LE3 .A278 2018

2018

Biro, Andrew

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Political Science

Politics

The devotion that governments and citizens show for the environment can often be conceived as lackluster; economic growth is something states and their people are willing to commit their daily practices and forms of governance to, but the environment always takes a back seat. In Canada, the sphere of environmental politics has been dynamic – each political party has unique and sometimes opposing environmental objectives, often interlinked with economic incentives, and the majority governing Liberal Party of Canada is no stranger to perplexing environmental and ecological plans. Environmental policies and investments, like ecocentric partnerships and carbon pricing, are some ways by which environmental politics flourishes and develops, but in order for the Liberal Party to be the beacon of ecological change in Canada, there must be an obvious acknowledgement for transformation within central institutions – primarily meaning government agencies and those partnered or involved in legislation. Ecological modernization is a theoretical framework that puts an emphasis on modern technology and the “economization of ecology”, with the hopes of solving the ecological crisis. This framework can be broken down into a list of core concepts, from political commitment to economic incentives for businesses, all which are necessary in order to progress towards ecological modernization. Applying these core concepts to policies and approaches taken by the Liberal Party of Canada will provide a clearer sense of whether the party is devoted to these changes and how seriously they take addressing environmental degradation.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3253