Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to move a motion of non-confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and call for a “carbon tax election” if the Liberal government goes ahead with its planned carbon tax increase.
“Today I’m announcing that if Trudeau does not declare today an end to his forthcoming tax increases on food, gas and heat, that we will introduce a motion of non-confidence in the prime minister,” he said.
Mr. Poilievre listed the increased costs that families in each province are expected to pay due to the carbon tax increase and said that Canadians will pay more than they get back in government rebates, citing figures from the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
After accusing Mr. Trudeau and his government of not being upfront about the costs of the carbon tax, the Tory leader also accused the media of “disinformation” on the subject, saying “state-controlled media” is “telling people they’re getting more than they’re paying when exactly the opposite is true.”
The Liberal government has said that around 8 in 10 households in Canada will get more back in rebates than they pay in carbon taxes, with Mr. Trudeau touting the figure after Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey called for the tax hike to be delayed last week.
Mr. Poilievre is unlikely to succeed with his proposed motion to dissolve Parliament as the Liberal government and its NDP allies have a supply-and-confidence agreement to keep the minority Liberals in power until 2025.
The deal was under strain recently with doubts over whether the Liberals would keep their end of the bargain to enact pharmacare legislation as part of the agreement with the NDP. The Liberals tabled their pharmacare legislation before the March deadline.
The alliance between the two parties has remained strong throughout another recent vote on the topic of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, with the Liberals supporting a non-binding motion introduced by the NDP. The Liberals amended the NDP motion, which sought to recognize Palestinian statehood, by removing this clause to instead focus on promoting a two-state solution.
While the carbon tax and its April 1 hike are opposed by the Tories, along with several parties on the provincial level, the carbon tax is supported by all of the parties in the House of Commons except for the Tories.
The Tories have a large lead over other parties in recent polling, with surveys showing that the majority of Canadians are opposed to the carbon tax increase.
