Ford says voters will push Trudeau out of office over carbon tax increase [Video]

Premier Doug Ford called out the prime minister Tuesday morning, saying if Justin Trudeau doesn’t get rid of the federal carbon tax, the voters will push him out of office.

The premier made the remarks surrounded by agricultural groups, opposed to this week’s increase to the tax.

The federal carbon tax increase went up from $65 a tonne to $80– that’s a 23 per cent increase.

This comes after Trudeau said some premiers, like Ford, would rather complain than propose viable alternatives for reducing emissions.

“Folks, let’s cut to the chase, this carbon tax has to go or, in a year-and-a-half, the prime minister is going,” Ford said.

The premier is predicting that voters will turn against Trudeau if his government doesn’t reconsider Monday’s carbon tax increase.

Ford listed over a dozen farming and business organizations who all oppose the carbon tax hike.

Drew Spoelstra, the president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, who owns a farm in Binbrook, said drying about 2,500 tonnes of grain cost him $4,500 in carbon pricing last fall.

“A greenhouse in my home town of Hamilton relies on heat provided by burning biomass, but natural gas is still needed to ensure a reliable and stable heating supply throughout the rest of the year,” Spoelstra said.

He said the financial burden is significant.

“Of $13,614 of a natural gas bill, the carbon tax was $3,837.”

In Hamilton, Jan Vanderhout, a greenhouse cucumber grower, says the carbon tax is having a massive impact on farmers, especially those growing fruits and vegetables indoors.

“I really hope that the federal government can have some compassion on growers and consumers, and pull back on this unfair tax,” Vanderhout said.

He’s also concerned for consumers.

“It’s easy for them to put the carbon tax up by 23 per cent yesterday, but it’s really hard for me to go to my customers and be like ‘yeah I need more money because this carbon tax has just gone up, that’s not how it works,” Vanderhout said.

“Honestly, grocery costs are too expensive… $100 doesn’t go very far anymore.”

Food and Distribution Expert Sylvain Charlebois said it’s difficult to determine the impact of the carbon tax on food.

That’s because a lot can impact retail prices so the cause is not obvious. However, the carbon tax does go up on April 1st every year and will continue to do so until 2030.

“I’m certainly concerned obviously because we don’t know exactly how the carbon tax will impact our nation’s food security in general,” Charlebois said.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre posted on X on Tuesday, writing to Trudeau to call an emergency meeting of all first ministers to discuss the carbon tax.