Trudeau touts embattled carbon levy, says it faces misinformation

RIO DE JANEIRO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending his embattled carbon-pricing program on the world stage, and he argues that misinformation is threatening environmental progress.

Trudeau arrived in Brazil for the G20 leaders summit on Sunday, and addressed a conference held by the anti-poverty group Global Citizen.

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He touted Canada’s consumer carbon levy, arguing it is among the world’s strongest but “an easy political target” in Canada.

Trudeau acknowledged pushback to the policy, but he said it is being fuelled by what he called propaganda and misinformation that affordability is in contrast with fighting climate change.

He said his Liberal party has already won three elections on carbon pricing as an issue, and he said the policy is “very much in question” for the next election.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has vowed to cancel the policy, pushing for a “carbon-tax election” to bring down the cost of living.

Trudeau made the comments at a panel themed around Canada’s hosting of the G7 summit next year, though Trudeau did not speak to that looming initiative.

Before the event, his office said the remarks would discuss “the economic case for climate action and Canada’s climate finance and international assistance” policies for the G7 presidency.

Trudeau’s remarks almost entirely related to defending the carbon levy, saying that it has been subject to “propaganda, misinformation, disinformation and flat-out lies.”

The federal NDP and some of their provincial counterparts have distanced themselves from the policy which they previously supported.

Ottawa sends the rebates to offset what people pay in carbon pricing when they buy fuel so they’re not less worse off as a result. People who do things to lower their fuel use are even better off, because they still get the same rebate but pay less in carbon pricing.

The levy applies in provinces and territories that do not have carbon-pricing systems that Ottawa deems to be in line with its federal targets.

The parliamentary budget officer says the vast majority of households get back more in rebates than they pay for carbon pricing, but for most, those gains are erased after broader economic factors are taken into account.

Trudeau has disputed that analysis, including in his Sunday remarks.

“It actually has become a way of helping with affordability and putting more money in the pockets of people who are struggling,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2024.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press