Carney cuts carbon tax rate to zero, neutralizing unpopular policy before possible campaign - National Post
An order-in-council to eliminate the consumer carbon tax, that was signed by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday, March 14, 2025. Photo by Justin Tang/The Canadian PressArticle contentOTTAWA — With the swipe of a sharpie, Prime Minister Mark Carney reduced the price of the consumer carbon tax rate to zero, meaning Canadians will no longer be paying it on fuels. In doing so, he also neutralized one of the Liberals’ most unpopular policies before a widely expected election call.
Carney invited cameras into the cabinet room on Parliament Hill Friday afternoon to watch him sign a document zeroing out the tax rate.
The gesture marked a stark departure from how Canadian leaders have typically done business in the past and was reminiscent of a scene Canadians are most used to seeing south of the border, as U.S. President Donald Trump routinely invites media into the Oval Office to watch him sign executive orders.
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But sitting around a boardroom is the kind of setting Carney is used to, given his private sector business experience and time spent as a central bank governor in both Canada and England.
So as cabinet ministers looked on, Carney delivered some brief statements before opening a red folder placed in front of him.
“We have already taken a big decision as this cabinet because this is a cabinet that’s focused on action, it’s focused on getting more money in the pockets of Canadians, it’s focused on building this economy,” he said as he sat at the cabinet table.
“Based on the discussion we’ve had and consistent with a promise that I made and others supported during the (Liberal) leadership campaign, we will be eliminating the Canada fuel charge, the consumer fuel charge, immediately.”
Canadians on track to receive a carbon-tax rebate due to be sent out next month should still expect to receive one, Carney said, which means cheques could be arriving in the midst of an election campaign, which Carney is widely expected to call within the next two weeks.
