Diane Orihel is an associate professor of environmental studies and the Queen’s National Scholar in Aquatic Ecotoxicology at Queen’s University.

Tariffs, trade wars, the economy. The cost of living, income taxes, housing. Annexation. Sovereignty. These are the issues that are dominating the minds of Canadian voters.

But not climate change or ecosystem health, not single-use plastics or forever chemicals, not protected areas or biodiversity conservation. Not tailings ponds nor pipeline spills. The environment is firmly on the back burner in this federal election.

As an environmental scientist, am I surprised? No. Because I understand: if there is no Canadian economy, there is no money for protecting the Canadian environment. And clearly, if there is no Canada, there is no Canadian environment to protect.

We are on the brink of a national crisis that was unimaginable only a few months ago. In this federal election, the decisions we make and the leader we choose likely matter more than in any other election in many of our lifetimes.

Most Canadians, and the political leaders vying for our votes, are on board with the idea that the number-one job right now is to protect and build a strong and free Canada. And listening to the political speeches in this supercharged election campaign, one thing is clear – to build a strong and free Canada, the front-runners have big plans to ramp up our country’s exploitation of non-renewable resources – oil, gas, metals and minerals.

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre is unabashedly ready to fully exploit Canada’s non-renewables with as few strings attached as possible. He wants to build pipelines, dig mines, and expand ports – quickly.

Mr. Poilievre has promised to accelerate resource development through his “one-and-done” plan. His proposed Rapid Resource Project Office would reduce review requirements and fast-track decisions on major projects. “No more delays, no more uncertainty, no more caps on Canadian growth and ambition,” he touted.

Mr. Poilievre has also pledged to give the go-ahead to at least 10 resource-extraction projects, including the expansion of a liquefied natural gas project and oil-sands mining in the West, and proposed gold, silver, copper and nickel mines in the East. “I will rapidly approve them all, and I will invite many more to come to the fore,” he said.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s plan for resource development in many ways mirrors the Conservative one, albeit with some olive branches extended to progressive voters.

“Under my leadership, it’s time to build – big time,” Mr. Carney promised. “We are going to aggressively develop projects that are in the national interest in order to protect Canada’s energy security.” Mr. Carney has also vowed to usher in a new energy era, with investments in both clean and conventional energy. Like the Conservatives, Mr. Carney’s proposed Major Federal Project Office would speed up decisions after a single impact assessment. He would also put in place measures to “ensure that Canada becomes the global supplier of choice for critical metals and minerals.” He promised a “first-and-last-mile fund” that would connect critical mineral extraction projects to supply chains.

To boil it down, both front-runners share a common vision: to protect Canada from Donald Trump’s attacks, we need to put extractive-resource development into high gear. This means the expansion of energy corridors to move oil and gas across the country and to offshore markets, including new pipelines to transport diluted bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands to Eastern Canada. Expect new life to be pumped into proposals like the abandoned Energy East pipeline that would run north of the Great Lakes.

This also means that intensive resource-development projects, like what miners call Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” – thousands of square kilometres of carbon-rich, ecologically sensitive peatlands and wetlands overlying rocks rich in chromite, copper, zinc, gold, diamond and nickel – will likely get the green light.

It’s these uninspiring and antiquated solutions that leave me dismayed. Regardless of who wins this election, billions of dollars will be poured into nation-building projects. This moment is really a tremendous opportunity to go in a new direction; to invest in local, renewable energy, and in clean, smart industries – to end our reliance on fossil fuels once and for all.

Following Viktor Orban’s playbook, Mr. Trump is taking us on a roller-coaster ride of economic chaos and threats to our sovereignty – arguably intended to shock and paralyze us into submission.

We have two options for how we respond to this continental chess game where the rules keep changing. We either give a fearful, knee-jerk response and default to our tired and primitive approach as “hewers of wood and drawers of water.” Or, we build a world-leading and innovative green economy that creates a strong and just future for Canada, and a heathy, livable planet. Now that would be real leadership.