Tories battling back against Carney Liberals' 'Carbon Tax 2.0'
Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations will increase gas prices equivalent to what was saved by eliminating the carbon tax, Poilievre alleges
Article content
OTTAWA — Fresh from his byelection win returning him to the House of Commons, Canada’s Conservative leader is taking aim at “Carbon Tax 2.0.”
Speaking to reporters from a gas station in P.E.I.’s capital of Charlottetown, Pierre Poilievre said Wednesday morning that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s axing of the consumer carbon tax wasn’t what it seemed — claiming the government’s Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR) will force Canadians to pay at the pumps what they would have saved through the elimination of the carbon tax.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Tories battling back against Carney Liberals' 'Carbon Tax 2.0' Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
“According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, it will add 17 cents per litre to gas,” Poilievre said. “What did the last carbon tax add to your gas? Seventeen cents per litre. The new tax is starting to look a lot like the old tax, and Mark Carney thinks no one will notice.”
Poilievre said his party will fight back against what he dubbed “Carbon Tax 2.0.,” describing it as yet another Liberal measure meant to drive up Canadians’ cost of living.
“Mark Carney said he would be different, instead he has been worse,” Poilievre said. “He said he would be judged by grocery prices — since he took office, grocery prices have been among the worst offenders for inflation, rising faster by far than the two per cent target.”
Canada’s deficit has also ballooned since Carney came to office, Poilievre alleges — saying the $40-billion deficit left behind by former PM Justin Trudeau is on track to double.
“This is almost hard to say out loud, because it sounds so unbelievable, but Mark Carney is even more expensive than Justin Trudeau was,” Poilievre said.
He also said Canada’s purchasing power is taking a hit — with $60 billion of investments fleeing Canada for greener pastures.
“That is a net exodus of investment, that means our money will be creating jobs for American and other foreign workers instead of workers here in Canada because of the high taxes and bad economic management of Mark Carney,” he said.
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.