During the leaders' debate, Conservative leader Erin O'Toole criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his NDP counterpart Jagmeet Singh for ignoring energy workers as part of the pandemic recovery.
"All Canadian families deserve an economic recovery, including families in Western Canada that feel left out after six years of Mr. Trudeau," said O'Toole.
"Let's get emissions down and Canadian resources to market so that we can have job opportunities and fight climate change."
Singh pivoted and said Canada faces a "climate crisis."
"Let's say when it comes to leadership on this essential crisis, one of the biggest crises we're up against, we've got a difficult choice for Canadians."
"Mr. O'Toole has never understood that you can't have a strong economy unless you tackle climate change," added Trudeau.
"What we shouldn't do is what Mr. Trudeau did: set targets and miss them," continued Singh.
Trudeau pivoted: "That's why Mr. O'Toole's plan is so weak. He plans to go back to the Harper targets, to the Harper approach on fighting climate change, which doesn't work."
Singh said it's going to take real leadership and political will to act now.
"You've got one side who doesn't believe there's a crisis, and then, on the other hand, Mr. Trudeau, who doesn't act like there's a crisis," Singh continued.
"How are we going to convince the quarter of Canadians who still don't think climate change is real when Mr. O'Toole can't even convince his party that climate change is real?" asked Trudeau.
O'Toole rebutted: "Climate change is a real threat - not only to Canada but the world. That's why we have taken a serious plan to tackle it … and restore some trust on this issue to make sure we can show Canadians we can get emissions down and get the economy working again."
However, he added: "Anytime Canadian resources are removed from the global supply chain, you know, who fills that gap? Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia. All of these organizations and companies fail to get their emissions down," said O'Toole.
"When it comes to leadership, our natural resources sector is a leader in environmental, social governance."
Despite their disagreements, Singh clarified the need to come together.
"The solutions are there," he said. "We can invest in green energy, clean energy, and renewable energy."
"That's going to help us."
O'Toole rebutted: "An economic recovery doesn't include us giving up on tens of thousands of hard-working families."
Singh replied: "We don't give up on families."
Canada needs to end fossil fuel subsidies and invest in the necessary infrastructure for provinces and territories to transition from fossil fuels, according to Singh.
"We shouldn't put a price on pollution and then exempt the biggest polluters. We shouldn't promise fossil fuel subsidies and then increase them," he said.
O'Toole clarified: "We have a plan to meet our Paris targets but minimize the impact on jobs and investment. We're also going to make major investments in electric vehicles in the hydrogen economy and small modular reactors."
He added: "There is so much we can do to get our emissions down and grow a strong economy because, without a strong economy, we can't tackle climate change."
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