It was kill the carbon tax or get Poilievre. Carbon taxes work and it's a shame that all the propagandised conservatives made carbon tax political suicide but here we are. I'd still take this over PP who wouldn't stop at the carbon tax.
this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
68 points (100.0% liked)
Canada
8951 readers
1662 users here now
What's going on Canada?
Related Communities
π Meta
πΊοΈ Provinces / Territories
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon
ποΈ Cities / Local Communities
- Calgary (AB)
- Edmonton (AB)
- Greater Sudbury (ON)
- Guelph (ON)
- Halifax (NS)
- Hamilton (ON)
- Kootenays (BC)
- London (ON)
- Mississauga (ON)
- Montreal (QC)
- Nanaimo (BC)
- Oceanside (BC)
- Ottawa (ON)
- Port Alberni (BC)
- Regina (SK)
- Saskatoon (SK)
- Thunder Bay (ON)
- Toronto (ON)
- Vancouver (BC)
- Vancouver Island (BC)
- Victoria (BC)
- Waterloo (ON)
- Windsor (ON)
- Winnipeg (MB)
Sorted alphabetically by city name.
π Sports
Hockey
- Main: c/Hockey
- Calgary Flames
- Edmonton Oilers
- MontrΓ©al Canadiens
- Ottawa Senators
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Vancouver Canucks
- Winnipeg Jets
Football (NFL): incomplete
Football (CFL): incomplete
Baseball
Basketball
Soccer
- Main: /c/CanadaSoccer
- Toronto FC
π» Schools / Universities
- BC | UBC (U of British Columbia)
- BC | SFU (Simon Fraser U)
- BC | VIU (Vancouver Island U)
- BC | TWU (Trinity Western U)
- ON | UofT (U of Toronto)
- ON | UWO (U of Western Ontario)
- ON | UWaterloo (U of Waterloo)
- ON | UofG (U of Guelph)
- ON | OTU (Ontario Tech U)
- QC | McGill (McGill U)
Sorted by province, then by total full-time enrolment.
π΅ Finance, Shopping, Sales
- Personal Finance Canada
- BAPCSalesCanada
- Canadian Investor
- Buy Canadian
- Quebec Finance
- Churning Canada
π£οΈ Politics
- General:
- Federal Parties (alphabetical):
- By Province (alphabetical):
π Social / Culture
- Ask a Canadian
- Bières Québec
- Canada Francais
- First Nations
- First Nations Languages
- Indigenous
- Inuit
- Logiciels libres au QuΓ©bec
Rules
- Keep the original title when submitting an article. You can put your own commentary in the body of the post or in the comment section.
Reminder that the rules for lemmy.ca also apply here. See the sidebar on the homepage: lemmy.ca
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
While I suspect at this point the Liberals newfound momentum might push them over even with the carbon tax, you're right that continuing to defend it was an unnecessary risk, in a very risky and high stakes election. And as I've pointed out elsewhere, Carney's stated goal is to replace it with something largely similar. This seems to be primarily an exercise in branding, in order to undercut any momentum the Conservatives might have.
Do they work? I haven't seen much evidence that the consumer tax changed any behaviour, but I'd be open to being convinced otherwise.
Carney kills consumer carbon tax in first move as prime minister
And with it PPβs entire campaign identity.
That's probably why.
Before we get all doomer up in here (generally fair), I genuinely believe this is a smart play and exactly in line with Carneys stated plan. Carney does believe in the carbon tax as both a way to put money in most Canadians pockets and to reduce our emissions. He has said fullstop that the Carbon Tax was effective and good. He has said he wants to "cancel the carbon tax and replace it with a consumption pricing model" - which is effectively just rebranding the Carbon Tax. And he said so directly, that the carbon tax is effective but has become too political and is an unwinnable battle politically, but the core function should be maintained. Based on his public history I do believe he's an environmentalist, so I do trust he'll follow through with a replacement.
I think this is smart politically because the Carbon Tax and proximity to Trudeau is essentially PP's only play. In one shot Carney takes away the last of PP's cards, which may be enough to cement a lead for the coming election.
Admittedly this all hinges on him actually getting a replacement in, but based on his history of public statements for the past few years, I do believe he will. If he doesn't, feel free to come back next year or whatever and yell at me. For now, I'm huffing my hoping here.
Assuming he does follow through, I'll call this a very smart play.
A big problem progressives often have is understanding the value of branding. Sometimes the right play is basically to do the same thing but with a slightly different label on it. Or, in this case, a slightly different thing that basically does the same thing but comes without all the baggage.
Agreed. This is very contingent on the follow through, but it also makes sense. There's two scenarios:
- This helps him win the election or get a minority government. He immediately puts in a functionally equivalent replacement. Move worked.
- He loses the election and we get a Conservative majority. They would have immediately repealed the Carbon Tax, so it's irrelevant.
Let's see how it plays out.
