Liberal government has 'no intention' of pausing next carbon tax increase, Guilbeault says

Power Play: One-on-one with environment minister Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault discusses if a carbon tax increase will be paused in Canada.

The federal government has “no intention” of pausing the next planned increase to the consumer carbon price, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault confirms despite the policy’s unpopularity.

In an interview with CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos, he asserted the controversial price on carbon continues to be a necessary measure to combat climate change and there is no chance his government won’t increase the tax on April 1.

“2024 is already the costliest summer year so far in terms of environmental impacts due to climate change,” Guilbeault told Kapelos. “So, we need to keep acting, because otherwise we'll never see the end of it.”

This past April, the carbon price increased from $65 per tonne to $80 per tonne, costing drivers an extra 3.3 cents per litre at the pump. The carbon tax is scheduled to increase another $15 each year until it reaches $170 a tonne in 2030, according to federal government targets.

The policy has been one of the Conservative Party’s main lines of attack against the Liberals, with repeated calls from Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre to “axe the tax.” Poilievre says his party is pushing to give Canadians a carbon tax election as soon as possible through a vote of non-confidence in the government, set to happen Wednesday in the House of Commons. The carbon price has also received significant pushback from most premiers, including Liberal Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey.

Most recently, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh even signalled he could be distancing himself from the policy. He said his party is working on a climate plan that wouldn’t put the burden on the backs of workers, but he would not say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.

B.C. NDP Premier David Eby, who is in the middle of an election campaign, also said he would eliminate the province’s consumer carbon tax if the federal government scraps the requirement to tax carbon emissions.

Guilbeault maintains if there is an alternative measure to fight climate change more effectively than the carbon price, that would come at no cost to taxpayers while also enabling the government to reduce 10 per cent of Canada’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, he would take it “right away.”

When asked by Kapelos if the carbon tax will continue to increase beyond the current 2030 goalpost, Guilbeault admitted there is a chance it won’t be necessary.

“If we come to the conclusion that we don't need to keep increasing it and that emissions will continue to go down because of all the other things we're doing, then there's no reason to continue increasing it,” he said.

You can watch CTV Power Play’s full interview with Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault at the top of this article.