'We expect better': BC government blindsided by Trudeau's carbon tax announcement

The British Columbia government has expressed frustration with Justin Trudeau after the prime minister announced a pause to the federal carbon tax on home heating oil.

Trudeau said on Thursday that the federal government would suspend carbon pricing on home heating oil from next month through to March 31, 2027 and double the rural supplement in the rebate system.

The policy, which does not apply to BC because it has its own carbon tax, is designed to speed up the adoption of electric heat pumps in rural areas.

In response to the announcement, BC’s energy and environment ministers issued a somewhat sour statement yesterday, explaining: “We just learned of this federal announcement, which is unfortunate, because BC is leading Canada with our CleanBC climate action plan.”

We’re doubling the rural-top up on the pollution price rebate, temporarily pausing the federal price on pollution for heating oil, and helping Atlantic Canadians switch to an electric heat pump. More on how we’re delivering support on your energy bills: https://t.co/Rh9PENQon0 pic.twitter.com/sSgQhavz3J

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 26, 2023

The ministers – Josie Osborne and George Heyman – added: “We expect better partnership from the federal government.

“When it comes to heat pumps, we’ve long been pushing the federal government for exactly this sort of joint rebate for people switching from heating oil. We expect the federal government to get this done without any further delay.”

The duo said that, even though home heating oil is “less common in BC than other parts of the country,” some residents “still rely on that.”

“We will be taking action in BC,” they explained.

BC residents can currently claim a combined rebate of up to $6,000 from BC Hydro and CleanBC to switch from a fossil fuel heating system to an electric heat pump.