Poilievre won’t axe industrial carbon tax, predicts former Harper staffer

The Canadian Press / Dustin Patar

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A former advisor to prime minister Stephen Harper says he doesn’t see future Conservative governments scrapping the carbon tax on industrial emitters. “There’s a huge gap between what Conservatives say and what Conservatives do,” said Ken Boessenkool, a veteran economist.

“And I hate to admit this, but it’s true,” he said in an interview with the National Post, noting Premiers Jason Kenney and Danielle Smith ran on ‘Axe The Tax’ only to beef up the industrial carbon price in Alberta. The province currently has a carbon tax on 70% of industrial emitters.

“Danielle Smith … said she was going to go to $170 (a tonne),” continued Boessenkool. “She committed to doing that … that’s the heavy lifting.”

Passed in 2018, the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act capped the tax at $50 per tonne. The feds further increased the levy by $15 increments in 2022 through 2030.

In December 2022, an Order-in-Council issued by the United Conservatives pledged to keep pace with the tax pricing schedule. It outlined sweeping changes to the province's Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program.

The TIER system implements Alberta's industrial carbon tax and emissions trading system, helping industrial emitters reduce emissions to “stay competitive”.

Then Alberta environment minister Sonya Savage applauded the industrial emitters carbon tax as the "right thing to do for businesses." 

"We're keeping the emissions trading system and carbon pricing system for heavy industrial emitters in Alberta, which enables the offset market and credit market," she said then. "It's what industry wanted us to do."

Alberta's large emitters currently pay $80 per tonne. It reaches $170 per tonne in 2030. TIER-regulated facilities include those that emitted 100,000 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide equivalent (tonnes CO2) per year in 2016 or any subsequent year.

Alberta required the carbon tax hike to ensure Alberta's carbon tax regime complied with minimum federal standards. 

Ken Boessenkool is not an advisor to the Conservative Party of Canada. He is not an advisor to Pierre Poilievre, in fact they have not spoken in years. He does not speak in anyway for the CPC.

The CPC will Axe the Tax to Bring Home lower prices & powerful paycheques. #axethetax pic.twitter.com/9r89OkTcDu

— Jenni Byrne (@Jenni_Byrne) September 20, 2024

The Post asked Boessenkool whether the industrial carbon tax is here to stay. He said: “I just don’t see any government in any future getting rid of that — Conservative, Liberal or New Democrat.”

Boessenkool is part of Conservatives for Clean Growth, a group advocating that climate policy matters and that any credible election platform needs a carbon plan. “The question is: will it continue to get more stringent? And I think the answer to that question is almost certainly, yes,” he said.

The publication also asked whether a Pierre Poilievre government would keep the industrial emitters carbon tax. “If Danielle Smith’s gonna promise to go to $170, I think other prime ministers and premiers [will follow] …There will continue to be public pressure to do something about climate change,” replied Boessenkool.

Jenni Byrne, an advisor to the Conservative Party of Canada, confirmed Ken Boessenkool is "not an advisor to Pierre Poilievre." She adds they haven't spoken in years; "He does not speak in anyway for the CPC."

"The CPC will Axe the Tax to Bring Home lower prices [and] powerful paycheques," confirmed Byrne. 

Boessenkool allegedly engaged in "inappropriate" and "unwelcome behaviour" with a female staffer as chief of staff to then B.C. premier Christy Clark more than a decade ago, reported CBC News. He abruptly resigned after the alleged September 7, 2012 incident at a Victoria bar. 

Editor's Note: The article has been updated to include comment from a Conservative Party advisor, and mention of an alleged incident involving Boessenkool and a female staffer.