The carbon tax was an excellent policy, but this was probably necessary to win the election. Hereβs hoping the Liberals replace it with something functionally equivalent, like cap and trade.
I'm happy to see so many people being so reasonable and understanding of how politics works.
Too many idiots in the US let trump win just because Harris wasn't hard enough against the genocide in Palestine even though she couldn't had she wanted to and now we have Cheeto
This is disappointing
It's even more disappointing that I would bet money that gas stations will not lower their prices by the same amount as the tax because of this. They'll go down maybe 5 cents and claim it's the savings.
The average family is going to lose money from dropping this policy, they were getting more from the rebate than they were spending on the tax.
Before you get disappointed, pay attention to the fact that he's repeatedly said his plan is to replace the carbon tax, not just end it with no backup plan.
Carney's play here is simple; he wants, and believes in, some form of carbon pricing, but The Carbon Tax has become politically radioactive. So, kill it, rebrand it, and reintroduce it. Without "Axe The Tax" and "Fuck Trudeau" PP loses his entire political identity.
Alternatively, he defends the carbon tax, potentially to the point of it being enough to put the CPC over the top in an election, and then they axe it with no plan to replace it.
I'll join you in being disappointed - and disgusted - if he fails to follow through on delivering an effective replacement (which won't happen until after an election), but for now let's follow the play.
You're correct. But the carbon tax is so widely misunderstood and hated that continuing to push it is political suicide.
I begrudgingly respect the Liberals decision here, even though I strictly disagree with the outcome.
How does anyone even know what the price is/was, is/was -supposed to be, should be, might be?
Anyone could do a cursory search and find that the fuel charge rate is currently $0.1761/L for gasoline. They could also see, with this same search, what the price was, is supposed to be, should be, and might be.
Anyone who drives at 8am knows that the price could be higher or lower at 805am.
Thanks for your insight.
You could also look up the wholesale cost of gasoline, compare that the current advertised price to figure out what the specific gas stations normal markup is, then see if the wholesale price changes on the date the carbon tax is removed to find out if the gas station was taking an extra big cut.
You think the pumps will see a drop, as long as PP does not say anything about the carbon tax being dropped the gas stations will stay the same.
Yes people will find out that Carney did that on the news but PP will come up with some new nick name and people will forget.
CANADA DOESN'T NEED A SMALL pp
I'm not gonna lie, this tax did nothing for me. It did not influence my purchasing decisions. I already hardly drive my vehicle, but when I need to get somewhere I don't even have any other option than to take a vehicle.
I'm also certainly not going to heat my home any differently, so it is what it is and I just kept paying.
Carbon tax and dividend is greatest tax in human history. Not meant to raise discretionary revenue. Not a pension scam subject to bankruptcy or payment reductions in future. Car rebates is not good policy, because its not car ownership that affects emissions, it is miles driven. Or lifestyle choices that don't need cars/long driving.
The rise in diesel/home heating fuel was a direct result of Ukraine war. Carbon tax is divisive because all the parties love the war on Russia, and so no one addresses/d the real reason for the cost of living hikes.
Yes I'm disappointed we had to cave to the conservatives but if that's the price of avoiding a PP PM I guess I can live with it. I'm not planning on having kids so I just need to feel bad for the polar bears.
Carbon tax and dividend is greatest tax in human history.
Someone call the Georgists in to land value tax this guy out of existence.
Has a LVT ever been implemented?
Lmao NOPE but that won't stop the Georgists
There have been some partial implementations though but I don't think they're notable enough to provide meaningful evidence.
Well, fuck. That's income I could have really used. This negatively affects people living in poverty the most, and benefits the affluent the most. This better come paired with some kind of financial break for low income earners.
I feel like this signals that Carney is willing to cast aside his principles and throw uninvolved people under the bus so that he can meet his priority goals. Ie, getting ignorant swing voters on his side. This is a blatant campaign move that should have been an election promise, not a unilateral decision.
He is trying to keep PP from getting any raise in the polls.
I believe that's what I said.
...
Are we still doing "phrasing"?
Sadly, most people are idiots and donβt realise it benefits them.
There's at least hope with Carney that he'll come up with another environmental policy that the conservatives brain rotted by Poilievre won't get mad at.
We can hope.
His stated goal is to replace it with something similar but with better branding.
Consider that this effectively kills 90% of PP's campaign rhetoric, and that if PP were to be elected, you'd lose the tax anyway without a replacement.
I believe he did promise this before he was elected as head of the liberal party.
Edit: Yes he did
Not sure I see that as consequential.
But the CPC ads with red glows and ominous music keep telling me he's "Carbon Tax Carney"!
Ya and he axed the tax...wait pp has no talking points now
Well. That's the nail in the coffin for pp and his ineptitude.
Good.
Itβs good this happens before the election. When gas prices donβt come down at all they might go βohβ¦ maybe canceling this was a dumb idea after allβ
Ah, no wonder Alberta lovea him lmao.