Smith, Notley both upset Alberta natural gas users left out of Trudeau's carbon tax relief plan
CTV
It's not often Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley agree on policy, but both Alberta's premier and her opposition counterpart are criticizing Justin Trudeau's latest announcement.
It's not often Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley agree on policy, but both Alberta's premier and her opposition counterpart are criticizing Justin Trudeau's latest announcement.
On Thursday, the prime minister declared a three-year pause on the carbon tax applied on home heating oil, a break that will primarily benefit residents of Atlantic Canada, because that is where it is most commonly used.
"I am frankly disturbed that same break will not be extended to Albertans and those from Saskatchewan and elsewhere in Canada who heat their homes with natural gas," Smith posted Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Question for the Liberal Government: Are we not Canadians too? What a terrible message this sends about how dysfunctional and divisive Ottawa has become."
Notley joined in that outrage in her "alternative speech from the throne" on Friday morning, when she promised an emergency motion to demand Albertans also get relief.
"To apply a carbon price to some regions and some fuels but not all is totally unacceptable. We must act together as Canadians or this just won't work," she said.
"[We] call for any federal actions to be applied equitably across all Canadians regardless of their location or the form of home heating method that they use."