Canada has another carbon tax. Poilievre wants to axe it, too
With the consumer levy nullified, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has the industrial carbon price in...
It’s official: voters across Canada will head to the polls this spring in the 2025 federal election.
Election day is April 28, with advanced voting kicking off on April 18.
The lead-up to this year’s federal vote has been a whirlwind, beginning with Justin Trudeau announcing his resignation in January. Soon after, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on Canada, upending cross-border relations with a trade war that could have impacts on potash, farming and electricity sharing — and who Canadians elect to government.
A Liberal leadership race saw Mark Carney, former governor of the central banks of England and Canada, take the helm of the party, which has been in power since 2015. Carney became prime minister on March 9.
Opposing him are Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party, along with Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and Green Party co-leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault.
National polling averages show Carney’s Liberals and Poilievre’s Conservatives in a neck-and-neck federal election race — a big change from the bleak political outlook the Liberals appeared to be facing in the lead-up to Trudeau’s exit.
You might have heard of it: there’s an emissions pricing scheme known as a carbon tax — which includes a levy for consumers purchasing fossil fuels like gasoline and natural gas — that has divided Canada for the last six years and became a key driver of Trudeau’s unpopularity. There’s also an industrial levy on emissions, but it’s far less contentious (despite Poilievre’s best efforts).
The Conservative leader has made cancelling carbon pricing the core of his national campaign, donning an “axe the tax” T-shirt from Toronto to Iqaluit. But the cause took a hit after Carney moved the consumer carbon price to $0 just hours after being sworn in as prime minister.
Other issues that have made the news in the runup to the 2025 federal election are Arctic sovereignty and protection, critical minerals and their role in the energy transition and, of course, Canada’s slightly icy relationship with the U.S. (Okay, it’s not that slight.)
In the wake of Trump’s tariff threats, there will likely also be an election conversation about oil and gas, as leaders look to reach new markets for the fossil fuels and reduce Canada’s dependence on the U.S.
Read on for The Narwhal’s latest coverage of the federal election campaign.
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Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. On March 17, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre...
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