Former British prime minister Boris Johnson waves as he makes his way toward West Block on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on April 10.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson is challenging Canada’s Conservatives to go into the next federal election with a credible green agenda.
Mr. Johnson made the case Wednesday while appearing with former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott at the annual conference of the Canada Strong and Free Network, the former Manning Centre.
Mr. Johnson said he is excited about the rising fortunes of Canada’s Conservatives, who are leading in public-opinion polls. The next Canadian election is expected in the fall of 2025.
He said the public cares about climate change and that the way forward is to show that, through technology, the green agenda is going to produce jobs and growth.
“All I can say to you is there is a conservative way through these dilemmas, which accepts that hydrocarbons have to have a role,” said Mr. Johnson, Britain’s Conservative Party leader between 2019 and 2022.
“But as conservatives, I don’t think we can afford to say to the public, to young people who really care about this, that we’re junking the whole agenda. Let me tell you, elections are won by the party that really owns the future.”
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He said voters want to see a plan or program to deal with the issue in a conservative manner, touting nuclear power and the production of electric vehicles. He said he had wanted a green revolution that brought jobs and growth to Britain.
Although Mr. Johnson was applauded for his comments by a lively audience, Mr. Abbott earned sustained applause for disputing the former British leader’s approach and the conventional science on climate change’s cause.
Mr. Abbott was Australia’s prime minister between 2013 and 2015 as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, a centre-right party.
“Last time I was in Ottawa, it was minus 15 degrees and I thought maybe turning the temperature up a couple of degrees wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Mr. Abbott quipped.
More seriously, he said, in his view there are factors in climate change way beyond mankind’s carbon-dioxide emissions.
He acknowledged a climate emergency, but said it’s far from clear that carbon dioxide was the only or even main factor. “Trying to turn the world upside down in order to reduce our emissions to zero by a particular date, I just think, is folly of the first order,” he said.
Mr. Abbott said the green agenda has led to higher car prices and the export of emissions-intensive industries to countries that are less fastidious about the issue.
Amid the recent debate about Canada’s carbon pricing plan, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said that if he wins the next election he would support the use of technology rather than taxation to reduce emissions.
He has said he would work to lower the cost of alternative energy sources by such means as quickly approving hydroelectric dams.
Both Mr. Abbott and Mr. Johnson agreed, however, on the prospects ahead for the federal Conservatives.
Mr. Johnson said Conservatives in Canada are not only resurgent, but also headed for victory, adding Canadian Conservative dynamism would be helpful to Britain’s Conservatives, who are facing an election this year, and running behind the Labour Party in the polls.
Still, Mr. Johnson had some praise for the current federal Liberal government, touting its support for Ukraine in its bid to fend off Russia’s invasion.
The conference continues Thursday, with Mr. Poilievre delivering a keynote address. Other speakers include New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, on Thursday, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, on Friday.