Most Quebecers Want Province’s Carbon Tax Removed: Poll

A man pumps gas in Montreal on March 4, 2022. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

There are now twice as many Quebecers who want the province’s carbon tax removed than those who want to keep it in place, according to a new poll.

Polling firm Léger released the results of a new survey on the carbon tax and other related matters on May 20. The survey found that 56 percent of respondents want to abolish the province’s carbon regime, compared to 28 percent who say it should remain in place.

The results were published on the same day that Statistics Canada released the inflation numbers for April, which reflect the effect of the April 1 removal of the federal fuel charge on the Consumer Price Index. Inflation was at 1.7 percent in April, compared to 2.3 percent in March.

StatCan noted that Quebec had the hottest inflation in the country due to fuel prices not falling, as they had elsewhere in Canada.

With the federal government setting the fuel charge rate to zero last month, and British Columbia cancelling its own carbon tax on April 1, Quebec remains the only jurisdiction in Canada with a consumer carbon tax.

Quebec’s carbon system currently adds approximately 10 cents to a litre of gasoline. The federal system previously added over 17 cents to a litre of gas, but didn’t apply to Quebec, which has its own carbon pricing system.

Data from Statistics Canada show that gas prices in Quebec are currently the highest in the country, except for certain areas of British Columbia and the Yukon. Montreal’s gas prices average in April was 158.8 cents per litre, compared to 133.2 in Toronto, 130.2 in Calgary, and 132.0 in Winnipeg. Vancouver (166.1) and Whitehorse (161.9) had higher prices.

The Léger poll on the carbon tax also looked at voting intentions of the respondents. Among all the parties, only supporters of left-wing Québec solidaire were in favour of maintaining the carbon tax.

The most favourable to getting rid of the tax are supporters of the Quebec Conservative Party (74 percent), followed by Quebec Liberals (68 percent), the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec (59 percent), and the separatist Parti Québecois (53 percent).

The Parti Québécois is currently leading in voting intentions for the provincial election, to take place in 2026.

Even though there is almost a consensus among supporters of Quebec parties to drop the carbon tax, Quebec’s National Assembly passed a unanimous motion on April 9 to express support for the province’s carbon tax established by a cap-and-trade system.

The move followed Prime Minister Mark Carney fulfilling a Liberal leadership race promise to remove the consumer carbon tax on April 1.

The Léger poll, conducted on the behalf of Québécor media entities, shows a continued notable shift among Quebecers on climate change policies.

Since the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Canada, Quebecers have become more favourable to building a new pipeline on their territory. A lack of “social accessibility” had been previously cited by the government a reason to not go ahead with oil and gas projects such as GNL Québec.

Carney said last week he would support the building of new pipelines if there was a national consensus on the matter. Meanwhile, some of his cabinet ministers have already publicly voiced their opposition.

Léger also probed Quebecers on pipelines in its latest poll. Fifty-five percent of Quebecers supported the idea of building an East-West pipeline, while 26 percent were opposed to it.

Similar to the stance on the carbon tax, only supporters of Québec solidaire were opposed to the pipeline. Supporters of the Quebec Liberal Party were most in favour at 75 percent, followed by Quebec Conservatives at 70 percent.

Eastern Canada currently receives its fuel from pipelines coming from the United States and shipments from other foreign countries. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Western Canadian oil is exported south of the border.