A recent poll from Abacus Data showed that the majority of Canadians would like to see more exemptions for carbon tax, particularly on home heating. In fact, 72 percent of respondents indicated that they believe the federal government should exempt fuels for home heating, such as natural gas or propane, from carbon tax in order to help people deal with the rising cost of living. On the other hand, 28 percent are of the opinion that the tax should not offer these exemptions, as they believe the tax is meant to encourage people to shift toward less polluting forms of heating.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced a three-year carbon tax exemption on heating oil, following the concerns of Liberal MPs in Atlantic ridings whose constituents could not afford to pay the carbon tax on heating oil. The exemption applies to the 10 provinces and territories where the federal fuel charge is collected, and predominantly benefits Atlantic Canada where 30 percent of homeowners still use furnace oil to heat their homes.
Despite this, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and premiers from Ontario and the western provinces are calling for carbon tax exemptions on all forms of home heating, a move that Trudeau and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault have both said will not happen. 58 percent of poll respondents said they were aware of the new policy changes to the carbon tax, and 65 percent agreed it was a “good idea.”
Regarding political impact, 13 percent of respondents said they would be more likely to vote Liberal because of the carbon tax exemptions, while 30 percent said they would be less likely. At present, the Conservatives have a wide lead over the Liberals, with 41 percent of respondents indicating they would vote for the Tories if an election were held now. The Liberals received 25 percent of the vote and the NDP 19 percent. The Tories have recently brought motions before the House of Commons to remove the carbon tax, but all have failed.