Voters in Alberta, the Canadian province where around fifty fires are still raging, go to the polls on Monday to elect their government and choose their deputy. The big absentee from the discussion remains the fire, but also climate change, even if nearly 30,000 people have had to flee their homes in recent weeks in the face of the numerous fires which have ravaged the North and the center of the province.
With our correspondent in Montreal, Pascale Guericolas
The issue of climate change is not among the top five concerns of voters surveyed. They are mainly concerned about the cost of living and health. This oil province may have achieved record surpluses with the increase in the price of a barrel of gasoline, but the profits mainly benefit the industry, not the citizens.
Food banks have also seen the number of requests rise by 75% in recent months, not to mention the cost of rent in Calgary, the main city, which has risen by 22%.
Under these conditions, the experts may well explain the link between the spring drought which favored the gigantic fires, and the pollution caused by oil exploitation, not many people listen to them. There is no question of questioning this mode of production on which Alberta has lived for decades.
The result of this election promises to be very tight between Rachel Notley, the leader of the New Democratic Party in the center, who is betting on oil for the development of the province, just like her opponent Danielle Smith, the outgoing Conservative Prime Minister. The latter promises tax cuts to revive the economy. The election campaign focused on the economy and the separation of executive and judicial powers.
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