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Climate activist Greta Thunberg tweets that she plans to visit Alberta

Oct 15, 2019 | 12:22 PM

EDMONTON — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has announced that’s she’s going to Alberta.

The 16-year-old tweeted that she’ll be heading north following “a few days of well needed rest while enjoying the spectacular nature of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.”

She did not say when she will arrive in Alberta or where specifically she will visit.

Last week at a rally in South Dakota, Thunberg spoke out against the proposed path of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry crude from Alberta through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Christine Myatt, a spokeswoman for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, reacted to Thunberg’s impending visit by comparing the province to other oil-rich regions and greenhouse-gas emitters.

“We trust that Ms. Thunberg will recognize Alberta’s leading human rights and environmental standards, especially in comparison to oil-producing dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela — which she will presumably visit next — as well as major growing emitters like China,” Myatt said in an emailed statement.

Late last month, Thunberg spoke about the dire state of the planet at a climate change protest in Montreal, one of many youth-led demonstrations her activism has galvanized across the globe.

She also met with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who has praised her as “the voice of a generation” of young people demanding their leaders do more to combat climate change.

She has said she plans to keep touring the Americas through a UN climate conference in Chile in December.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2019.

The Canadian Press