Canadian former PM says let the others do a carbon tax and conservatives will win every province and the nation

Skeptics are winning



Stephen Harper must have watched the Tony Abbott win, the Trump win, and the Doug Ford win in Ontario. He gets the message. When will Australian conservatives? Fully 48% of Australian’s are happy to pull out of Paris. Plus 14% more are undecided, there for the taking – convince them.



Trudeau’s aggressive climate action plan appears dead

Bloomberg, Christopher Flavelle and Josh Wingrove

As that [carbon] price is about to take effect, growing opposition has put Trudeau on the defensive and has provincial governments rolling back other measures, raising questions about the appetite of this oil-exporting country to tackle climate change.

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, said Thursday it would join a legal challenge against Trudeau’s carbon pricing. Polls suggest Alberta, the center of Canada’s oil and gas industry, will soon elect a government that opposes the plan. And Trudeau’s own chances of reelection next year have fallen, as his opponents seize on public resistance to carbon pricing.

Trudeau’s carbon tax looks pretty much dead now that most provinces are out

Financial Post, Jim Karahalios

How quickly things have changed. It seems hard to believe now, but just over a year ago, nine provinces agreed to Trudeau’s plan to usurp provincial jurisdiction and mandate a national carbon tax. At the time, only Saskatchewan opposed the Trudeau carbon-tax grab.

This week, going into the meeting of the premiers, the number of provinces supporting the Trudeau carbon tax looks like it’s down to five — or maybe even four. Soon it could be down to three.

Things are looking so bleak that Ian Brodie, onetime chief of staff to former prime minister Stephen Harper, stated on Twitter recently: “The carbon tax is politically dead and won’t survive the end of (the) Trudeau prime ministership. Everyone knows this but not everyone will admit it.”

What a difference a year makes. It wasn’t long ago that the pundits and so-called experts said a carbon tax was unstoppable in Canada.

Electricity prices doubled in Ontario thanks to their pursuit of renewables. Power prices have gone from 5.5c a KWh in 2006 to 11c KWh in 2016. (Read and weep Australians who pay 26c/KWh or more. Those costs are directly comparable, 1 CAD pretty much equals 1 AUD).

Ontario has now joined Saskatchewan in legal opposition to the carbon tax. “Ontario Premier Doug Ford joined Scott Moe in challenging the tax, arguing it will make life unaffordable for families and risk thousands of jobs.”

Canadians are sick of high electricity prices, and carbon taxes and former PM Stephen Harper says any conservative can win “on that issue alone”:

Support for Trudeau’s Liberal Party has fallen, putting it in a rough tie with the rival Conservative Party. Trudeau’s chief opponent in next year’s federal election, Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer, has said one of the first things he will do as prime minister is eliminate the carbon tax.

Stephen Harper, the Conservative who governed Canada from 2006 to 2015, also sees a political opening. “Let the other guys do a carbon tax because we can all win the next federal and provincial elections on that issue alone,” he said in a recent closed-door speech, as reported by Maclean’s magazine.

How big was that Ontario win– the ruling greener Liberals were crushed, losing 48 seats and even official party status

I’ve never seen a win and wipe-out as big as the June 7 Ontario elections. Mark it up in the history books. The Conservatives went from 27 seats to 76. The Liberals went from 55 seats to just 7. They can fit their MP’s in a mini-van. It was their worst result in 161 years. The third party is now The Opposition. Seismic is the word.

Ontario’s election last week was a humiliating and crushing defeat for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which went from being in government to losing official party status overnight. Peter Shawn Taylor wrote in the Financial Post on Tuesday that the election was a revolt over high energy prices caused by poor government policy. — IPA Newsletter

UPDATE: To clarify It was specifically Kathleen Wynne which suffered the crushing defeat (not Justin Trudeau). From reader Joey: Kathleen Wynne was the liberal premier (and was leader of the Ontario provincial liberal party) that conclusively lost the election (she has subsequently resigned as party leader). The federal and provincial liberal parties are affiliated but have different leaders. Justin Trudeau is the federal premier (and leader of the federal liberal party). There is a reasonable chance that the federal liberals could lose the upcoming federal election next year. Then the carbon tax will be truly dead.

Just some of those policies that the voters wanted:

Corporate income tax to be reduced from 11.5% to 10.5%

Phase out income tax entirely for minimum-wage earners but cancel the $1 increase to minimum wage slated for 2019

Repeal the present cap and trade program

Oppose federally mandated carbon pricing

Reduce income tax rates

Reduce the small business income tax rate

As Al in Cranbrook BC says: “Jason Kenney’s Conservatives in Alberta, by every indication, will demolish the NDP (socialist) government in 2019.”

It’s hard to believe, but voters don’t seem to want to pay more for electricity to change the weather in 2100 by an amount too small to measure.

Someone tell our MP’s and get us a new P.M., or an old one, any one that is actually not centre left.

Happy to hear from more Canadians.

A populist skeptical rise,

Could give leaders some shock and surprise,

Making governments fall,

If they didn’t play ball,

And cut warmists and Greens down to size.

–Ruairi

h/t Stefan L, Pat, Al in Cranbrook BC.

Flag: E Pluribus Anthony Wikimedia Map: Credit E Pluribus Anthony, Wikimedia

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