Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland would “replace” the federal carbon price if she becomes the next Liberal party leader, a source close to her says.
Freeland, who resigned from the federal cabinet last month, has yet to reveal her intentions about the Liberal leadership race but said in a social media post on Wednesday that she is making calls and will “have much more to say very soon.”
A source close to Freeland told Global News on Thursday that “I would expect Chrystia to say over the next few days that she is ready to fight climate change.”
“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,” the source said.
“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.”
CTV News first reported on the statement Thursday morning.
The federal carbon price charges consumers and industries for fuels like gasoline and natural gas. It is part of Ottawa’s efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
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Provinces where fossil fuels account for a greater share of electricity pay more in carbon pricing.
The measure has drawn criticism from the Conservative Party, which wants to scrap it, along with calls to explore other options by some Liberal and NDP premiers as well as political critics on varying sides of the spectrum.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson defended the policy in a media callback Thursday from Washington, D.C., where he was meeting American officials about Canada-U.S. energy relations.
He asked how Freeland would fill the gap to meet Canada’s climate target.
“My question to Ms. Freeland will be what is her climate plan and how will she do that?”
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Freeland has previously defended the carbon price.
At a House of Commons committee meeting in March 2024, she said: “What I know and what study after study has shown is that the price on pollution and our carbon rebates put more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians.”
The Canada Carbon Rebate returns 90 per cent of the revenue collected by Ottawa from the federal carbon price levied on households in these provinces.
A report by the parliamentary budget officer published in October 2024 found that 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.
–with files from Global News’ David Akin and The Canadian Press