Mark Carney’s first move as prime minister—on his first day—was to end the hotly debated consumer carbon tax, signing a prime ministerial directive to remove the levy on the price of natural gas and gasoline for Canadian consumers.
The directive came into effect on April 1—though the tax for industrial polluters remains in place. This comes alongside similar legislation from B.C. Premier David Eby to remove his province’s consumer carbon tax.
The carbon tax has been a topic of debate this federal election cycle. Carney, who had previously been in support of the legislation, called the tax too “divisive” during his Liberal leadership campaign, citing this as a reason for his decision to remove the tax.
In an interview with rabble.ca, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May expressed her disappointment over the decision to remove the tax, both on the provincial and federal level, urging Canadian voters to seriously consider climate when casting their ballots on April 28.
“How can it be that in 2025 we’re going into a federal election where the only discussion about climate is how fast we can get rid of the one climate policy we’ve got?” May said.
“[I am] frankly appalled, that when climate science is so clear that we are running out of time and standing at the literal edge of ‘too late’, we have a we have a federal election campaign in 2025 where only the Green Party is even raising climate, except to talk about axing the tax,” she continued.
Political rhetoric used to talk about carbon tax
‘Axe the tax’ has been a slogan regularly used by Conservative Leader Pierre Polievre this campaign. Despite Carney’s removal of the consumer carbon tax, Pierre continues to campaign on eliminating the tax, promising to remove the industrial ‘backstop’ of the carbon tax, and “axe the tax . . . for good, for real.”
May said the rhetoric being used to discuss the policy is in keeping with the level of discourse used in today’s political climate.
“Do I think that unfortunately political discourse has become so debased that three word slogans that rhyme make more of a dent than scientific advice, economic evidence, fact? I mean, Pierre Polievre’s slogan should have been axe the facts,” May said. “Axing the facts everywhere you look. And now Jagmeet Singh is axing the facts. It’s catching on. David Eby’s axing the facts.”
Last week, the federal NDPs unveiled their climate plan, which includes removing the consumer carbon tax (but keeping the industrial carbon tax). NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also pledged to remove government subsidies for oil and gas companies, promising to use the subsidies to retrofit homes to make them more energy efficient.
But May said that the real solution to address the climate crisis is to move away from fossil fuels entirely.
“The climate solutions require understanding that we’re going off fossil fuels, period,” she said. “[We need to] have Canada, as an oil producing country, announce that we plan to cease using fossil fuels in this country, cease exports of fossil fuels, and make the transition rapidly.”
“What we’ve done in this country for decades now is pick a target date for when we reduce emissions, but then be afraid to actually make the commitments that make that possible,” she continued. “So, that means saying we have to enhance and diversify our exports so that we’re not reliant on fossil fuel exports.”
Climate change overshadowed by U.S. threat
Climate change has not been a main focus this election. The election campaign has been dominated by conversations about how best to respond to the ongoing trade war with the U.S. and President Trump’s threats against Canada’s sovereignty. As a result, few party platforms have had a leading focus on climate change.
May acknowledged Canadains’ concerns about threats from the U.S., but emphasised that multiple problems can be solved at once—and that politicians cannot remove their focus from addressing climate change.
“This is not a time for ‘oh well, it’s not popular this election, so we won’t bother talking about climate because we’ll get more votes,’” she said. “It’s a disservice to the Canadian public. It’s an insult to the intelligence of Canadians to assume that nobody could possibly be interested in whether their grandchildren have a liveable world.”
“One hundred per cent, we’re in a poly crisis world,” she continued. “I am very concerned about our economy. And I am very concerned about having a fascist in the White House. Does that mean I no longer care about whether my grandchildren can survive on the planet?”
She added that urgent concerns about what is happening in Canada and around the world—including the war in Ukraine and U.S. threats to Canada—can be dealt with while simultaneously tackling the climate crisis.
Do Canadians still care about climate?
An October Abacus Data poll recorded that 62o per cent of Canadians polled said they were concerned about climate change—a decrease in 14 points from the year before.
When asked if she thought Canadians still cared about addressing the climate crisis, May said: “I know they do.”
She said that during her time canvassing in her riding in British Columbia, she’s spoken to many people—and while many are concerned about Trump, they’re also concerned about the climate.
“People are so anxious about Trump, upset about the U.S. pulling out of the Paris Agreement again. Wondering what we’re going to do,” she said. “I’ve never had so many people who are on the verge of tears. [People] who come to the door and say, ‘what on earth is going on? What are we doing about climate and what do we do about Trump?’”
2024 was the first year where the global average surface warming exceeded 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial temperatures—the level agreed to stay below by countries who signed the Paris Agreement. Importantly, this does not mean that countries have breached the agreement, as it is not measured on an annual basis, but it is an early indicator that the long-term limit is in danger of being exceeded.
May said there is an urgent need to act on climate change now. And that she will continue to push for change for future generations.
“I’ve got a 5-month-old granddaughter. And I am alive and healthy—and angry,” she said. “I’m at a point where my levels of frustration and anger are so off the charts because I’m a grandmother and my maternal instinct has kicked into gear like a grizzly bear. And I will defend my cubs.”
“I’m grateful that I’m a member of Parliament. I’m so grateful,” May said. “I hope I can continue after this election. I’m very grateful that I have an outlet for my anger in effective work.”
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