TORONTO - The need for Canadian oilsands is "overwhelming" and the government will work hard to combat misinformation about its environmental impact, the prime minister said Friday.

Stephen Harper launched into a defence of the controversial oilsands at an unrelated event in Toronto, saying his government will push to get the "real information out there."

"The fact of the matter is that emissions from our oilsands are comparable to other heavy oils and that the industry continues to invest and continues to find ways to reduce those emissions," Harper said.

"It is absolutely clear if you look at the trajectory of world supply and demand, of North American supply and demand that the need for this energy is just overwhelming."

Harper's comments came in response to a question about Chiquita Brands, which announced Thursday that it would avoid using fuel from Alberta's oilsands.

The company, which sells hundreds of millions of dollars of fruit, juice and snacks around the world, said it has joined 13 other companies and one city in trying to reduce its carbon footprint.

"We are committed to directing our transportation providers to avoid, where possible, fuels from tarsands refineries," Chiquita vice-president Manuel Rodriguez wrote in a letter to Aaron Sanger of the environmental group ForestEthics.

Cosmetics giant Avon and U.S. drugstore chain Walgreen's have both made commitments similar to Chiquita's.

Others, such as Gap, Levi Strauss and Timberland, have only said they are trying to reduce the environmental impact of transporting their products. The city of Bellingham, Wash., has guidelines minimizing fuel purchases that take oilsands feedstock.

ForestEthics wants oilsands producers to clean up their operations.

Harper threw his support behind the oilsands industry and stressed its role in the economy.

"I remain very confident about the future of this industry and its ability to generate wealth for the Canadian economy," Harper said.

"This is one of the sectors that creates some of the most jobs, not just in the oil patch, but around the country in terms of manufacturing and support services, and this government will continue to do everything to promote the Canadian energy centre."

Loading Slideshow

• 'Ethical oil'

  The term "ethical oil" has become the centrepiece of a new application for a classic marketing strategy. After being added to the Conservative political lexicon, the slogan is slowly beginning to creep into the public discourse. And like other attempts by industry and advocacy groups to use value judgements to alter public opinion, it has the potential to change the way we think about Canadian oil.

• Ethical Oil vs Conflict Oil

  Share this video with your friends and family.

• Ethical Oil

  An ad from <a href="http://www.ethicaloil.org/" target="_hplink">ethicaloil.org</a>, a new site trying to rebrand Alberta's oil sands.

• Ethical Oil

  An ad from <a href="http://www.ethicaloil.org/" target="_hplink">ethicaloil.org</a>, a new site trying to rebrand Alberta's oil sands.

• 'Pork. The other white meat'

  In 1987, pork producers in the United States were steadily losing ground to chicken and turkey, which prompted the National Pork Producers Council to take a different tack. To counter the still-widespread belief that pork was a red meat, The New York Times reports that the council set out to appeal to health-conscious consumers by reminding them that pork was in fact <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/15/business/advertising-dressing-pork-for-success.html" target="_hplink">considered a white meat</a>. The series of print and TV ads that followed featured pork prepared in ways that had been traditionally been reserved for poultry, such as cordon bleu and cacciatore a l'orange, as well as a new slogan: "Pork. The other white meat." (After nearly 25 years, the council recently changed its well-known catch phrase to "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/04/pork-be-inspired-slogan-other-white-meat_n_831331.html" target="_hplink">Pork: Be inspired</a>.") (AP File Photo)

• Pork Commercial

  Pork, the other white meat.

• 'Fair trade coffee'

  Though tracing the precise history of the fair trade movement is difficult, most observers agree that the concept was popularized by its application to the coffee industry. The <a href="http://www.maxhavelaar.nl/faq/how-did-it-start?destination=english&backtitle=FAQ's" target="_hplink">first official fair trade label</a> was launched by a Dutch NGO, which imported the pioneering fair trade product -- coffee from Mexico -- to the Netherlands in 1988. Billed as an effort to secure better prices for producers, and guarantee certain environmental and labour standards, the demand for fair trade coffee quickly spread. But it's still a niche item that carries a premium: as The Toronto Star pointed out in 2007, only a small percentage of the java bought by coffee-giant Starbucks is <a href="http://www.thestar.com/living/article/250730" target="_hplink">fairly traded</a>. (Photo: Getty Images)

• Starbucks is the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Coffee

  Full of rich bodied flavor and great respect for the farmers who grew it. Caf

• 'Clean coal'

  The notion of coal as a clean source of energy was thrust into the spotlight in the United States in 2008, when a $40-million industry-sponsored campaign helped make it a talking point during the presidential race. An attempt to counter the public perception of coal as an acid rain-causing, environmental scourge, Businessweek observed that the <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_26/b4090055452749.htm" target="_hplink">"clean coal" campaign</a> tugged at the heartstrings with emotional TV ads featuring teachers and farmers -- and won the endorsement of both presidential candidates. (AP Photo)

• Clean Coal Ad

  Political

• 'Blood diamond'

  The recognition in the late 1990s that diamonds were being used to fuel bloody conflicts in African countries like Angola and Sierra Leone prompted the United Nations Security Council to find some way to track the movement of the precious stones. The resulting identification scheme, dubbed the <a href="http://www.globalwitness.org/campaigns/conflict/conflict-diamonds/kimberley-process" target="_hplink">Kimberley Process</a>, was put in place in 2003 to separate so-called blood or conflict diamonds from those used to fund legitimate governments. Though the process remains imperfect, the terminology was cemented in the minds of the general public, and soon found its way into popular culture: Edward Zwick's 2006 film Blood Diamond grossed more than US$171 million. (AP Photo)

• Blood Diamond - Trailer

  Trailer for the movie 'Blood Diamond'

• 'Dolphin-safe tuna'

  Dolphins tend to stick close to the surface, making them easy to spot, and easy prey for fisherman angling to catch tuna, which often swim alongside the large mammals. Despite several attempts by the United States government to limit the killing of dolphins by U.S. fishing boats, by 1990 the practice of purposefully ensnaring <a href="http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer793/aer793f.pdf" target="_hplink">dolphins in tuna nets</a> became so widespread -- and so highly publicized -- that it had prompted a public boycott of canned tuna. In response, Congress instituted a consumer labelling program, and canneries that bought from fisherman that steered clear of dolphins started identifying their product as "Dolphin safe." Though the designation initially carried a premium, the program soon spread throughout the industry, making the additional cost worthwhile. (AP Photo)