Environment Minister Guilbeault Says He’s a ‘Proud Socialist’

The minister has an activist background which includes working for environmental groups before entering politics in 2019.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 16, 2023. The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told the House of Commons he is a socialist during debates around the carbon tax.

“I’m a Liberal and a proud socialist,” Mr. Guilbeault said on Nov. 7 in response to a question from Conservative MP Ted Falk.

“This reminds me of a certain quote from Prime Minister Harper who talked about the fight against climate change as a socialist plot,” he added. “Here it is, you have it again Mr. Speaker. They do not believe that climate change is an issue. They do not believe we should do anything about it.”

Socialism is a system in which the means of production are controlled by the government. Marxists consider socialism as a step toward communism, or the abolition of private property.

“After eight years, we now have the socialists, the separatists, and this prime minister who’s just not worth the cost,” said Mr. Falk, prompting Mr. Guilbeault’s response.

“They’re all part of this costly carbon tax coalition that is leaving Canadians out in the cold.”

The Conservatives have repeatedly pressed on the issue of the carbon tax, which adds surcharges to different types of fuels in most provinces. They have accused other opposition parties of propping up the government on the issue.

The most recent Conservative motion targeting the tax was focused on extending the three-year pause on home heating oil to all forms of heating before winter comes. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the pause on Oct. 26.

The motion was defeated on Nov. 6, but it received the support of the NDP, which up to this point had always voted against the Tories’ carbon tax motions. The NDP has a supply-and-confidence agreement to keep the minority Liberals in power until 2025, in exchange for social program investments.

The Bloc Québécois voted against the motion, helping the Liberals defeat it. The Bloc supports the federal carbon tax even though Quebec has its own provincial carbon price scheme.

The Tories and the NDP have accused the Liberals of picking favourites in their decision to exempt heating oil from the carbon tax. Liberal MPs from Atlantic ridings lobbied for the measure, which will mainly impact that area.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the program “divides the country.”

Activist Background

Mr. Guilbeault worked for environmental groups before entering politics in 2019. He established the Quebec-based Équiterre, and in 2001 he scaled the CN Tower in Toronto under the Greenpeace banner to protest Canada’s failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

He told CTV News in April that the carbon tax is a wealth redistribution scheme. “The people who are paying are the richest among us, which is exactly how the system was designed,” said the minister.

“When you look at the details, the better-off Canadians, richer Canadians, in the jurisdictions where the federal pricing system is being applied, will pay thousands of dollars more in carbon pricing.”

Mr. Guilbeault also said earlier this year that Canadians shouldn’t complain about paying for the carbon tax since it will help save on paying for more costly disaster relief caused by climate change-induced disasters.

“When we talk about the cost of measures to address climate change, we have to realize that Canadians are paying a very high price tag for the impacts of climate change,” he said on Sept. 13.

A few days earlier, Mr. Guilbeault had crashed the Conservative Party convention in Quebec City to attack his rivals on climate-change issues.

He said Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre is “very easy to attack on the environment” because he “does not believe in climate change.”

During question period on Nov. 7, the Liberals repeated multiple times this narrative that the Conservatives are not concerned about the issue of climate change.

The Tories have built a double-digit lead in the polls in recent months, with a message centred on affordability.

Mr. Poilievre has not rejected the claims of man-made climate change but has said that taxation is not a good option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, he is proposing a focus on technology and the reduction of red tape on green energy projects.

The Tory leader has denounced Marxist ideologies multiple times in the past.

“May we forever remain on guard against fascism, communism, and all other forms of socialism,” he said on Aug. 23 on Black Ribbon Day, the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Nazism and Communism in Europe.