Trudeau calls out 'short-term thinker' politicians as some premiers urge him to drop carbon price hike

As a growing number of premiers urge the federal government to scrap an upcoming increase to the federal carbon tax, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pushed back on what he called "short-term thinker" politicians and defended his government's deeply divisive policy.

"My job is not to be popular, although it helps," Trudeau said with a smile during a news conference in Calgary Wednesday.

"My job is to do the right things for Canada now, and do the right things for Canadians a generation from now." 

His visit to Alberta to meet with Premier Danielle Smith, one of the most aggressive opponents of the federal carbon pricing program, comes as most premiers have called on the government to either scrap the program or pause the increase scheduled for April 1 until inflation mellows.

He's also facing attacks from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who said he'll force multiple votes in Parliament next week to stop what he's calling "Trudeau's April Fools' tax hike."

"Trudeau is facing a provincial revolt," he said in a statement Wednesday. "But Trudeau isn't listening."

Trudeau showed no signs of bowing to pressure from the premiers or Poilievre.

"That's an easy thing for short-term thinker politicians to say, 'Oh, we'll get rid of the price.' They don't talk about the fact that they're also going to get rid of that cheque, the Canada carbon rebate, that puts more money in the pockets of the vast majority of Canadians," he said.

At the beginning of next month, the carbon price is scheduled to increase from $65 to $80 per tonne.

The federal policy — which includes both a tax on fossil fuels and rebates paid directly to households — was introduced by the Liberal government in 2019 and is designed as a financial incentive to encourage people and businesses to cut their consumption of fossil fuels and transition to greener forms of energy.

Canadians living in the eight provinces with the federal carbon tax receive quarterly rebate payments which vary depending on the province and the size of household.

The federal government says 80 per cent of households get more money back in rebates than they pay in carbon taxes directly.

"Those are cheques that the conservative governments and Conservative Party want to take away from people," said Trudeau.

"It's a way of both fighting climate change, of pushing for innovation and better technologies, and putting more money in the pockets of Canadians right across the country."