Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said that he will repeal the entire carbon price law if elected, including on businesses and the industrial charge.
On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney began the process to end the consumer carbon price on things like gasoline.
The order-in-council says the fee will be removed after March 31.
Poilievre said that if the Liberals are serious about ending the charge, they would recall Parliament and do it through legislation.
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.
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 of seeing a 40 to 45 per cent reductions of emissions by 2030 when compared to 2005 levels is tied to the Paris Agreement.
The longer-term goal is for a net-zero economy by 2050.
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, while all other provinces have their own industrial price that uses the federal price as a minimum pollution charge.
Provinces with their own industrial pricing scheme have their own rules, but the one commonality is that they use the federal price as a minimum charge. Right now, it is $80 per tonne and is scheduled to increase to $95 per tonne on April 1.
All revenue collected through provincial plans remains in that jurisdiction. In areas where the federal industrial pricing program is used, Ottawa returns all money collected to the relevant provincial or territorial government.
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.
Greenpeace Canada was quick to criticize the announcement, saying that it would protect “big polluters.”
“This lets Poilievre’s backers in the oil industry off the hook for doing their fair share to fight climate change, while regular people are left to pay the cost in the form of ever-stronger wildfires, floods and storms,” Keith Stewart, Greenpeace Canada’s senior energy strategist said in a media statement.
Last March, 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.
