coast, seen as a crucial element in improving market access for Alberta’s petroleum producers.

“You’re the only leader in Canadian history to have gone to another country — you and your colleagues — (to) the United States, to argue against Canadian jobs and against Canadian development,” said Harper.

“No one in this province is fooled.”

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But Mulcair said that while the federal Conservatives claim to support the energy industry, their failure to address environmental issues meant that “under Stephen Harper’s stewardship, we have not built one kilometre of pipeline to tidewater.”

Trudeau also slammed Harper, who is running in the riding of Calgary Heritage, as a false friend to the energy industry.

“Mr. Harper continues to pretend that there’s a choice between environment and economy. He chooses to say that you cannot build a strong economy if you’re protecting the environment,” said the Liberal leader.

“That has been his failure — and that has been his failure felt right here in Calgary. He talks about being the best friend that Calgary has ever had, that Alberta has ever had. But he hasn’t gotten pipeline built. He has made the oilsands a pariah.”

While proposed pipelines and energy market access were key issues in the economic debate, Trudeau and Mulcair also sparred over their respective emissions plans.

The Liberal leader said Mulcair’s greenhouse gas plan would impose new rules on provinces that are already moving forward with climate change projects, which he said was “completely nonsensical.”

The debate came as Alberta has already lost 35,000 jobs in the energy sector since crude prices began to drop in 2014. The leaders onstage at the BMO Centre made numerous mention of the tough economic circumstances battering Calgary.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who attended the debate, said the lack of specifics around energy policy from each of the leaders was “a bit disappointing.” Nenshi said he’d like to have seen more discussion around both market access and the issue of carbon pricing.

“Frankly, it sounded to me like all three of them were too caught up in ideology to actually determine if we need carbon pricing and what that should look like,” he said.

But Nenshi said he was heartened by the substantive discussions on areas such as infrastructure.

In Alberta, the federal campaign has been marked by a secondary battle between Harper and the provincial NDP government. The prime minister has tried to paint Premier Rachel Notley’s government, elected in May, as responsible for exacerbating the province’s economic doldrums.

During Thursday’s debate, Harper took more shots at Notley’s government as he criticized the federal NDP’s plan to raise corporate taxes from 15 to 17 per cent.

“This is the same story we had in Alberta when the NDP came to office, we’d somehow fix our problems through raising taxes, and now what have we seen? Now I know tradespeople who are now getting higher individual tax bills,” said the Tory leader.

“We see people getting layoffs because their employers are getting higher taxes.”

The provincial NDP has responded to Harper by accusing the prime minister of spreading untruths and pointing to his own economic failings, including a string of budget deficits until 2014.

This was the first meeting of the leaders since a debate held in early August, shortly after Harper launched an unprecedented 11-week campaign, which wraps up with the vote on Oct. 19.

Much of the debate was fought along lines familiar from the campaign.

Harper attacked the other leaders for their plans to increase taxes, Trudeau touted his infrastructure plan intended to stimulate the economy while running deficits in the short term, and Mulcair promised ambitious social plans, such as a national daycare program, with a balanced budget.

Mount Royal University political analyst David Taras said no leader had a stellar performance, although Harper may have had some success in planting doubts about the others.

“I don’t think there were any knockout punches,” Taras said. “There were no great, defining moments. There were no moments of great eloquence; no great one-on-one battles.”

jwood@calgaryherald.com