Several of the ranchers and farmers I met, as well as some in southeastern Saskatchewan’s energy industry, went further, wondering aloud whether Canada should do anything at all. They argued that any action from a country that accounts for about 1.6 percent of global emissions verges on the symbolic when China produces about 30 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide.

That case, however, ignores that China has already reached its carbon reduction commitment for 2020, a target many experts believe that Canada won’t hit by the deadline.

Andrew Scheer, the federal Conservative leader, has become as focused on eliminating carbon pricing as Mr. Trudeau has on introducing it. And while Canada is unlikely to see anything like the “yellow vest” violence of France, it’s highly likely that the debate over carbon pricing will figure prominently in next year’s federal vote.

Read more:

Justin Trudeau’s Carbon Tax Push Finds Critics on All Sides

‘Yellow Vest’ Protests Shake France. Here’s the Lesson for Climate Change.