AAGGHHH
As a Canadian, I apologize to the world.
It is shameful that we ban asbestos here, but continue to produce it for export. Shameful. The reason has to do with the tricky politics between the federal government and the province of Quebec, where the mines are located. Shameful.
As for the "Green Shift", yes, it did hurt the Liberals, but note that of the five federal parties (Conservative, Liberal, Democrat, Greens, and Bloc) only the Conservatives did not support a carbon tax and they did not win the popular vote. There were of course other factors, particularly a liberal leader that just didn't connect with voters.
In my home province, our conservative premier decried the green shift and warned that it would destroy our economy, then amazingly, just days after the election he goes on to announce that we need some kind of tax on emissions: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2008/10/24/greenhouse-levies.html What a knob.
With the manufacturing sector in a tailspin, we have becoming increasingly depended on the export of oil, particularly from the dirty oil sands. The only way that further oil sands development will cease is if the price stays at $65 a barrel (not likely) or if American's stop buying oil produced from the oil sands. Just as conflict diamonds were tagged, so too could oil. Canada supplies the US with more oil than any other. As long as there is a demand, our conservative government will ensure the supply, regardless of the costs to the environment. In fact, we are obligated under NAFTA to ensure supply to the USA.
Don't worry Danny, the liberals will be back. They have governed the country longer than any other. They are the party that balanced the budget (following the reckless spending of the conservatives) and ran nearly a decade of surpluses. IF the liberals select a more charismatic leader, dare I say Obama-esque, they will trounce the awkward and incompetent conservatives. A carbon tax, in some form, is coming, it is inevitable. The timing may be sped up depending on how Obama decides how to address American emissions: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/11/05/canada-us-environment.html