Tory Motion to Halt Carbon Tax Hike Defeated in House

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 13, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

MPs have rejected a non-binding motion encouraging the federal government to halt the 23 percent increase in the carbon tax scheduled for April 1.

The motion was defeated by a vote of 205 to 119, with only the Tories voting in favour and the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois voting against.

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre introduced the motion earlier this week to stop the annual carbon price increase, which is set to rise to $80 per tonne on April 1 from the current $65 per tonne.

Several MPs were absent from the vote, including Liberal MP Ken McDonald, who had previously voted in favour of a Conservative motion to scrap the federal carbon tax.

Also absent from the voting procedure was another Liberal MP, Anthony Housefather, who has lately been at odds with his party’s stance on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. He voted against his fellow Liberals earlier this week on an NDP motion regarding the recognition of a Palestinian state which had then been heavily amended by the Liberals.

While the Tory motion to stop the carbon tax hike failed in the House of Commons, Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged to further pursue the issue by threatening to call for a formal vote of non-confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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Mr. Poilievre stated in a speech to the Tory caucus on March 20 that his party would present the motion if Prime Minister Trudeau and his government refused to scrap the 23 percent 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.

“And call for the House to be dissolved so that Canadians can vote in a carbon tax election.”

As with the defeat of the motion on March 20, 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.

According to recent polling, the majority of Canadians are opposed to a carbon tax hike, with one survey saying nearly 7 in 10 Canadians nationwide are against the tax hike.