Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is increasing pressure on the federal Liberals by calling on the government to scrap a planned carbon price increase scheduled for April 1.
Since carbon pricing was launched in 2019, the tax on each ton of carbon pollution has increased each year. It started at $20 per ton and, if the projected trajectory continues, will rise to $170 per ton by 2030.
The purpose of the policy is to constantly make planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions more expensive to incentivize investments in clean alternatives. That’s why on April 1, the start of the next fiscal year, the carbon price will rise by between $15 and $80 per ton.
In this context, the conservatives launched a campaign to “raise the increase”, which Poilievre says is a precursor to a future conservative government that will “cut the tax”.
On Tuesday in the House of Commons, while speaking on a motion calling on the government to cancel the increase, Poilievre pointed to the high cost of food and housing, as well as inflation throughout the economy, as evidence that the public does not can support higher magnification. carbon price.
“It is in this miserable environment that the NDP Liberal premier is proposing another cruel tax increase,” Poilievre said. “He plans to do it on April Fools’ Day. “It’s an April Fools’ Day tax increase.”
However, research has made clear that carbon pricing is responsible for a small fraction of those higher costs.
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As reported by CBC NewsBank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told the Calgary Chamber of Commerce that the carbon tax is responsible for just 0.15 per cent of inflation (representing about one-twentieth of the total price increase). ). writing in Policy optionsUniversity of Calgary professors Trevor Tombe and Jennifer Winter analyzed inflation figures and concluded that “carbon pricing is definitely not to blame for affordability challenges.”
In fact, Inflation in Canada is boosted significantly. due to “a global increase in energy prices,” the professors write. That rise in energy prices coincides with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which made energy markets nervous.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is increasing pressure on carbon pricing as Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault accuses him of lying to Canadians. It’s a preview of how politics will play out this year.
Speaking to reporters, Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault attacked and accused Poilievre of lying to Canadians about the carbon price.
“As of 2019, eight in 10 Canadians (low- to middle-income Canadians) get more money than they pay for the carbon price. That is a reality. That’s a fact,” Guilbeault said. “And as the carbon price increases, so does the carbon rebate.
“The other thing you’ll never hear Pierre Poilievre talk about is the impacts of climate change and how much it’s affecting Canadians,” he said. “We’re talking about our fish stocks disappearing… we’re talking about the province of Alberta having to ration water for residents, businesses and the agricultural sector.”
Guilbeault said the carbon price is expected to account for about a third of the government’s emissions reductions by 2030. He also emphasized that the impacts of climate change cannot be stopped and therefore it does not make sense to stop the price increase. of carbon or carbon price reductions. , What is what a majority of prime ministers They are demanding. He said the average costs of climate change in Canada have risen from $200 million about a decade ago to $2 billion a year. Additionally, the cost of an overheated planet will continue to rise as wildfires, floods and other impacts ravage the country.
According a 2022 study From the Canadian Climate Institute, estimates show that by 2025, Canada “will experience $25 billion in losses” compared to economic forecasts if climate change were not a factor. Those costs will grow rapidly to between $78 billion and $101 billion by mid-century.
The Sustainable Finance Institute at Queen’s University put it even more clearly: warning that if the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 2C is missed, Canada will face more than $2.7 trillion in losses by the end of the century.
Poilievre’s stance against carbon taxes has become the opposition leader’s rallying cry, marking a significant departure from previous leader Erin O’Toole, whose 2021 platform included a carbon tax.
As Poilievre continues to escalate his attacks, he is signaling his intention to make the next federal election a referendum on carbon pricing, routinely calling it a “carbon tax election.”
At the same time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has renamed the policy in an attempt to more closely link the taxes people pay to the refunds they receive, changing its name from the “Climate Action Incentive Payment” to “Canada Carbon Rebate.”
As previously reported by Canadian National Observer, the public’s understanding of carbon pricing is the primary determinant of support. Eighty percent of households get more money through rebates than they pay with the carbon price. Of those who say they receive more than they pay, support for the carbon price reaches 79 percent. Among those who believe they spend more than they receive, the results are reversed: 82 percent oppose the tax.
Members of Parliament are expected to vote on the Conservative motion on Wednesday.