What’s in a name? Apparently a lot of carbon — and hot air.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has launched an online poll on Twitter (“X”) to come up with a new handle for the Liberal’s carbon tax after they decided to change the name to the ‘Canada Carbon Rebate.’But the premier’s followers have other plans..And with nearly 20,000 votes tallied, the clear winner is the ‘Ottawa Poverty Surcharge’ with 47% of the vote. That was followed closely by the ‘Guilbeault Super Fee’ with 31%; ‘The No More Roads Tax’ with 13%; and ‘Carbon Tax Deux’ with 9%.Although it seemed to be in good fun — considering the seriousness of the issue — Smith’s nemesis, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, was clearly not amused.“How about the ‘Alberta family gets $1800 a year payment?" tweeted Guilbeault.It comes as Guilbeault continues to face lingering fallout from national and municipal leaders over both the carbon tax as well as his comments to eliminate federal road funding..According to Abacus Data founder David Coletto, “the price on pollution or carbon tax, while not overwhelmingly unpopular, faces enough opposition to influence election outcomes significantly.”An Abacus poll taken in January found a significant gap in awareness among Canadians eligible for what was formerly known as the Climate Action Incentive Payment. A large group — 41% — believes the rebate does not compensate most people for the pollution prices they pay in their energy bills while 43% doubt the policy’s value in reducing emissions and 47% blame the carbon tax for energy price increases.“The political ramifications of these perceptions are profound,” he adds. “One in four Canadians, including a notable 10% of past Liberal voters, cite the carbon tax as a reason for withdrawing their support from the Liberals,” Coletto wrote.
