Joint Letter From Premiers to Trudeau Calls for End to Federal Carbon Tax on Home Heating

The flags of provinces and territories are displayed before a question session with premiers on the final day of a meeting of Canada's premiers in Victoria, B.C., on July 12, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito)

Five premiers have sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging him to remove the carbon tax from all forms of home heating.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston signed the letter calling for equitable treatment for Canadians.

The letter, which was posted on social media by several of the premiers, comes after Mr. Trudeau put a pause on home heating oil—a move that largely benefits Atlantic Canada where 30 percent of homes rely on oil for heat.

Mr. Trudeau has rejected calls to eliminate the tax on other forms of home heating. However, the premiers say the move is not fair to Canadians.

“It is of vital importance that federal policies and programs are made available to all Canadians in a fair and equitable way. By singling out Atlantic Canadians with this relief, it has caused divisions across the country,” the premiers wrote.

“We are calling on the federal government to do the right thing and treat all Canadians fairly by removing the federal carbon tax from all forms of home heating. This would help address the significant affordability concerns faced by families from coast to coast to coast.”

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The Epoch Times reached out to the prime minister’s office and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault but did not immediately hear back.

Mr. Guilbeault has said that maintaining the scheme is important because “climate change costs Canadians more every year.”

“We can’t go back to the stone age,” he said on X on Nov. 6, adding that all political parties should “show leadership to fight climate change while supporting Canadians with affordability challenges.”

‘Dividing Canadians’

Sharing the joint letter on social media, Mr. Houston reiterated the call for the exemption to be extended to all forms of home heating.

“Today, I wrote to the PM along with the Premiers of Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick calling for a meeting on carbon tax fairness for all Canadian households,” he said on X on Nov. 10.

Ms. Smith also posted a copy of the letter on X and called for Mr. Trudeau to “stop dividing Canadians” and “apply the carbon tax equally.”

“We urgently request the Prime Minister to meet with us to resolve this growing issue,” she wrote.

Mr. Moe, who said his government would not collect the carbon tax on home heating sources in his province starting in the new year, posted that the pause on carbon tax needs to be extended immediately.

“We believe the carbon tax exemption on home heating oil needs to be immediately extended to all forms of home heating,” he said in a Nov. 10 post on X.

“Will [Justin Trudeau] listen, or will he continue to leave most Canadian families out in the cold this winter?”

In a Nov. 6 post on X, Mr. Ford said all Canadians deserve a break.

“It’s time for the federal government to do the fair thing and cut the carbon tax on all forms of home heating,” he said.

The move by the premiers follows a joint statement on Nov. 3 by the provincial finance ministers, which said Mr. Trudeau’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 the statement.

They also said the carbon tax was having a “disproportionate impact on affordability” on Canadians without creating options “for people to move away from fossil fuels.”

The premiers have also called for a meeting with the prime minister to discuss the issue.

A recent Leger poll commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation found that 57 percent of those surveyed want the carbon tax removed from all home heating sources. Twenty-one percent oppose the extension of the tax pause and 22 percent said they were unsure.