Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference today following the defeat of his motion to extend the carbon price pause to all forms of home heating in the Canadian Parliament. The motion, which was non-binding and had the support of the NDP, failed to gain a majority, with 135 votes in favor and 186 against. The defeat of the motion has reignited the debate over the carbon price in Canada.
In his impassioned speech, Poilievre accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of forming a new carbon tax coalition with separatists, which he claims is a strategy to divide the country. He argued that Trudeau, facing criticism from other provinces over his announcement of a three-year pause on the carbon price for home heating oil in Atlantic Canada, turned to the Bloc Québécois to secure his position in power.
“He’s now designed on with the separatists to divide Canadians into two separate classes, those who will have to pay carbon tax on their home heat, and a small minority who will get a pause from the pain,” Poilievre said.
The Conservative leader painted a grim picture of the consequences of Trudeau’s carbon pricing policies, asserting that all of Trudeau’s MPs had “sold out their constituents” by voting to make home heating more expensive. Poilievre claimed that Trudeau’s policies had contributed to rising food bank usage, record-breaking inflation, surging interest rates, skyrocketing housing costs, and a housing crisis.
“After eight years of Trudeau, we’ve had the worst inflation in four decades, and the fastest rises in interest rates in monetary history. After eight years of Trudeau, housing costs have doubled,” Poilievre declared.
He further argued that Trudeau’s plan to quadruple the carbon tax on heating, gas, and groceries would exacerbate the economic hardships faced by Canadians.
With today’s vote and what he referred to as Trudeau’s “hide and divide strategy,” Poilievre suggested that a “carbon tax election” was on the horizon. While he didn’t specify when this election might occur, he emphasized that it would be a choice between “Justin Trudeau’s plan to quadruple the tax on your heat, gas, and groceries, and my common sense plan to axe the tax and bring home lower prices.”
When questioned about the Conservative stance on pricing pollution on the industrial side, Poilievre emphasized that the carbon tax only applied to fuel charges, gas, diesel, and home heating, and it would be axed by the Conservatives. He promised that their election platform would address these issues in more detail when the “carbon tax election” occurs.
In a further challenge to Trudeau’s climate agenda, Poilievre questioned the effectiveness of the carbon tax in achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets, emphasizing that Trudeau had failed to meet any such targets during his time in office. He pointed out Trudeau’s own admission that removing the carbon tax from oil heat wouldn’t harm the environment, questioning why Trudeau still lacked a comprehensive climate plan after eight years in power.
While Poilievre’s speech was filled with fervent rhetoric and accusations against Trudeau’s government, it’s clear that the carbon pricing debate is far from over in Canada. With the potential for a “carbon tax election” looming, the country may soon face a critical choice in its climate policy direction.