Canada has a new Prime Minister

Election results are still trickling in from what is possibly the most highly anticipated election result of the year, but it looks likely that the 10 year conservative grip on Canadian politics has been lifted.

In what was a chilling electoral campaign, it now looks almost certain that Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party has been given a thorough spanking by their Liberal Party competitors.

According to these results, Justin Trudeau will now become the second youngest Canadian Prime Minister in history.

Throughout the campaign, Trudeau has presented a much more balanced perspective on the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions, and looks sure to shift Canada’s traumatic approach to the UN climate negotiations in Paris. Under Harper, Canada has consistently been among the top countries vying for the acclaimed “Fossil of the Day” - an award given out by Climate change organisations at the UN climate negotiations to shame the “worst” negotiating countries.

While Trudeau does support Keystone XL, he has noted that Harper’s staunch support of the project has damaged relations with the United States and noted that it could have intact hurt the oil industry.

In a debate in August, Trudeau asserted that “Mr. Harper has turned the oil sands into the scapegoat around the world for climate change.”

While this election has been called “bittersweet” by Canadian Climate Tracker Leehi Yona as the Liberal party “not only support some big pipelines, they are also the only federal party that didn’t have concrete emissions targets in their platforms”, it has still been a sweet day for the passionate activist who notes that this election campaign was often characterised by many Canadians as “Anything but Conservative”.

This feeling was beautifully captured in a moving Spoken word piece by Shane Koyczon released only last week. The poem, called the Cut, specifically talks on Harper’s horror climate record. For many progressive campaigners in Canada, it is a fitting goodbye lullaby that may act to sooth their now lesser-aching souls.

However, in a slither of hope, when pressed in a CBC interview earlier this year as to the “first thing” he would do as Prime Minister; Trudeau’s first action would have been “to talk about Climate Change”.

From here at the UN climate change negotiations, I tell you now, we can’t wait to see that promise fulfilled.

via GIPHY