Following his most likely competition to the Liberal Party leadership race, Mark Carney has now also pledged to scrap Canada’s consumer carbon tax days after Chrystia Freeland promised to be open to retracting the measure.
The carbon tax was introduced in 2019 under Justin Trudeau as a supposed solution to climate change. The idea: tax carbon emissions to incentivize greener behavior while offsetting costs through rebates.
However, from the start, the tax was met with resistance from Canadians who saw it as an unnecessary financial burden, particularly on middle-class and lower-income households. Despite repeated assurances from Trudeau, Freeland, and other Liberals that the tax was essential, it quickly became clear that the rebates failed to offset the skyrocketing cost of living.
READ: Carbon Tax: A Costly Catastrophe for Canadians, PBO Report Reveals
The tax, set to rise to $95 per ton in April and eventually reach $170 per ton by 2030, has driven up business costs and made Canadian industries less competitive.
Now, with plummeting poll numbers and a surging Conservative opposition, both Carney and Freeland seem to be conveniently distancing themselves from a policy they once championed.
Carney, once a global advocate for carbon pricing, is now calling the consumer carbon tax “too divisive” and is proposing an incentive-based alternative.
“We can make Canadian families better off, we can fight climate change together and build the strongest economy in the G7,” he explained.
Earlier, Freeland, who spent years defending the tax as Trudeau’s right-hand minister, now plans to replace it with a new system designed to tax big polluters instead. Carney also mentioned during his announcement that he wants to tax big polluters as well to “pay Canadians to make their green choices.”
Even fellow candidate Karina Gould pledged to put a pause on the current carbon prices and look at other measures to fight climate change.
These reversals mark a turning point for the upcoming heated elections. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has been gaining traction since campaigning against the tax for over two years. Even NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh last year set his party’s intent to oppose the carbon tax and present an alternative climate plan as the next federal election looms.
The Liberal leadership is set for a vote on March 9 ahead of Trudeau stepping down on March 24.
The Conservative Party maintains a commanding 26-point lead over the Liberals, according to new Abacus Data poll data, with the opposition party at 46% support among decided voters while the Liberals remain stalled at 20%.
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