The election hasn’t even been called yet but it has already likely killed the federal carbon tax. Depending on who you ask, the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, as it was officially named when it was established in 2018, is either a creative way to motivate Canadians to conserve energy and use renewable sources or a heavy-handed, nanny-state intervention that punishes people struggling to pay the bills. It’s terribly polarizing.
Pierre Poilievre rose to prominence on his “axe the tax” slogan. He calls Mark Carney “Carbon Tax Carney” as an insult. Rumours are that when Chrystia Freeland enters the race for Liberal leadership, she will distance herself from the act, and that Carney might abandon it, too.
Ditching the carbon tax would be bad news for Canada and the planet, says Kathryn Harrison, a professor of political science at UBC. In an essay for the annual Maclean’s Year Ahead issue, Harrison argues that the tax has a lot going for it. “Axing the tax,” she warns, “will reinforce the myth that we can meet our climate goals at no inconvenience to everyday Canadians.”
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—Sarah Fulford, editor-in-chief, Maclean’s
