‘Carbon Tax 2.0’: Poilievre to Target Clean Fuel Regulations When Parliament Returns

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will press for the removal of the Clean Fuel Regulations, which he referred to as the “carbon tax 2.0,” when Parliament returns this fall.

“What did the last carbon tax add to your gas? Seventeen cents a litre,” Poilievre said during a media event in Prince Edward Island on Aug. 27. “The new tax is starting to look a lot like the old tax.”

The Clean Fuel Regulations, in place since 2023, are expected to add 17 cents to a litre of gasoline by 2030, according to according to Environment Canada data cited by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).

“We are making it a priority to boost take-home pay and reverse the Liberal cost of living crisis by opposing Mark Carney’s carbon tax 2.0,” Poilievre said.

The regulations were implemented by the government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as part of his climate plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. They require suppliers to incrementally reduce the carbon intensity of the fuel they produce and sell each year.

The PBO previously analyzed in 2023 that the measure will have a greater impact on lower-income households, which tend to spend a larger portion of their income on transportation. Citing figures from Environment Canada, the PBO also said the Clean Fuel Regulations will reduce GDP by up to 0.3 percent by 2030.

Poilievre said his party was responsible for leading a campaign that eventually led to the Liberals scrapping the consumer carbon tax, or fuel charge.

As his first act as prime minister in mid-March, Carney had followed through with a Liberal leadership race campaign promise and passed an order setting the consumer portion of the fuel charge rate to zero. He later followed up with the tabling of a bill to permanently remove the fuel charge from legislation.

In the month following the removal of the fuel charge, inflation went down from 2.3 percent to 1.7 percent.

Tories had made “axing the tax” a key pillar of their platform focused on affordability in the last Parliament, tabling several unsuccessful motions calling for its removal.

While the fuel charge has been eliminated, Carney has not removed the federal benchmark for industrial carbon pricing. He previously said it would be made more stringent to have industry compensate for the removal of the consumer carbon tax.

Conservatives have advocated for the dismantling of much of the Liberals’ net-zero initiatives, including the carbon tax on industry, saying the cost ultimately trickles down to consumers and stifles economic growth without achieving its environmental goals.

Another climate policy the Tories are going after is the electric vehicle (EV) mandate. It will require dealerships, under threat of penalty, to have 20 percent of their sales include EVs starting next year, reaching 100 percent by 2035. The industry, already being squeezed by U.S. tariffs, has signalled to Carney its opposition to the mandate.

The Liberals have made it a priority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by targeting the transportation sector, which is a large emitter, and have not signalled changes to the policy.

Poilievre said Canadians should have the freedom to choose what they drive, saying and EVs are more expensive and not adequate for rural areas.

“The Carney ban on gas trucks and vehicles would effectively shut down most of Atlantic Canada, and that’s why Conservatives will also lead a charge against the gas truck and car ban,” he said.

Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin defended the mandate last month, saying her responsibility is to help build the economy while taking into account the environment and climate change.

“We know it’s very important to Canadians that as we do this, we’re doing it properly, and that we’re doing it in a way that actually supports a strong country as a whole, that takes into account our nature and the like,” she said in July.

Poilievre won back a seat in the House of Commons on Aug. 18 during a byelection in Alberta and will look to return to Parliament with his colleague MPs on Sept. 15.

The Tory leader has said his party’s agenda will remain focused on affordability issues, such as by calling for the removal of all types of carbon taxes or advocating to scrap the EV mandate.

Conservatives have also increasingly pressed the government on immigration issues, recently noting that current trends point to immigration target levels being overshot. They have recently expressed concerns as well about criminals being handed down lighter sentences due to their immigration statuses and said they will table a bill to prevent such occurrences.