How Canadas carbon pricing scheme became a political football | Politics News [Video]

Montreal, Canada – For years, Pierre Poilievre has hammered home a simple slogan: “Axe the tax.”

The leader of Canada’s opposition Conservative Party — who is widely expected to become prime minister this year — has vowed to repeal a carbon pricing scheme enacted by outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

The policy put an added cost on fossil fuel products such as petrol, as part of the country’s push to reduce emissions and tackle the climate crisis.

Dubbing it a “carbon tax”, Poilievre has blamed the environmental programme for an affordability crisis in Canada — despite research that shows carbon pricing has had a negligible effect on inflation. He has also pledged to “axe the tax for everyone forever”.

“We need a carbon tax election to fire them all and bring home a common-sense Conservative government,” he said in a recent video posted on social media, referring to the Liberals.

The Conservatives are hoping that …