Canada’s heated political conflict over carbon pricing to continue into 2024 – National

Canada’s price on pollution is supposed to help battle global warming, but as it nears its fifth anniversary, nothing in Canadian politics is hotter.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has so successfully convinced Canadians the carbon price is to blame for inflation that he even earned begrudging respect for his “axe the tax” campaign from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Of course, Trudeau doesn’t agree with Poilievre’s sentiment.

But he has acknowledged the Tory leader’s message is working in an atmosphere where the cost of living is dominating the discussion around most dinner tables, as it has for months, if not years.

Trudeau was even convinced to upend his signature climate policy in October, removing it from heating oil for three years following relentless pressure from his Atlantic caucus and a nosedive in polling support on the East Cost.

There are some arguments for the move. Heating oil costs four times more than natural gas, so while carbon pricing was designed to create more reasons to switch to greener fuels, the incentive was already there.

But the reaction was swift. Premiers in other provinces immediately demanded the same treatment for natural gas, which is more prominent as a heating source outside of Atlantic Canada.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is pledging to simply stop collecting the carbon price for the federal government in January.

The new premier of the Northwest Territories demanded a full exemption from carbon pricing for his communities, noting fuel has been so expensive in the North for so long that if there were alternatives, people already would have made the switch.

And First Nations in Ontario launched a lawsuit arguing they’re being left out of the carbon price rebate program, because people only get it if they file federal income taxes. Many people working on reserves do not.

Meanwhile, a Conservative private member’s bill bill looking for an exemption for carbon pricing on natural gas and propane used on farms shot into the spotlight, as Poilievre made passing it a priority.

Bill C-234 passed the Senate in mid-December with multiple amendments that require it to go back to the House of Commons for another vote.

The amendments now limit that bill to temporarily exempting propane used for drying grain. If it passes with support from the Conservatives, NDP and…