Tory Motion on Scrapping Carbon Tax on Home Heating Defeated by Liberals, Bloc, Despite NDP Support

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during question period in Ottawa on Nov. 2, 2023. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

A Conservative motion to pause the federal carbon tax on all forms of home heating for three years was defeated in the House of Commons on Nov. 6. The motion—which had NDP support, unlike the Tories’ previous attempts to quash the tax—was defeated by the governing Liberals, along with the Bloc Québécois and Green Party.

The NDP has typically voted in favour of Liberal motions since it entered into a supply-and-confidence agreement with the government in 2022, supporting key Liberal policies in exchange for the Liberals taking action on some New Democrat priorities.

Before the carbon tax vote was held, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he was “always reluctant to vote alongside the Conservatives in any way,” but a vote to get rid of the carbon tax was a vote to “reject the divisive approach of the Liberals.” The NDP had said it supported the motion because it “doesn’t deny climate change” exists.

The motion came days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a temporary three-year pause on the carbon price for home heating oil. The Conservatives want the pause to be extended to all forms of home heating, calling the policy “divisive” and saying it was done in response to poor polling numbers in Atlantic Canada.

The Tories have introduced several motions to get rid of the carbon tax that ultimately failed, including one on Oct. 24, 2022, that was defeated 116–202, and a Sept. 28 vote that failed 209–116.

Backed by Bloc

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was critical of the parties that defeated the motion.

“What we learned is that [Trudeau has] now got a new carbon tax coalition with the separatists to divide our country,” he said following the vote on Nov. 6, which failed by 135–186.

“Given that the NDP was forced to flip-flop on Trudeau’s plan to quadruple the tax, he had to find a new partner to keep them in power and avoid this non-confidence vote from passing. And who was there to save him? The separatists.”

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also took issue with the motion being defeated with the help of the Bloc.

“The motion to extend the home heating exemption and carbon tax fairness to all Canadians was defeated because the Liberal government was supported by the Bloc Québécois - a party that wants to break up Canada,” Mr. Moe said on X on Nov. 6.

“That explains a lot about the state of our country under Trudeau.”

Ahead of the vote, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet noted on X that the federal carbon tax doesn’t apply to Quebec, since the province has its own carbon pricing mechanism.

“There is also something like climate change that the Conservatives ignore (deny?) and the NDP’s calculation,” he said on Nov. 4.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said shortly after the Nov. 6 vote that “Climate change costs Canadians more every year.”

“We can’t go back to the stone age. All parties in the house of commons need to show leadership to fight climate change while supporting Canadians with affordability challenges,” he said on X.

Newfoundland and Labrador MP Ken McDonald, the only Liberal MP to vote in favour of the Conservatives’ Oct. 4 motion on axing the carbon tax, did not vote in favour of the motion on Nov. 6.

Following the vote, Conservative whip Kerry Lynne-Findlay rose on a point of order to accuse Mr. McDonald of “giving the finger” to Conservatives during the vote.

“He gave the finger to the senior choosing between heating and eating, he gave the finger to all those struggling to make ends meet in an unaffordable Canada. He gave the finger to all Canadians,” Ms. Lynne-Findlay said.

“I scratched the side of my head. If they think it was one finger, that’s up to them,” Mr. McDonald responded.

Mr. McDonald previously said he voted in favour of the motion to scrap the carbon tax because the policy is hurting rural Canadians and reducing the Liberals’ chances of being re-elected.

“I think what we’re using right now, at this time, at this point in time, is putting a bigger burden on people who are now struggling with an affordability crisis,” he said on CBC’s “Power and Politics” on Oct. 6.

‘Jurisdictional Imbalances’

The issue of the tax exemption for heating oil has been a highly divisive one, with Western premiers saying it’s unfair to their provinces because that’s not the primary method of heating in their jurisdiction, unlike the Atlantic provinces.

Last week, the finance ministers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta said the federal government’s decision to pause the tax on home heating oil has created “jurisdictional imbalances.”

“We urge the federal government to eliminate the carbon tax to ensure fairness and ease financial pressure on Canadians,” they said in a Nov. 3 statement.

In addition, B.C. Premier David Eby said that it’s not fair that his province isn’t getting relief to the same extent as Atlantic Canada.

Mr. Moe has said that his province won’t be collecting the federal carbon tax on natural gas in January if the federal government doesn’t extend the exemption to all forms of home heating fuel.

“Home heating oil is used primarily in one part of the country, and it has higher greenhouse gas emissions than other heat sources like natural gas that is used in most Saskatchewan homes,” he said in a video posted on social media on Oct. 30. “So the prime minister chose to make life more affordable for families in one part of the country while leaving Saskatchewan families out in the cold.”

The federal government has said that there will be no more exemptions.

“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.”

Chandra Philip contributed to this report.