Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is planning to speak at a rally this week where one of the organizers doesn't believe climate change poses a threat to the planet.
The Rally Against the Carbon Tax protest and truck convoy is scheduled for Thursday in Regina.
Jason LeBlanc, a farmer from southern Saskatchewan, helped organize the event after travelling to Ottawa with a convoy of pro-energy industry supporters earlier this year.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, he said farmers will be hit hard by the carbon tax and called himself a "climate-change doomsday denier."
He says he believes climate changes in natural cycles, and he does not back science that says the planet is warming because of human activity and requires interventions.
"It has not been proven," said LeBlanc.
"I don't think it's a doomsday thing coming. I think they're using that as a means of raising the taxes and I think they're pushing fear. I think they're pushing that stuff and that's where it's coming from."
On Tuesday, Canada's environmental watchdog said the country is failing to do enough to combat climate change. A new report from Environment and Climate Change Canada also says Canada is warming up at twice the global rate.
Moe says he believes climate change is a global challenge but people can have different opinions about its effects.
"Saskatchewan has, in many ways, in the industries we operate in, very good answers to how we address that challenge as we move forward. This is the conversation we need to be having," he told reporters on Monday.
NDP Opposition Leader Ryan Meili said the premier's attendance at the Thursday rally sends the wrong message. And he wants Moe to declare to the crowd that day that climate change is real.
Meili said he will not attend the rally because of statements on climate change through the event's social media channels. He said he also believes those involved with the rally are associated with the yellow vest movement.
The movement originated in France and was adopted in Canada. Some who have attended yellow vest rallies and posted on its social media pages decry immigration, as well as the federal government's energy policies.
LeBlanc said the Thursday rally prohibits yellow vesters because they do not stand with all the views expressed by those who support the movement.
