Regina (Canada) (AFP)

Justin Trudeau "is tearing up the country" with its carbon tax, laments on the eve of federal elections a constituent of the province of Saskatchewan, stronghold of the Conservative Andrew Scheer: in Canada, the gap between oil and advocates for the environment.

The Liberals of Justin Trudeau and their rivals, the Conservatives of Andrew Scheer, are knee-to-elbow at the national level before Monday's legislative elections, but in the Prairie Provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta, where oil is king, we are in territory acquired by the Conservatives.

"I would like to see oil and gas production flourish while Trudeau is trying to stop it," said Sarah Wall, a 71-year-old retiree living in Mr. Scheer's riding in suburban Regina. from the province.

Saskatchewan is not the largest Canadian oil province, accounting for only 12% of production, compared with 80% for Alberta, but the oil industry plays a significant role in the province's economy.

Many of its residents, like their neighbors in Alberta, blame Prime Minister Trudeau for his carbon tax, which Mr. Scheer promised to abolish as soon as he came to power if he won Monday.

They also accuse the outgoing prime minister of not doing enough to lift the industry out of the oil price crisis, even though he has nationalized the Trans Mountain pipeline, a decision that could cost him voices in the rest of the country.

For Ms. Wall, "Trudeau is tearing the country apart as the West and the East are clashing."

-Greta in the land of black gold-

Alberta and Saskatchewan do not really live up to the strong opposition of eastern Canada and their neighbor to the west, British Columbia, to the construction of new pipelines, which are essential for local governments to export their oil. in international markets.

Mrs. Wall's neighbors, Peter and Daisy Popkie, also do not hide the fact that oil is the main reason for their support for Scheer's Conservatives. "He is more sensitive to the needs of the oil industry here in the west," says Popkie.

Their son is studying geology and preparing to work in the oil industry hoping that the situation will be better than under the current government. "We want him to have a job when he finishes school, we need jobs in the west," Daisy Popkie insists.

For Andrew Spagrud, CEO of an oil-related company, Villanova Energy, the choice of the ballot Monday is "obvious".

"We are in a cycle where the (oil) industry is in bad shape, the regulation handicaps our industry compared to our competitors", argues the businessman.

The Conservatives criticize the Trudeau administration for strengthening the regulatory provisions on the construction of new pipelines.

Canada has the third largest proven oil reserves in the world, mainly in the oil sands of western Canada.

The young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who had demonstrated for the climate with hundreds of thousands of people in the streets of Montreal in late September, also attracted several thousand people Friday in Edmonton, capital of Alberta. His arrival has made grind of teeth among the defenders of hydrocarbons.

It's hard to reconcile the views of oil advocates and those who are pressing for urgent action against global warming, says Spagrud.

"It's hard to have conversations with those on the other side of this gap because it's something personal that impacts our way of life, our finances, our economy here and there. is essential, "he says.

© 2019 AFP