Ottawa, ON – After nine years, the NDP-Liberal carbon tax has impoverished Canadians. But yesterday, Trudeau’s radical Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, said “of course we’re going to continue with the carbon tax…”
If Justin Trudeau goes ahead with his plan to quadruple the carbon tax to 61 cents a litre, it would push our economy into a tailspin. The carbon tax has always been an irresponsible policy, but combining this crippling tax increase with President Trump’s threat of a 25 percent tariff would cause our economy to teeter on the brink of collapse.
The Liberal-NDP carbon tax has made our economy less competitive. Businesses in the United States do not have to pay a carbon tax while Canadian businesses have been squeezed. Before Trudeau, we got more investment from the US than they took from us. But since Trudeau, nearly a half-trillion dollars of our money has poured south to create jobs for American workers.
Guilbeault knows that the carbon tax is hurting Canadians. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has already confirmed that Canadians suffer a “net cost” from Trudeau’s current carbon tax, with Canadians paying far more in taxes than they will ever receive in rebates. In fact, the NDP-Liberal tax will cost the average person $652 in Newfoundland and Labrador, $575 in PEI, $580 in Nova Scotia, $457 in New Brunswick, $903 in Ontario, $693 in Manitoba, $894 in Saskatchewan, and $697 in Alberta.
On top of this, the Fraser Institute has reported that Trudeau’s carbon tax will lead to 57,000 fewer jobs, meaning Canadians will have fewer opportunities to earn a paycheque while the price of food and gas surges. It will also reduce Canada’s GDP by 6.2 percent by 2030.
Trudeau and Guilbeault must stop pretending that their punishing carbon tax will somehow make Canadians better off. Only Common Sense Conservatives will bring home powerful paycheques and lower prices by axing the carbon tax for all Canadians.