A Conservative government would repeal the entire carbon price law, Leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday on a visit to a steel mill in eastern Ontario.
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Poilievre’s pledge comes three days after Prime Minister Mark Carney began the process to end the consumer carbon price by enacting a regulation to set the price charged on fuels like gasoline and propane to zero as of April 1.
Poilievre said that if the Liberals are serious about ending the charge, they would recall Parliament and do it through legislation. All three opposition parties have pledged to bring down the Liberal government at their earliest opportunity, and it is widely expected Carney will call an election before the House is set to resume on March 24.
To reduce emissions, Poilievre said his government would “expand eligibility” for the clean technology and clean manufacturing tax credits. He added his government would “reward” businesses that made products with lower emissions than the world average.
“While the Liberals tax businesses who use energy, Conservatives will cut taxes and boost incentives for those who bring down emissions; carrot not stick,” Poilievre said.
The Liberals introduced the clean technology and clean technology manufacturing tax credits in the last two years to help drive investment to the production and operation of things like solar power, battery storage or manufacturing systems that make clean technology such as industrial robots that make electric vehicles.
The industrial pricing system applies to businesses that emit over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Facilities that are below their emissions limit can earn credits that can be sold or saved for later use in more emission intensive periods.
Only Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Yukon and Nunavut use the federal industrial pricing system.
Other provinces have their own carbon pricing schemes but they must meet the minimum requirements of the federal system, including the price charged per tonne of emissions. Right now, it is $80 per tonne and is scheduled to increase to $95 per tonne on April 1.
Poilievre said that provinces would be free to do what they want with an industrial carbon price, but there would be no more federal backstop.
Last March, the Canadian Climate Institute published a report that said the industrial carbon price is expected to do more to reduce Canadian emissions between 2025 and 2030 than any other climate program — about 80 million tonnes a year by 2030, or almost one-third of what Canada has to cut to meet its current 2030 emissions target.
The consumer price was expected to eliminate less than 20 million tonnes by comparison.
Dale Beugin, Canadian Climate Institute executive vice president, said that the industrial price is the “most important” Canadian policy in terms of emissions reduction.
He added that the carbon credit program is designed to promote business competitiveness and removing it could harm Canadian firms.
“Some of our biggest alternative markets, which increasingly matter for Canada, like the (European Union), like the U.K., are thinking about carbon border adjustments. That’s imposing tariffs on emissions intensity of exports to those countries,” Beugin said.
“And this policy creates an incentive for Canadian firms to compete better in those markets where they are valuing carbon.”
Beugin also questioned the business aspect of this policy proposal, as carbon credits are an asset that can be traded in industrial markets.
Laurel Collins, the NDP’s environment critic, said in a media state that regular Canadians pay for the brunt of climate change through dealing with floods and other disasters so it’s “baffling” to offer oil and gas companies tax breaks.
“In the climate crisis and the fight for Canadian workers, we have to put workers first. We can create good jobs by investing in building an East-West energy grid for electricity transmission. We can fight the climate crisis and make big polluters pay,” she said.
Greenpeace Canada was quick to criticize the announcement, saying that it would protect “big polluters.”
“This lets Poilievre’s backers in the oil industry off the hook for doing their fair share to fight climate change, while regular people are left to pay the cost in the form of ever-stronger wildfires, floods and storms,” Keith Stewart, Greenpeace Canada’s senior energy strategist said in a media statement.
When asked about commitments to emission targets, Poilievre did not mention specific targets. Instead, the Conservative leader said the best way of encouraging global emission reductions is expanding Canadian industry.
“I don’t think it is an achievement to shut down a Canadian steel mill, and then open one up in China that produces 10 or 20 times more emissions for each unit of steel. What we need to do is recognize the best way to reduce emissions is to bring home clean production here,” Poilievre said.
Currently, the federal government’s emission target of seeing a 40 to 45 per cent reductions of emissions by 2030 when compared to 2005 levels is tied to the Paris Agreement.
The longer-term goal is for a net-zero economy by 2050.
The Conservatives have also pledged to eliminate the emissions cap on oil and gas industry and legislation the Liberals passed to keep oil tankers away from British Columbia’s northern coast.
