Image: Conservative Party of B.C. / Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad talks to attendees at a campaign stop in Chilliwack in June.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Provincial politics

B.C. Conservative Party claims victory after Eby appears to backtrack on carbon tax

Sep 12, 2024 | 3:30 PM

VICTORIA — Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad is taking a victory lap Thursday after comments indicating Premier David Eby appears to have suddenly backtracked on the carbon tax, just five weeks before the provincial election.

In a news release from the party, Rustad says Eby has announced his intent to scrap the carbon tax, a move he says amounts to a “desperate, last-minute flip flop” and casts Eby as a “flip-flopping liar.”

“David Eby’s sudden reversal on the carbon tax is a desperate attempt to salvage his sinking political ship,” said Rustad. “Let’s be clear: Eby has spent years championing this disastrous tax that punishes families and businesses. Now, faced with growing opposition, he’s pretending to care. It’s nothing more than a cynical ploy.”

Rustad says the Conservative Party has never wavered in its pledge to permanently scrap the carbon tax, regardless of what happens in Ottawa. At a campaign stop in June, Rustad told an audience of roughly 75 people at the Atchelitz Hall on Lickman Road that one of his campaign pillars was the elimination of the carbon tax.

“No matter who sits in power in Ottawa or what new schemes they cook up, the BC Conservatives will ensure that British Columbians are never burdened by this failed tax again. We stand firm in our promise to end this tax for good,” Rustad said.

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Rustad emphasized that Eby’s decision comes after years of pushing a carbon tax that has increased the cost of living for ordinary British Columbians, making everything from groceries to gas more expensive without delivering meaningful environmental benefits.

“David Eby has lied to British Columbians before, and he’ll do it again,” Rustad continued. “He’s flip-flopped on this because he’s losing ground, and if re-elected, he’ll waste no time reversing his position on this tax. British Columbians deserve real leadership, not a premier who changes his stance whenever it suits his political needs.”

The B.C. Greens lashed out at Eby as well Thursday. Its news release accused Eby of committing a “carbon tax flip flop,” suggesting the B.C. NDP had no principles and no direction.

“Fix the carbon tax, make it fair, show how it can improve lives, and invest in the transition we need,” B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau said. “Letting industry pollute for free means the public continues to pay the price.”