Ford Government Will Require Referendum on Any Future Ontario Carbon Tax

Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivers remarks at Lakeshore Collegiate Institute in Toronto on Aug. 31, 2023. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government will be introducing legislation to require a referendum on any future provincial carbon tax.

Ontario is currently subject to the federally imposed carbon tax since it doesn’t have one of its own, as required by federal regulations and upheld by the Supreme Court. Provinces that have their own carbon tax system, such as British Columbia, aren’t subject to the federal carbon tax.

Ontario’s proposed legislation doesn’t address the federal carbon tax but is meant to prevent any future provincial government from bringing in its own system.

“This new law will guarantee that no provincial government can force a costly carbon tax on the people of Ontario without ensuring their voices are heard loud and clear,” Mr. Ford said on Feb. 13. “We’re giving the people of Ontario a veto over carbon taxes. People know where I stand on the carbon tax. I’ve opposed it from the very beginning.”

The Progressive Conservative government reiterated that it is asking for carve-outs from the federal carbon tax on home heating fuels, just as the federal government exempted heating oil, used primarily in the Atlantic provinces.

“We made a promise to fight the federal carbon tax and our government will continue to lead by example, giving Ontarians certainty that carbon pricing on the backs of taxpayers is not the way forward,” Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a statement. “Any new provincial carbon tax is unacceptable for Ontario residents who are seeing their hard-earned dollars stretched further than ever.”

The federal carbon tax, which has been increasing annually, is set for another hike in April.

Several provinces, including Ontario, challenged the federal carbon tax when it was first introduced, saying it was unconstitutional.

However, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government was within its jurisdiction to impose a carbon tax.

Opposition Reaction

The province’s opposition parties called the Ford government’s announcement a distraction.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the announcement is “clearly a smokescreen” to distract from other issues, including the health-care crisis and a police investigation into Ontario’s protected Greenbelt being opened to housing development.

Making a similar point, Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie said on X on Feb. 13 that if the premier was “actually interested in hearing from Ontarians, he would have held a referendum before selling off our healthcare system, the Greenbelt, and ServiceOntario.”

Mr. Ford has been critical of the opposition parties for their stance on carbon pricing, calling Ms. Crombie “the queen of carbon tax.”

Provinces Challenge Carbon Tax on Home Heating

Following Ottawa’s move to pause the carbon tax on home heating oil, Saskatchewan stopped collecting the carbon tax on natural gas and electricity being used for home heating starting on Jan. 1.

Saskatchewan’s action came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected the call of several provinces to extend the carve-out to all types of home heating.

“There will absolutely not be any other carve-outs or suspensions of the price on pollution,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters on Oct. 31. “This is designed to phase out heating oil” over the longer term.