NDP-backed Conservative motion to expand carbon tax carve-out to all home heating defeated in the House

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's non-binding motion calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to extend the carbon tax pause on home heating oil to all forms of home heating failed to pass Monday.

The Bloc Quebecois and Green MPs sided with the Liberal caucus in voting to defeat the Conservative proposal, which had the atypical backing of the NDP.

Ultimately, the motion was defeated 186 to 135. Trudeau cast his "nay" vote virtually. 

While the motion would not have forced the federal government to change its policy, had Poilievre secured the backing of the Bloc, it could have become a political pressure point by allowing the opposition parties to note that the majority of the House wanted the Liberals to act.

• Climate Barometer newsletter: Sign up for more on how a warming planet impacts you

• Capital Dispatch: Sign up for in-depth political coverage of Parliament Hill

However, that wasn't in the cards. As Bloc MPs noted, the motion would have "no impact on Quebec" given the federal carbon tax is not in effect in that province.

That's because this temporary break, as well as the Canada-wide doubling of the rural top-up to the carbon price rebate, only apply to the jurisdictions where the federal carbon tax is in effect: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, the Yukon, and Nunavut.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said his caucus would "not do as the NDP and vote strangely, with the Conservatives."

"The environment is not a fancy thing that you entertain between crises," Blanchet said. "It is in and by itself a very important issue, and we have to be constant and patient and determined in those matters."

Defending his decision to back the proposal, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — who also voted virtually — told reporters that while he was reluctant, his party voted "yea" to reject the Liberals' "ridiculous" approach.

"We reject absolutely the Liberals' divisive plan. We think it's unfair. It pits regions against each other, and so we're voting to reject the Liberals divisive plan," Singh said. "We do believe in fighting the climate crisis, unlike the Conservatives."

Now, the NDP will be trying to advance their own proposal, with a debate Tuesday and forced vote in the coming days, on a call for the removal of the GST off home heating. 

Reacting to the news that he would not have the votes, Poilievre accused the Bloc during question period of wanting to increase taxes, whereas the Conservatives are pushing to "axe the tax" entirely if elected.

The Conservative leader also suggested the Quebec-based party had forged its own "coalition" with the government, a reference to the supply-and-confidence arrangement that remains in place between the minority Liberals and the NDP. Monday's vote was not a confidence matter.

Taking aim at Trudeau's absence from the Commons on Monday, Poilievre was critical of the prime minister for implementing the pause "for three per cent of Canadians in ridings where his polls are plummeting and his MPs are revolting," which the federal party picked up on in their promptly-sent fundraising email decrying the outcome.

"He's now signed on with the separatists to divide Canadians into two separate classes, those who will have to pay carbon tax on their heat, and a small minority who will get a pause from the pain," Poilievre said in a post-vote press conference.

The last time the Conservatives advanced a similar motion seeking a tax exemption on home heating fuel, both the Bloc and NDP rejected the proposal, and there was one Liberal dissenter: MP Ken McDonald. 

This time, the Liberal caucus was united in rejecting the motion, as Trudeau and his lead ministers on the file have already asserted there will be no more carve-outs to their marquee climate policy. 

But McDonald's decision Monday didn't come without acrimony. Immediately following the vote, a point of order was raised by Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay alleging that during the vote, the Atlantic MP had given "the finger" to his opposition colleagues across the aisle.

McDonald disputed this, stating he had "scratched the side of my head with two fingers."

House Speaker Greg Fergus has taken the matter under review, the latest in a series of breakdowns in decorum displayed this session.

Monday's vote came amid ongoing pressure from premiers who feel this affordability-focused easing off unveiled 10 days ago should apply equally across the country to folks using other forms of heating, and not just in Atlantic Canada where this relief will predominanty be felt. 

The federal government has argued that the specific focus on home heating oil is because it is considerably more emitting and expensive than the energy sources other households use to stay warm, such as natural gas.

"For members living in Ontario, I want them to know that if they have people using home heating oil, they are paying on average, $3,400 a year on that oil. For those on natural gas, it is $900 a year. Therefore, oil is almost four times the amount," said Liberal MP Kody Blois during Thursday's debate on the opposition motion. "In… Saskatchewan it is the same thing, $1,400 for natural gas on a yearly basis compared $4,500 for heating oil."

Premiers gathered in Halifax on Monday, where the current consternation over the carbon price was a central part of the conversation, seeing provincial leaders unite in calling for a level playing field when it comes to federal home heating help.

"It wasn't a discussion about, you know, the merits or lack of merits of the policy itself. But, it was a discussion just simply about fairness for … all Canadian families and in how they heat their homes," said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, in an interview on CTV's Power Play with Vassy Kapelos.

He noted plans within his province are being made to pass legislation to enable SaskEnergy to stop collecting the federal carbon tax on residential heating, despite it being against federal law.

Asked to comment on Monday, Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he disagrees with those characterizing the move as unfair in terms of regional representation, as the heating oil and accompanying heat pump replacement plan will apply across the country.