L'ORIGNAL, Ont. — A Conservative government would repeal the entire carbon price law for consumers and big industry, Leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday on a visit to a steel mill in Eastern Ontario.
Poilievre's pledge comes three days after Prime Minister Mark Carney began the process to end the consumer carbon price by enacting a regulation to set the price charged on fuels like gasoline and propane to zero as of April 1.
Poilievre said that if the Liberals are serious about ending the charge, they would recall Parliament and do it through legislation. All three opposition parties have pledged to bring down the Liberal government at their earliest opportunity, and it is widely expected Carney will call an election before the House is set to resume on March 24.
To reduce emissions, Poilievre said his government would "expand eligibility" for the clean technology and clean manufacturing tax credits. He added his government would "reward" businesses that made products with lower emissions than the world average.
"While the Liberals tax businesses who use energy, Conservatives will cut taxes and boost incentives for those who bring down emissions; carrot not stick," Poilievre said.
The Liberals introduced the clean technology and clean technology manufacturing tax credits in the last two years to help drive investment to the production and operation of things like solar power, battery storage or manufacturing systems that make clean technology such as industrial robots that make electric vehicles.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson called Poilievre's proposal "bad policy" from an environmental and economic perspective.
"(Mr. Poilievre) should actually have a look at what's happening with things like border carbon adjustments in Europe, where they are going to be looking at the carbon content in order to actually be able to have goods that actually are exported there," Wilkinson said.
"Otherwise, they're going to get tariffed. So, it's just so silly what he is proposing."
The European Union is planning to start charging importers a tariff next year on carbon intensive goods like steel if they come from a jurisdiction that lacks a carbon price.
The industrial pricing system applies to businesses that emit over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Facilities that are below their emissions limit can earn credits that can be sold or saved for later use in more emission intensive periods.
Only Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Yukon and Nunavut use the federal industrial pricing system.
Other provinces have their own carbon pricing schemes but they must meet the minimum requirements of the federal system, including the price charged per tonne of emissions. Right now, it is $80 per tonne and is scheduled to increase to $95 per tonne on April 1.
Poilievre said that provinces would be free to do what they want with an industrial carbon price, but there would be no more federal backstop.
A year ago, the Canadian Climate Institute published a report that said the industrial carbon price is expected to do more to reduce Canadian emissions between 2025 and 2030 than any other climate program — about 80 million tonnes a year by 2030, or almost one-third of what Canada has to cut to meet its current 2030 emissions target.
The consumer price was expected to eliminate less than 20 million tonnes by comparison.
Dale Beugin, Canadian Climate Institute executive vice president, said that the industrial price is the "most important" Canadian policy in terms of emissions reduction.
"The industrial carbon pricing systems, when they're working well, are on track to reducing three-times the emission reductions that the consumer carbon price is," Beugin said. "So in terms of the thing that matters more in terms of emissions reductions, these industrial carbon pricing policies are the biggest, most important elements of Canada's climate policy architecture."
Laurel Collins, the NDP's environment critic, said in a media state that regular Canadians pay for the brunt of climate change through dealing with floods and other disasters so it's "baffling" to offer oil and gas companies tax breaks.
"In the climate crisis and the fight for Canadian workers, we have to put workers first. We can create good jobs by investing in building an East-West energy grid for electricity transmission. We can fight the climate crisis and make big polluters pay," she said.
When asked about commitments to emission targets, Poilievre did not mention specific targets. Instead, the Conservative leader said the best way of encouraging global emission reductions is expanding Canadian industry.
"I don't think it is an achievement to shut down a Canadian steel mill, and then open one up in China that produces 10 or 20 times more emissions for each unit of steel. What we need to do is recognize the best way to reduce emissions is to bring home clean production here," Poilievre said.
Currently, the federal government's emission target under the Paris climate agreement is by 2030 to lower emissions to 40 to 45 per cent below what they were in 20025.
The longer-term goal is for a net-zero economy by 2050.
The Conservatives have also pledged to eliminate the emissions cap on oil and gas industry and legislation the Liberals passed to keep oil tankers away from British Columbia's northern coast.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Mar. 17, 2025.
David Baxter and Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
