Liberal leadership contender Mark Carney is expected to announce on Friday that he will end the consumer carbon tax and replace it with a system of green incentives, marking a significant shift in the Liberal Party’s climate change policies.
“The consumer carbon tax isn’t working. It’s become too divisive,” Carney said in a statement released ahead of his planned event in Halifax.
“That’s why I’ll cancel it and replace it with incentives to reward people for greener choices.”
Carney’s proposal would keep the industrial carbon tax.
Large companies, including oil and gas companies, would continue to pay for their emissions, but they would also help fund rebates to Canadians who choose energy-efficient appliances, electric vehicles, and improved home insulation.
A longtime supporter of the carbon tax, Carney served as governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England before becoming a United Nations special envoy for climate action.
Carney’s new plan calls for major emitters to “pay their fair share,” though he insists everyday Canadians should not have to pay the carbon tax.
A campaign spokesperson said Carney will share more details Friday morning alongside former housing minister Sean Fraser and Atlantic caucus chair Kody Blois.
If successful, Carney’s plan would mark the end of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s signature consumer carbon tax, which was introduced in 2019.
Consumer prices currently add about 17.6 cents to a litre of gasoline and 15 cents to a cubic metre of natural gas.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged to “axe” the carbon tax.
Other Liberal leadership candidates, including former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, have also pledged to end the consumer carbon tax, and keep the industrial carbon tax in place.
Carney championed a universal carbon tax but now argues that targeting large polluters directly is more effective.
Conservative Party said Carney “can’t be trusted” on the carbon tax and warned he would eventually implement an even higher carbon tax “when he no longer needs your vote but still needs your money.”
The Conservatives pointed to Carney’s past comments, including when he endorsed a carbon tax of up to $170 per tonne by 2030, calling it “exactly the right policy.”
Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is demanding Carney explain how much his proposed replacement plan would cost.
“Taxpayers have a simple question for Carney: Will gas prices and home heating bills go down under his plan?” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of CTF.
Carney has yet to respond to concerns raised by both the Conservatives and the CTF.
