Trudeau’s allies turn on him over ‘punishing’ net zero tax

Support for Canadian premier’s Liberals slumps, and own party says 23pc carbon levy is to blame

JUSTIN TRUDEAU’S political allies have turned on him over his net zero tax policy, as his Liberal Party slumps in the polls.

The Canadian prime minister is facing a rebellion within his own party over the unpopular 23 per cent carbon tax rises, which will cause drivers to be charged more for fuel from today.

The federal carbon price is to rise from Can $65 (£38) to Can $80 (£47), meaning the extra charge on gasoline will increase from 14.3 cents to 17.6 cents per litre.

As things stand, Mr Trudeau’s Liberal Party is heading for humiliation in Canada’s federal elections, which are due to be held by October next year.

According to one poll, the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, are on course for a crushing victory, gaining 92 seats while the Liberals lose 96. That would give the Conservatives 211 seats, with the Liberals slumping to only 64.

Canadian voters appeared to accept the carbon taxes – charging businesses and citizens for using fossil fuels – when they were introduced five years ago.

But with the country facing a cost of living crisis, Mr Trudeau’s flagship policy has become a political millstone around the Liberal Party’s neck. Mr Poilievre and his allies have called the latest rises an “April Fool’s tax hike”.

More worryingly for the 52-year-old premier, key Liberals across the country are voicing their opposition to the next batch of increases.

Earlier this month, Andrew Furey, who leads Newfoundland and Labrador as the last remaining Liberal premier of a province, published an open letter pleading for a rethink.

He said the tax was a “net negative” at a time when prices were soaring and wages were stagnant and would do little to encourage people to adopt renewable energy options.

“In the absence of the ability to change, what does the tax really accomplish?” he asked reporters.

Bonnie Crombie, the leader of Ontario Liberals has ruled out introducing a carbon tax on consumers if she becomes the province’s premier in 2026. “We will ensure major polluters pay, but we will not have an Ontario carbon tax on consumers,” she said.

The current premier of the province, Doug Ford of the centre-right Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, said the tax increase will doom the Liberals.

“If they don’t start putting money back in people’s pockets instead of filling their pockets, guess what? They’re going to get annihilated, as I’ve said before, they’re done. They’re done like dinner,” Mr Ford said.

While the imminent hike in carbon taxes is a hot-button issue in Canadian politics, there is a growing sense that Mr Trudeau’s political brand is becoming toxic and one-time allies are trying to distance themselves from the premier.

The son of Pierre Trudeau, who was Canadian prime minister from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984, Justin Trudeau entered office in 2015 as the poster boy for the liberal Left.

But by late last year, polls were rating him the country’s worst leader for 50 years.