A noteworthy departure from the Liberal party line took place in the House of Commons on Wednesday when Liberal MP Ken McDonald voted against the federal carbon tax, rousing the opposition Conservatives to their feet.  

McDonald, representing Newfoundland and Labrador’s Avalon riding, voted with the Conservatives’ non-binding motion to repeal the carbon tax — his second time to do so in the past 12 months.

In an interview with state broadcaster CBC on Thursday, McDonald said he thinks the carbon tax might cost the Liberals votes in the upcoming election. 

“Everywhere I go, people come up to me and say, you know, ‘We’re losing faith in the Liberal party,” he said.

“I think they will lose seats not just in Newfoundland, not just in Atlantic Canada, but indeed right across the country if they don’t get a grasp on this the way that I think they should.… And if if an election were called today, I’m not sure if the Liberal party would actually form the government.”

Guilbeault ‘not the guy’

McDonald also suggested that former Greenpeace radical and current Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault isn’t liked by Atlantic Canadians, and is not the right spokesperson for the carbon tax.

“I get it, where he came from, and his whole idea of making a big difference in climate change, but you can’t do it all overnight. You can’t make it more expensive on people than what they can handle. And that’s exactly what’s happening right now.”

McDonald further said he continually has constituents tell him that they can’t afford groceries and they have to walk around their house wrapped in blankets because they can’t afford to pay for heat.

Atlantic Premiers push back

All four Atlantic province Premiers have recently denounced the Trudeau Liberals’ climate agenda, saying that the timeline is too fast and taxes are too high.