Many British Columbians want the carbon tax reduced or scrapped, according to a poll conducted by Innovative Research Group (IRG) on behalf of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). “The polling numbers are crystal clear: British Columbians want carbon and gas tax relief,” said CTF BC Director Carson Binda in a Monday press release.“This poll should be a wake-up call for Premier David Eby because his constituents need tax relief now.”IRG found 49% of British Columbians oppose the carbon tax. It said one-quarter of them support it. One-fifth do not support or oppose it. Another 6% are unsure where they stand. One-third strongly oppose the carbon tax and 7% strongly support it. Over the past six months, support for it in BC has plummeted by 28%. When it comes to gas taxes, IRG said British Columbians oppose their government’s plan to increase them from $40 per 64-litre fill-up to $56 per fill-up by 2030. When presented with the BC government’s plan to raise gas taxes, it said two-thirds of them want them cut. Another 16% want gas taxes frozen at current levels. An additional 7% hope they increase as planned. One-tenth said they are unsure. While some Canadians are getting tax relief, Binda said British Columbians are not. “Premier David Eby can immediately make life more affordable by cutting his carbon and gas taxes,” said Binda. The House of Commons voted 186 to 135 against a motion calling for the carbon tax to be removed on all sources of home heating on November 6. READ MORE: Liberals, Bloc Quebecois vote down motion against carbon tax“I declare the motion defeated,” said Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus. Since the Canadian government has implemented a temporary, three-year pause to the carbon tax on home heating oil, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre filed a motion calling on the House of Commons “to extend that pause to all forms of home heating fuels.” The poll was conducted online using IRG’s 2020 national research panel with additional respondents from Lucid from October 26 to 30 with 1,125 British Columbian adults. No margin of error was assigned to it.
