As the race for the Liberal Party leadership intensifies, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has declared that Canada’s consumer carbon tax is failing and must be scrapped in favor of a more pragmatic climate strategy.
“We have to win this election,” Carney told reporters, emphasizing that sweeping change is necessary ahead of the upcoming contest.
Blacklock's Reporter says the carbon tax is set to rise April 1st to 21¢ per litre for gasoline, 18¢ per cubic metre of natural gas, 15¢ a litre for propane and 23¢ per litre of aviation fuel.
“What I am is a pragmatist,” said Carney. “So if I see that something isn’t working I am going to change it. Today is about change.” When a reporter asked, “Why now?” Carney replied, “It has become very divisive for Canadians.”
He added that if elected Liberal leader, he would maintain portions of Parliament’s 2019 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act that tax industry, noting, “We are in this situation.”
Carney continued, “It’s important that climate policy has broad buy-in. There is a better way to do things. We have worked on coming up with a better way to do things.”
His campaign’s Backgrounder outlined plans to repeal the consumer carbon tax, stating, “Rather than reducing emissions by penalizing hardworking Canadians we will provide real incentives to Canadian households to achieve carbon reductions particularly in their homes and transportation.”
It also declared the intent to “Promote fair competition and improve environmental outcomes by developing a carbon border adjustment mechanism. This will be done in collaboration with key stakeholders and international partners to ensure fairness for Canadian industries, prevent carbon leakage and better economically integrate Canada with allies in the fight against climate change. This approach would focus on ensuring fairness for, and supporting jobs in, our most energy intensive, trade-exposed sectors such as steel, chemicals, cement and aluminum.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, once a staunch supporter of the carbon tax, has signalled a shift in his stance.
“I will continue to work with Mr. Carney to ensure that if we don’t go ahead with the consumer carbon price, that we have something else in place that will both help Canadians with affordability but will also help us to achieve our 2030 targets,” he said.
When a reporter asked, “What went wrong?” Guilbeault replied, “Pierre Poilievre.”
The Opposition leader has long decried the tax, calling it a punitive measure that raises the cost of food, gasoline and home heating.
“We are not going to put up with it anymore,” Poilievre told a 2024 caucus meeting, underscoring the growing debate over Canada’s climate policies.
