Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday his Liberal government is “immediately” ending the consumer carbon price, making the change official during his first cabinet meeting.
Carney, who was sworn in as prime minister along with his new cabinet earlier in the day, said the order-in-council he signed fulfilled a promise he made while running for the Liberal leadership and will help address affordability concerns for Canadians.
“This is a cabinet that’s focused on action,” he said. “It’s focused on getting more money in the pockets of Canadians, it’s focused on building this economy with all the tools that we have here.
“We will be eliminating the Canada fuel charge, the consumer fuel charge, immediately. Immediately.”
Carney said Canadians who have received rebates under the federal carbon pricing program will still see a rebate payment in the next quarter before the end of April.
“This will make a difference to hard-pressed Canadians, but it is part of a much bigger set of measures that this government is taking to ensure that we fight against climate change, that our companies are competitive, and the country moves forward,” he said.
Carney then signed the order paper, which was met with a round of applause by ministers around the cabinet table — many of whom voted for the 2018 legislation that introduced the consumer carbon price.
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The federal carbon price was set to rise from $80 a tonne to $95 a tonne on April 1, as part of a scheduled annual increase included in the law.
Carney had vowed during the Liberal leadership race to eliminate the consumer carbon price, often referred to as a “carbon tax,” and bolster the industrial price paid by big polluters instead. He repeated the pledge after winning the leadership on Sunday.
The carbon price became a politically toxic issue under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, who implemented the measure. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made eliminating it a pillar of his platform, and has referred to the looming federal election expected this year as a “carbon tax election.”
“Carbon Tax Carney is pausing the carbon tax until after the election when he no longer needs your vote but still needs your money,” Poilievre said on social media, accusing Carney of “flip-flopping” on an issue he once supported.
“Good riddance to the worst tax ever,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on X.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, another critic of the carbon price, urged Carney to “act swiftly” and eliminate the measure in a letter to the prime minister earlier Friday.
British Columbia Premier David Eby, who vowed to remove the provincial consumer carbon price during his recent election campaign if the federal government did the same, said Friday he intended to make good on his promise through legislation.
“Our commitment was once the federal government removed the backstop that required us to have it, we would get rid of it too, and that work is well underway,” Eby told reporters in Surrey.
“I want to reassure people that we’ll be making sure that the big polluters continue to pay, not because we want them to have to be taxed, but instead to encourage them to adopt the technologies that reduce emissions to ensure we’re continuing to make progress on the fight against climate change.”
Federal Agriculture Minister Kody Blois said he thinks “it’s a really good move” to eliminate the consumer carbon price because the policy had become divisive.
He noted the Atlantic Liberal caucus had pushed for changes in the past, and secured a carveout for home heating fuel in 2023.
That move further increased outcry against the carbon price, with the NDP pushing for additional carveouts and the Conservatives arguing for it to be eliminated entirely.
—With files from the Canadian Press
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