Poilievre wants a 'carbon tax election,' Liberals say bring it on

Amid a week of heavy political scrutiny over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's exclusive carbon-price carve-out for home heating oil, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is pushing for a pause on all forms of home heating, until Canadians can have their say in "a carbon tax election."

"We all know that we're not going to agree on the carbon tax. He wants to raise it. I want to axe it… So let's make a deal. Let's pause the carbon tax on all home heating until Canadians go to the polls so that we can have a carbon tax election," Poilievre said Wednesday.

"Where Canadians will decide between his plan to quadruple the tax to 61 cents a litre on heat, gas, and groceries, and my common sense plan to axe the tax and bring home lower prices… That will be the choice in the carbon tax election. Justin Trudeau just has to decide when that will happen. But, it will happen and Canadians will decide," Poilievre said.

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Last week, Trudeau announced the three-year carbon tax pause for households that use home heating oil, a move that primarily will assist Atlantic Canadians given the rate of reliance in that region. This bit of relief was rolled out alongside plans to double the pollution price rebate rural top-up rate, and to roll out new incentives to make it more affordable for those using heating oil to transition to heat pumps.

The temporary break on home heating oil is slated to come into effect in just over a week, and remain in place until March 2027, past the next scheduled federal election in 2025. 

The climb-down came amid strong internal caucus pressure, and has been met with strong national criticism from the opposition parties and premiers whose constituents largely won't feel any cost-of-living relief as a result of this targeted approach, one the Liberals are adamant won't be expanded. 

In response, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has threatened to stop collecting the carbon price on natural gas starting in 2024, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith continues to mull taking the entire program back to the Supreme Court.

Poilievre issued his electoral challenge to Trudeau during a rallying speech to his caucus Wednesday morning, which he invited media to cover. In his opening remarks, the Official Opposition leader painted a hypothetical and dramatized picture of the prime minister trembling in the corner of his office "in the fetal position" over Poilievre's Atlantic Canada "Axe the Tax" tour.

The Conservative leader said he will be advancing a non-binding motion in the House of Commons, forcing all MPs to vote next week on extending the pause on home heating oil to all Canadians, something he is pressing for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh to back, given his shared criticism that the current policy pivot is unfair. 

His party is also planning to roll out a new ad buy across radio stations in Northern Ontario focused on the Conservatives' calls to extend the three-year pause to all forms of home heating, according to Poilievre's office, who said the majority of residents in the region heat their homes with natural gas.

He also revived his "Canada is broken" talking point, reciting what's become a laundry list of ways he blames Trudeau for making life more expensive, unsafe, and unwelcoming.

"Canada used to be a beacon of hope. People around the world would clamour to get into our doors. Now, when they arrive, they look around and say 'what happened to this place after eight years?' … And who can blame them? Because after eight years of Justin Trudeau everything feels broken. No. After eight years of Justin Trudeau, everything is broken." Poilievre said.

LIBERALS 'WELCOME' CLIMATE FIGHT

Asked on his way in to a Liberal caucus meeting if he wants to fight the next election on his pollution pricing program, Trudeau said he thinks Canadians are "deeply concerned about the need to continue to fight climate change." 

The prime minister also noted the Liberal plan includes rebates that put more money back into the pockets of most Canadians than the carbon tax collects, and has expressed confidence that the easing off for some may actually help the country reach its climate targets by increasing the overall buy-in for climate action. 

"Home heating oil is more expensive than other forms of heat, and home heating oil is disproportionately relied upon by lower-income Canadians in rural areas across the country who need more support. That's what we're doing, and that is absolutely something I am going to continue to stand for unequivocally, while Mr. Poilievre has no plan to fight climate change and therefore no plan for the economy," Trudeau said.

Asked what he made of Poilievre's suggestion of a carbon tax-focused election, Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said he could think of "a million and one things that could come between now and the next election, so too early to call."

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"I think that would be the fourth such election. I know it would be the fourth one that I fought," said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault on his way in to the same meeting. "So, if Mr. Poilievre wants to fight the next election on that, I welcome it."

However, a few Liberal strategists have suggested to CTV News that the central plank of the government's environmental plans—which places a price on carbon with the aim of cutting down on emissions—could be off the table come the next election.

"I can be damned if I see any political advantages here," said CTV News' political analyst and commentator Scott Reid in an interview on CTV News Channel on Wednesday. Reid suggested the government has "undermined" the logic of the carbon tax and should not wait to be "dragged" into chipping away at the plan further.

"The government is in real trouble on this. I can't imagine how they could have walked into this trap without seeing that it was going to be sprung, and the hell of it is, they sprung it on themselves."

Some of the heat the Liberals have been facing on the file in recent days stems from a remark Rural Development Minister Gudie Hutchings made over the weekend on CTV's Question Period. Her stating that perhaps the Prairies need to "elect more Liberals" to secure carve-outs for other forms of home heating sparked accusations of politics being the real motivation behind the rethink.

Asked what he made of it, fellow Atlantic MP Kody Blois—who led Trudeau's announcement last week touting the move as meaningful—told reporters Wednesday that he thought it was "unfortunate."

"I think I'll let minister Hutchings speak for herself. What I can say is yes, of course as an Atlantic caucus this is a really acute issue. But, we drove a national policy change that is going to make a difference across the country," Blois said.