Singh Says NDP Opposes Liberals’ Version of Carbon Tax, Will Present His Own Plans

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh gives remarks during a press conference in Toronto on Sept. 5, 2024. Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has signalled his party will come out against the Liberal government’s carbon tax, saying the existing scheme costs Canadians and that his party will have its own climate change policies.

“We want to see an approach to fighting the climate crisis where it doesn’t put the burden on the backs of working people, where big polluters have to pay their fair share,” Singh told reporters on Sept. 12 following three days of caucus meetings.

“We’ve been working on a plan, and we’ll be releasing our plan, our vision, for how we can do that in a stronger way in the coming months.”

The NDP leader refused to say whether he would keep the consumer carbon tax in place, instead saying he would put forth one that “is fair for working people, takes on the big polluters, and lowers our emissions.”

The federal government’s carbon tax has been hailed by the federal Liberals as a way to fight climate change while giving Canadians back more in rebates than they pay in taxes, except for higher-income Canadians. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have argued the tax is worsening the country’s cost-of-living crisis by making food, fuel, and heating more expensive.

The federal carbon tax increased to $80 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions from $65 on April 1 and is set to rise to $170 by 2030. A Leger survey from earlier this year found that 69 percent of poll respondents did not support the Liberals’ plan to increase carbon pricing in April.

Following the increase, Singh had said the federal government’s carbon tax plan was “unfair” and that the federal government is favouring oil and gas companies.

On April 10, a non-binding Conservative motion passed with support from the NDP and Bloc Québécois that called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet provincial leaders to discuss the April 1 carbon tax hike.

End of Supply and Confidence Agreement

Speaking to reporters on Sept. 12, Singh also called the Liberals’ carbon tax an attempt to “pit workers against each other” by advantaging certain regions at the expense of others. “He’s giving advantages to the Atlantic provinces over other parts of the country. We disagree with that. I came out very strongly opposing that approach,” he said.

Back in October 2023, Trudeau announced a three-year pause on the heating oil carbon tax to give Canadians time to switch to electric heat pumps. Heating oil is used more frequently in Atlantic provinces, and Liberal MPs from those ridings had been raising concerns about the carbon tax harming their constituents. Other provinces who use other forms of resources for heating, including Saskatchewan and Alberta, have been asking for similar exemptions to all forms of fuel used for home heating, a demand that the federal government has refused.

Last week, Singh announced his party was exiting the supply-and-confidence agreement it signed with the Liberals in 2022, which supported the minority government in key votes in exchange for the government acting on certain New Democrat priorities. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said his government intends to table a non-confidence motion at the “earliest opportunity” when the House of Commons returns on Sept. 16.

After the NDP pulled out of the agreement, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party had more leverage over Parliament and that he would try to make gains from the Liberals in exchange for support on key votes.

Blanchet said on Sept. 10 that he is not trying to keep the Liberals in power, but that he doesn’t want to see Conservatives be in power either, as an election today would likely mean a Conservative government.

“If Pierre Poilievre is serious, he will table a confidence motion that works for Quebec’s interests as supported by the Bloc Québécois. And that excludes the carbon tax, that excludes ‘I want to replace the boss.’”

The Conservatives, who are leading in polls with large margins, have made opposition to the carbon tax a pillar of their campaign.