Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie refused to weigh in on the federal price on carbon emissions even as her party ruled out a provincial carbon tax if elected in 2026.
On Monday, Crombie revealed her party is striking a new climate change panel that will study potential legislative actions to combat greenhouse gas emissions but stressed that the panel is restricted from looking into new taxes as a solution.
“The only one criteria, the one mandate I’ve given them, is to not go in that direction (carbon tax),” Crombie said at a news conference at Queen’s Park.
Crombie has been facing questions, however, about whether her anti-carbon tax mandate is a criticism of the federal Liberal’s pricing policy, which places a surcharge on all fossil fuels in Ontario and other provinces that don’t have carbon pricing policies of their own.
While the federal government argues that the average Ontario family will receive a total of $1,120 in rebate cheques in 2024, the Ford government has railed against the carbon price as a tax that worsens affordability in the province.
Repeatedly pressed on the matter, Crombie refused to comment on the federal carbon price but said the Ontario Liberals “won’t add additional tax burden to Ontarians.”
“We know they can’t handle more taxes this time,” Crombie said. “I’m out in the community all the time and in the grocery store (they) are deciding whether they can afford meat this week, whether they can pay their rent and their cell bill in the same month.”
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“So people can’t afford more taxation and higher taxation right now,” Crombie said.
Crombie’s comments add to the growing chorus of voices from Liberal, NDP and Conservative governments that have all warned about the growing impacts of the carbon price.
Seven premiers, including Premier Doug Ford, have called on the federal government to abandon the planned 23 per cent hike which is set to take effect on April 1.
To combat the increase, the Ford government is expected to continue a 5.7 cent per litre reduction in the price of gasoline that has, to date, cost taxpayers more than a billion dollars.
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