if you were paying attention during the election, you will realize that the government is not proposing anything close to a moratorium on fossil fuel development - that they did support keystone and are in favour of east-west, while expressing unhappiness about other pipeline projects. you have to be careful about how you interpret the keystone part. but, we are going to absolutely require blockades and court battles to make east-west unprofitable. otherwise, they will do this.
that said, you also have to realize that a lot of these kids are not old enough to remember living in a liberal government. if you're 23 today, you were around 14 when stephen harper was elected. i know paul remembers the chretien government; i must admit i'm not old enough to remember the first trudeau government, either, although he certainly is. but, what i'm getting at is that growing up in a world run by a democrat that cites reagan in speeches and is to the right of the first george bush on most issues, and where the left is constantly arguing that we're under a one-party system, is going to make understanding the liberal party of canada almost impossible for these kids. the liberals are not perfect - any leftist will find lots to criticize. but, they are a legitimately center-left party, too. it's been decades since the democrats could say that.
so, no: the liberals will not put a moratorium on tar sands. yes, they will work with industry to get the oil to market. but, expecting anything else is really pretty much absurd, given how economically important oil is to revenue (canada is currently in recession due solely to the cut in oil prices). the idea of keeping 80% of the tar sands in the ground is one way to reduce emissions. it's not the only way. that is, itself, american propaganda. the tar sands are bad but they are not fundamentally worse than burning coal, or methane release from fracking - which obama has championed. total canadian emissions are only 1.5% of global emissions. tar sands emissions are a fraction of that 1.5%. now, if they expand dramatically while other sources decrease dramatically? ok. but, it's a hypothetical argument that collapses when you reverse certain assumptions.
but, you can reasonably expect them to do a lot of other things. first, we have to diversify our economy a little. one of the best ways is switching to the production of clean energy, although the marijuana legalization should also help. increasing revenue from other sources will change the discourse dramatically, but the liberals will not dive in head first on this. they're also putting down $20 billion dollars on "green infrastructure", which is going to go into things like converting public transit, converting wastewater facilities and doing what's left to transition the grid. they'll put pressure on industry; expect some sort of carbon pricing. and, with a little bit of the kind of pressure that you're seeing here, stronger initiatives for conversion to electric vehicles are a strong likelihood.
it will not immediately come as a consequence of reducing tar sands production, but they will likely substantially reduce emissions in other ways. they will meet reasonable targets, relative to our share of emissions.
and, that is part of the reason these kids are being ignored. i mean, the major reason is that it's bad press - obviously. but, they're not pushing a reasonable plan, either. whether they realize it or not, and whether they like it or not, the government will accomplish more in talking to industry than they will in talking to students. and, when it's stated this bluntly, that's really pretty obvious.
despite the press, the outside world should not expect the world from this government. it should not expect them to shut down fossil fuel development in the short term (and, understand that the government cannot snap it's fingers and stop development, anyways - it's mostly privately owned). however, it should expect them to focus on diversifying the canadian economy, which will allow for better options in the near future. and, it should expect to see significant net reductions in emissions - even if it's not at the source of the tar sands.
canadians, on the other hand, should continue to put pressure on the government to act. they may not always get an audience. sometimes, they may end up in jail. but, the difference between the liberals and the democrats is that the liberals will act if they feel that fire on their feet and feel they can in a way they consider to be "responsible" - which is a reasonable concept of responsibility. so, as a canadian activist, you need to keep it burning. you'll get better results than the world you've grown up in might lead you to expect.