OTTAWA — Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland has not yet confirmed she will be running in the Liberal leadership contest but is already planning to reverse one of the Trudeau government’s key climate policies she has defended for years.
A source close to Freeland confirmed the news first reported by CTV News that she plans to scrap the unpopular consumer carbon tax should she be elected Liberal leader.
“She is ready to make difficult decisions to meet our emissions targets and make sure big polluters pay for their outsized emissions. But she will not fight Canadians on a policy they have been clear they do not support,” said the source in a statement to National Post.
“That’s why Chrystia Freeland will replace the consumer carbon price with a system that will work within our federation and will be developed collaboratively with provinces and territories. She looks forward to working together on fighting the climate crisis.”
With the deadline of Jan. 23 rapidly approaching, Freeland is expected to announce a leadership bid in the coming days. She has already garnered caucus support from Randy Boissonnault, Ben Carr, Hedy Fry, Kevin Lamoureux and Julie Dabrusin, among others.
On Wednesday, Freeland publicly addressed Liberal supporters on X, saying she was “grateful” for the chance to hear from them and to listen to their ideas.
“I’ll have much more to say very soon!” she wrote.
Freeland’s news that she would scrap the carbon tax comes just as former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is set to announce that he will be running for Liberal leader. Carney has also hinted that he would be revisiting the carbon tax as leader.
Liberal MP Wayne Long, who supports Carney, said it was his understanding that Carney understands the consumer carbon price needs to be changed moving forward.
More details to follow…
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