Trudeau Defends Carbon Tax That Some Liberal Leadership Candidates May Run Against

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the media after a meeting with Jay Timmons, president and CEO of The National Association of Manufacturers, in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9, 2025. The Associated Press/Jose Luis Magana

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to news that Liberal leadership hopefuls Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney may remove the federal carbon levy, saying he is “very proud” of the government’s record on climate change policies.

“Obviously, people running in elections and running for the leadership will be able to put forward their own ideas about how to fight climate change,” Trudeau told reporters during a Jan. 16 press conference in Windsor, Ont.

“I’m very, very proud of our record of standing up and fighting climate change and making life more affordable for Canadians.”

Citing unnamed sources, CTV News and Toronto Star reported on Jan. 16 that leadership contenders Freeland, Trudeau’s former deputy prime minister and minister of finance, and Carney, former governor of Bank of Canada, would drop consumer carbon pricing if elected leader, and instead focus on industrial emitters. Carney said during a recent appearance on The Daily Show that Canada needed to have a carbon pricing system where “Canadians today are not paying the price.”

Both candidates have previously supported the federal carbon tax, with Freeland saying in June 2024 that she was confident the carbon tax “helps middle-class Canadians” and Carney saying in his book published in 2021 that the country’s carbon pricing system was “a model for others.”

The carbon tax came into effect at $20 per tonne in 2019 and has slowly climbed in the years since. It is scheduled to go up another $15 each year until 2030, when it reaches $170 a tonne.

The Conservative Party has been highly critical of the carbon tax, repeatedly calling for an “Axe The Tax” federal election.

When Trudeau was asked how he felt that his carbon tax would be coming to an end, he responded that he was “not spending any time right now reflecting on my legacy.” The prime minister said he was focused on the threat of tariffs from incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as “increasing challenges from climate change at home and around the world.”

“Future governments will make the choices they make, but Canadians can know that it is possible to both fight climate change and put more money in the pockets of the middle class at the same time,” he said.

Trump has said he will impose “significant tariffs” on Canada and Mexico when he becomes president on Jan. 20 unless they take action to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs to the United States through their borders. In response, Canada recently announced a $1.3 billion border security plan, which includes the creation of a new North American task force targeting organized crime and synthetic drug trafficking, and deploying more equipment.

Trudeau said Ottawa had taken steps to strengthen the border, but said it would be up to the Trump administration to decide “whether or not they want to move forward with tariffs that will be raising prices for American consumers and harming one of the strongest economic relationships in the world.”