Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has joined other Premiers in demanding PM Justin Trudeau convene an emergency meeting to discuss the recent carbon tax hike.
“Albertans and Canadians are facing a cost-of-living crisis not seen in decades and are struggling with severe financial pressures due to crippling inflation and high interest rates. Yet, your government insists on increasing these costs further through the most recent increase of your punitive carbon tax on April 1st, 2024,” Smith wrote in a letter.
Smith continues, stating that the carbon tax now costs Albertans $900 per year net and that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said that this cost will triple to $2,700 by 2030.
“In March, natural gas was selling at less than $1.80 a gigajoule. Now that the carbon tax has increased to $4.09 per gigajoule, the tax alone is more than double what it costs Albertans to heat their homes. This is not just reckless, it is immoral and it is inhumane,” Smith said.
Smith isn’t alone on this
As of this letter, Danielle Smith has officially joined the ranks of Newfoundland Premier Andrew Furey and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, who have also demanded that Trudeau hold a meeting with Premiers to discuss alternatives to the carbon tax.
For Trudeau’s part, while he hasn’t said he’ll listen to the concerns of Premiers or their constituents, he stated yesterday that he was open to alternatives… so long as they achieve the exact same results as the carbon tax. In other words, he isn’t open to alternatives at all.
Smith, Furey, and Higgs aren’t the only Premiers to take issue with the carbon tax. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, and PEI Premier Dennis King all demanded Trudeau halt the recent hike on the carbon tax because of what a bad situation the country is in right now due to Trudeau’s policies—which Trudeau has admitted are a failure.
In fact, Ford and Moe have taken it so far as to state that if Trudeau doesn’t do away with the carbon tax, it will be time for a change in government come the next election.
“Let’s cut to the chase. This carbon tax has to go, or in a year and a half, the Prime Minister is going,” Ford said. “It’s as simple as that. He will be going. I guarantee you he will not be there.”
In a tweet, Moe said, “Just a reminder that the carbon tax increase is not just a bad April Fool’s joke from the Trudeau-NDP government this year. It will continue to increase every April 1 until 2030, when it will be more than double what it is today.
“Unless the government changes.”
