It’s easy to see why some thought that the NDP’s announcement that they were “building a pipeline . . . to your heart” might have been a bad joke. After all, the idea of a tar sands pipeline as a pulmonary vein delivering bitumen straight in your heart doesn’t exactly lend itself to the creation of healthy mental images.
Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at the Alberta NDP. pic.twitter.com/PAY6B8MMxQ
— albertaNDP (@albertaNDP) February 14, 2017
Reaction to the Valentine’s Day graphic came swiftly, with the Bloc Québécois delivering a nationalist, anti-pipeline riposte on Facebook: “We love Quebec. They love bitumen. To each their own Valentine.”
The Alberta NDP’s message was criticized by many others on Twitter, including climate campaigners and party supporters from across the country.
Hey @albertaNDP here is the real effects on your pipeline on the cardiac health of Salmon. https://t.co/RKzZAIlKWj
— David Nickarz (@David_Nickarz) February 15, 2017
This is an actual #valentine from @albertaNDP.
This is staggeringly stupid.#abpoli #cdnpoli #climate @SPhillipsAB pic.twitter.com/VFSmlqpD7L
— Torrance Coste (@TorranceCoste) February 14, 2017
@albertaNDP ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I am so done with the Alberta NDP. #keepitintheground #climatechange
— Mary Grace Kosta (@marygkosta) February 15, 2017
Because nothing says love like oil spills & paving over Indigenous Rights. AB NDP’s #Valentines card. #cdnpoli #NoKXL #StopKM #WaterIsLife pic.twitter.com/ucPYPaByat
— Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) February 14, 2017
Surely even pipeline proponents found the image off-putting? Or perhaps for some there is no such thing as bad taste when it comes to hippie punching. Whatever the case, Valentine’s Day 2017 reaffirms the impression the Alberta NDP has gone all in on pipelines, breaking hearts on the left in hopes of appeasing the right.
