Mark Carney says that a federal government led by him would implement incentives that reward Canadians for purchasing energy-efficient appliances, electric vehicles or improved home insulation.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is promising to scrap the carbon fuel charge if he wins the Liberal leadership and takes over from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
At a news conference in Halifax Friday, Mr. Carney said carbon pricing has worked but has become too divisive for Canadians with many perceiving it as having a negative impact on their households.
“It’s been fed by misinformation and lies, quite frankly, by the Leader of the Opposition,” he said about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
“But we are in this situation and it’s important that climate policy has broad buy-in.”
The federal government introduced the carbon charge in 2019, which applies to types of fuel purchased by individuals and businesses. The system includes a set rate per tonne of carbon emissions, which has increased over time.
However, Mr. Carney promised to maintain the industrial carbon price, to provide a clear signal to large companies to get their emissions down now.
Mr. Carney started off the press conference by speaking about U.S. politics, pointing out that a Trump tariff could be imposed as early as Saturday. “President Trump thinks Canada will cave in. We will never ever bow down to the bully,” he said to wide applause.
He also framed the Trump presidency as an opportunity, telling reporters that the world is shifting and one of the biggest determinants of competitiveness in industry will be the size of its carbon footprint.
“This is our moment. This is our time. We’re going to leapfrog the United States where they’ve turned inwards and trying to turn back the clock. They’ll come around eventually, and when they come around, we’re going to be ahead of them.”
The former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England has garnered the majority of support from cabinet ministers and the Liberal caucus, making him the front-runner for the March 9 leadership vote.
Mr. Carney’s leadership rival, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, has already promised to cancel the carbon-pricing regime after years of defending the measure as Mr. Trudeau’s top lieutenant and deputy prime minister. She has not provided details of how she would do this.
Mr. Poilievre has spent the past two years hammering the Liberal government over the measure and vowing to scrap it. His party has been leading in public-opinion polls by double-digit numbers for more than a year.
Mr. Carney said a government led by him would implement incentives that reward Canadians for purchasing energy-efficient appliances, electric vehicles and improved home insulation.
The plan would be complemented by other measures such as investments in energy-efficient buildings and electrified transportation.
Mr. Carney is promising to pay for these measures by taxing big polluters to “pay Canadians to make their green choices.”
“The measures I’m announcing today will reduce emissions faster than before. They’ll help create Canadian jobs. They’ll build the competitiveness of our major companies and begin to realize Canada’s immense potential to be a global leader in a clean economy,” he told a room full of Liberal supporters and five Nova Scotia MPs.
In April, the price on carbon is set to rise to $95 a tonne from $80 a tonne in provinces where the federal backstop applies. It is scheduled to increase another $15 a year until it reaches $170 a tonne by 2030.
Canadians who live in regions where the backstop applies can offset the cost with a quarterly rebate from Ottawa.
Mr. Poilieve criticized Mr. Carney’s announcement, calling it a “tax trick.” He said that Mr. Carney’s pledge to tax industries that are big carbon polluters will force Canadian lumber mills, steel mills, factories and aluminum plants to leave for the United States at a time when the country is facing a tariff threats.
Liberal leadership candidate Karina Gould, who resigned as House leader to run in the contest to replace Mr. Trudeau, has promised to freeze the carbon price at its current level and examine other measures to combat climate change.
This was the first policy announcement from Mr. Carney, while Ms. Freeland has unveiled measures to fight possible tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump and to cut the size of the federal cabinet.