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It may be some time before we again see a political leader in Canada brave enough to build a campaign platform around saving the environment.

The world economic crisis that may take a few years to fix has something to do with that. But so, too, does the outcome of last night's federal election, which saw the Conservatives returned to power, partly on the back of Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's muddled message on the environment.

Watching closely, no doubt, was B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, who heads into an election of his own in the spring having to defend an unpopular carbon tax he has so far vowed to maintain. Of course, Mr. Dion's much-mocked Green Shift environmental proposal also included a carbon tax, one he never had much success promoting on the campaign trail.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest is also said to be mulling an election call, and he too must be thinking just how hard he wants to push the environment at a time when people seem to be thinking about anything but.

The party that won last night's federal election was the one that barely mentioned the environment, except when it was to disparage the green policies of its opponents, particularly the Liberals. What does that say about where the issue sits in the pecking order of Canadian concerns? It wasn't that long ago the environment topped the list.

To be fair, many Canadians did vote for the Liberals and the New Democratic Party, both of which consider climate change and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions important. Still, the environment was not a winning issue on the campaign trail for any party even before all hell broke loose on Wall Street.

So what's going on? Has the momentum and sense of urgency that the save-the-planet movement was building in Canada been lost?

While many of the most respected climate-change scientists in the world believe taxing carbon is one of the surest and most effective ways to attack rising emissions, it would appear to be a zero-sum game for politicians trying to sell it. Both Mr. Campbell's and Mr. Dion's carbon-tax policies are designed to be revenue-neutral – meaning the tax would have no impact on a person's pocketbook because it would be offset by income-tax cuts and rebates.

But people don't believe it. It's like listening to politicians say they will never break a campaign promise. Public skepticism is legitimate.

Second, solutions to climate change are often complex and not easily explained. Mr. Dion had trouble explaining his Green Shift himself sometimes, even in French, and if a politician doesn't sound convincing trying to sell a policy that includes a tax – even if it's one designed to help save mankind – opponents will exploit it and the electorate will say come back when you've thought this thing through a little.

People have to be convinced it's worth the price.

Despite last night's result, I still think Mr. Dion's desire to build an economy for the 21st century centred on energy independence and becoming a leader in green technology is precisely what Canada needs. Until the recent financial crisis, it's something U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama talked about often on the campaign trail.

He understands that rebuilding the U.S. economy around clean, renewable energy sources, a strategy that must extend to the automobile industry, will help create jobs and allow Americans to be free of the tyranny of Middle Eastern oil prices. The U.S. is a nation of innovators and it will innovate its way to the forefront of green technological advances, mark my words.

And once again, cautious Canada will be playing catch-up.