The federal New Democrats leader spent Monday insisting his party’s position on carbon pricing remains unchanged.
But Jagmeet Singh declined to say explicitly whether he supports the consumer tax and Canadians having to pay it on everyday items like gasoline.
“Our position has not changed at all,” he told reporters.
“We absolutely support pollution pricing. We have always supported it.”
Singh faced reporters for the first time since a speech last week at the annual Progress Summit, where he created confusion over the NDP’s position on the federal consumer tax on fuel.
In the speech, Singh praised “affordable, low-carbon options” and promised to “not punish people” who can’t change the way they heat their homes or go to work.
He later said the New Democrats would present a vision for tackling climate change that would emphasize initiatives with the greatest impact, such as methane regulations and a carbon price on industrial emitters.
“Make them even stricter, make them even stronger, look for other ways to really take on the big polluters,” Singh told reporters last Thursday.
“We don’t want workers to feel like they’re carrying the burden. That’s not fair. And, frankly, it’s not a neo-democratic solution to the problem.”
His comments followed those of NDP environmental critic Laurel Collins, who said a carbon price was not the “be-all and end-all” of climate action while explaining the NDP’s decision to vote alongside the Conservatives for a parliamentary motion critical of liberal politics.
The NDP has long advocated for carbon pricing and included it in its 2019 campaign.
The apparent change in tone even seemed to unnerve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who last week admitted he doesn’t understand the NDP’s position.
Trudeau noted that Singh faces “political pressure” from Conservative prime ministers and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who want to eliminate politics.
In fact, Poilievre has been traveling the country, including NDP strongholds in British Columbia and northern Ontario, to rally his supporters around his “cut taxes” message.
Public opinion polls show both the NDP and Liberals are losing support to the Conservatives, as Poilievre champions affordability as his top issue, casting the supply and confidence deal they signed in March 2022 as an “expensive coalition.”
The NDP says the agreement has given Canadians victories in pharmaceutical and dental care, although it has been difficult to digest.
While the Conservative leader blames consumer carbon pricing for increasing Canadians’ anxiety about affordability, both the Liberals and the NDP accuse him of not having a plan to address climate change.
Following Singh’s speech last week, the NDP issued a statement insisting it supports “consumer carbon pricing.”
But when asked Monday to clarify whether he himself holds that position, Singh would only say that the party’s voting record makes clear that it supports “a price on pollution,” without specifying whether that includes a tax paid by consumers on despite multiple questions in that regard.
“We absolutely support pollution pricing. We haven’t changed our position on it,” he said.
“We need to make sure we fight the climate crisis with everything we have, but the Liberals are eroding that trust by not supporting the working class,” Singh added.
He accused the Liberal government of continuing to provide subsidies to oil and gas companies without providing support to working class families.
Singh had previously criticized Trudeau’s decision to exempt home heating oil from carbon pricing for three years, calling it a divisive decision.
Nearly one in three households in Atlantic Canada rely on heating oil, and the exclusion from the government’s signature climate policy came after the region’s Liberal MPs raised concerns about the rising cost of living.
Trudeau and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault ruled out making more exceptions.
This despite demands from Western premiers, such as Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe, who say homes that use natural gas should get the same break.
Moe is among a majority of provincial leaders, including Newfoundland and Labrador’s only Liberal Premier Andrew Furey, who are calling on Trudeau to call a meeting to discuss alternatives to consumer carbon pricing.
Trudeau has said the provinces were on board when the government decided to move forward with carbon pricing years ago.
Today’s prime ministers are too busy complaining and not coming up with their own plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the prime minister charged.
A Conservative motion calling on Trudeau to sit with the premiers in a televised meeting passed the House of Commons last week with the support of the NDP and the Bloc Québécois.