Justin Trudeau has said he sympathizes with the NDP and its leader Jagmeet Singh amid “political pressure” over the carbon tax.
Speaking in Vaughan, Ontario, he said it was “unfortunate” the Conservatives’ arguments against the carbon tax “appear to be resonating with the NDP.”
The Tories, who are ahead of the Liberals in all major national polls, have made “axing the tax” one of their priorities since Pierre Poilievre became leader in 2022.
On Wednesday, the Commons passed a motion calling on Trudeau to meet with premiers for a televised meeting about the carbon tax. The NDP, who prop up the minority Liberal government, supported the motion.
“I feel for the NDP and for Jagmeet,” the prime minister said today.
“This is a hard moment. There are political headwinds. There is a lot of political pressure. I'm certainly feeling it.
“Everyone should be feeling it by folks out there who are worried about affordability, who are worried about climate change; and my perspective is this is a time to actually do more to fight climate change, not less, to do more to put money in people’s pockets.”
He added: "I understand the political pressures on the NDP leadership right now and the challenges of holding an unpopular position, but doing the right thing should be something progressive voters in this country can count on."
Trudeau repeated his claim that the carbon tax pays out more to most families than it costs them, this time adding that the tax is an “affordability measure” as well as a tool for fighting climate change.
The Conservatives reject that claim, and say instead the tax is making life harder for Canadians who are already struggling after years of elevated inflation.
Defenders of the tax – including Trudeau – argue that by making carbon-emitting energy more expensive, people will use it less, and thus carbon emissions will be reduced.
Canada was responsible for 1.41 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions in 2022, according to the European Union’s emissions database.
Just four countries – China, the US, India and Russia – were responsible for the majority of the world’s carbon emissions in 2022.
The New Democrats have long been supporters of the carbon tax, and even campaigned on it in the 2019 election.
But this week the party shifted its position, saying carbon pricing is not the "be−all, end−all" and encouraging premiers to come up with new ideas to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
The Tories have introduced more than 20 motions in the Commons under Poilievre to scrap the federal carbon price.
The NDP voted against all but two of them.
"But now, as Jagmeet Singh’s popularity nosedives and six NDP members of Parliament announced that they are abandoning Singh’s sinking ship, Singh has decided that the carbon tax is hurting Canadians after all," the Conservatives said in a statement Friday.
"It’s clear that Jagmeet Singh is a weak leader who is desperate to run from his own record."
The NDP has made major policy gains as part of its political pact with Trudeau’s minority Liberals.
But New Democrats haven’t translated wins on national pharmacare or dental−care programs into polling success.
The Conservatives, meanwhile, are eyeing NDP seats in British Columbia and northern Ontario, where their relentless campaigning on cost−of−living issues and the Liberal price on pollution are resonating.
Singh, however, said the NDP has not changed its policy, though he wouldn’t say if he supports the federal carbon price.
"New Democrats are looking at ways to make life more affordable for people and fight the climate crisis with the urgency required," Singh said in a statement that didn’t directly address Trudeau’s comments.
He also rebuked the Conservatives — accusing the party of ignoring climate change — as well as the Liberals, saying they are using the climate debate to divide the country.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives argue that Singh is trying to mislead Canadians on his record of supporting the policy.
"But we won’t let him forget, and we won’t let him try to fool Canadians," Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a post on X.
The Tories were no less determined Friday to make life difficult for the governing party, triggering a flurry of votes in order to stall progress on a Liberal bill the Grits claim will create sustainable jobs.
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