Trudeau’s environment minister says he’s ‘forced to recognize’ carbon tax ‘very unpopular’

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault talks about his endorsement of Mark Carney for the Liberal leadership and its implications on carbon pricing in Canada.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault says he’s been “forced to recognize” the carbon tax has become “very unpopular.”

“Of course, I would like for the consumer component of pricing to continue moving forward, but the reality is that it’s not supported by the NDP. Even some environmental organizations are telling me, ‘listen minister, it’s too unpopular and we have other tools,‘” Guilbeault told Vassy Kapelos in an interview on CTV’s Power Play Wednesday.

When asked by Kapelos why he’s turning away from a policy he’s defended for years, Guilbeault added his government’s climate plan doesn’t rest on one single measure.

“I mean, obviously we have the industrial component of carbon pricing, which gives us about three times more pollution reduction than the consumer one,” he said. “So we have other tools at our disposal to continue fighting climate change.”

On Tuesday, Guilbeault announced he is endorsing former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney as the next Liberal leader, and said he is willing to work with him on finding a replacement for the consumer carbon tax.

Though he hasn’t directly said he would scrap the policy, Carney has signalled he is open to alternatives.

“The fact that the leadership candidates have said that they wanted to reconsider the consumer portion of carbon pricing, I mean, I basically have two choices here: I can stay in the party and continue help fighting to protect the environment, fighting climate change, or go pack my bags and go home,” Guilbeault said.

When talking about a cap on oil and gas emissions, Guilbeault attested both he and Carney agree it is a good piece of policy.

“Every sector should do their fair share when it comes to reducing their pollution, and certainly the oil and gas sector should do that as well. And I have spoken with Mark Carney about that, and he shares my belief on that,” he said. “So we are committed to continue moving forward with that.”

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