I've been watching the news these last few days after the election and they have been saying the same thing over and over again: the carbon tax is a tough sell and it cost Dion the election.  This comment is disturbing because it suggests that any political leader who wants the job ought to avoid promising meaningful change in our greenhouse gas emissions.  As a result, we might never see any progress on our climate change problem inCanada.  The question remains, is this analysis accurate?

I am convinced that the media's analysis of the campaign results is inaccurate.  First, a carbon tax has been the issue of several elections (even withinCanada) and people have accepted it.  After all, British Colombia,Sweden,GermanyandGreat Britainall have a carbon tax and it has not lead to political ruin for the parties that implemented them.  As well, the belief that Dion lost the election strictly because of his Green Shift plan completely ignores Stephen Harper's baseless yet effective "not a leader" campaign against Dion, which has diminished his popularity since he won the leadership of the Liberal Party.   The media also ignores the fact that the environmental vote was split between four parties and a majority of Canadian voters probably support a carbon tax.  I am not convinced that Canadians are unwilling to accept a carbon tax.

In fact, any resistance to the carbon tax should be blamed on the Conservative Party and the Media itself.  Harper has been spreading lies about a carbon tax ever since Dion proposed one early in the election.  Harper has been telling Canadians that a carbon tax would destroy our economy even though this has not happened inSweden,GermanyorGreat Britainand most economists are saying that the real danger to the economy is doing nothing about climate change.  If Canadians do not understand the consequences of a carbon tax then it is up to the media to accurately inform Canadians about this issue.  Accordingly, if it is true that Canadians rejected the carbon tax then it is the media's fault for misleading Canadian voters.  Furthermore, even if Canadians rejected the carbon tax the media, and Stephen Harper, seem to think it is ok to continue doing nothing at all to curb our greenhouse gas emissions because they have not explored the alternative solutions. 

Perhaps if the media took an active role in clarifying the carbon tax debate we would have a different leader today.  After all, if CTV made the controversial step of releasing that footage of Dion stuttering over a question then why couldn't they repair the false logic that the Conservative Party spread about the consequences of a carbon tax?