The leader of the B.C. Conservatives said the dynamic of the provincial election won't change after Premier David Eby announced the B.C. NDP would eliminate the consumer carbon tax if Ottawa were to end its legal requirement.
But B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau called the change an opening for her party.
"A lot of British Columbians are struggling with affordability and the political consensus that we had in British Columbia has been badly damaged by the approach of the federal government on this issue," Eby said Thursday. "Our commitment is that if the federal government decides to remove the legal backstop requiring us to have a consumer carbon tax in B.C, we will end the consumer carbon tax in B.C."
He added that his government would ensure that the big polluters pay a price on carbon to help fight climate change, but did not spell out how.
The announcement — which surprised many — led to charges of Eby flip-flopping, but also invited suggestions that he had robbed the Conservatives of a key election plank, since it had been campaigning to eliminate the tax.
"I don't think it does," B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said Thursday. "I find it quite humorous actually that David Eby is actually running against his own government policy."
Eby's announcement came after federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh had hours earlier signalled his own opposition to the current version of the federal carbon tax in language that previewed Eby's promise to go after "big polluters."
Singh was trying to distance himself from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Rustad framed Eby's decision as being "torn between two lovers, between his boss federally (Singh) and between Justin Trudeau in terms of his policies."
Rustad further accused Eby of "being dishonest and disingenuous" because his promises hinges on Ottawa dropping the requirement. "So he's trying to make it sound like he is going to be providing people with relief on the carbon tax, when he is actually not doing it," he said.
He said it doesn't make a difference to the Conservative campaign.
"Getting rid of the carbon tax is only one component of helping people with affordability in...British Columbia," Rustad said. "There are additional measures that we need to take and I look forward to announcing those...likely next week, you will start seeing some major additional tax policy."
Furstenau, meanwhile, said the announcement shows the B.C. NDP's lack of environmental leadership. She said B.C. Greens are the "only choice" for voters who care about climate action and the environment.
"The B.C. NDP have proven that they are not interested in real climate action...they are not interested in actually protecting the tiny bit of old growth forest that remains in this province," she said. "They are interested in being on the side of industry, being on the sides of profits, and not being on the side of the people of British Columbia."
Climate change, she added, is not just some "theoretical thing that is happening in the future" but lived reality.
"We have the warmest ocean temperatures, we have the warmest global temperatures, we have the warmest 10 years on (record)," she said. "We are feeling the impacts (of climate change) in communities in B.C. again and again."
As opponents accused Eby of changing his position for electoral reasons, his subsequent comments suggested he is trying to walk a fine line.
Speaking on the Jas Johal Show late Thursday afternoon, Eby cited a recent conversation with unionized construction workers.
“They're saying, listen, 'our guys, they want to vote NDP, they want to support the NDP, but they're driving around, they're paying a lot of money for gas, and they're struggling,'” Eby said. “We got to keep people in the trade supporting climate action because it's a strong economic future for our province. And to be blunt, the carbon tax was just driving them away,” he added later.
These references to male blue-collar workers were likely not a coincidence. An Angus Reid poll published in late August found Eby appears to be losing ground among men older than 34 – the group most likely to be supporting the B.C. Conservatives.
Eby said his government "won't back down on climate". But he also created some distance to the idea of carbon taxation without denouncing the concept itself.
“I think that most people in British Columbia can have a look at the situation that people are facing in the province and say that the carbon tax is one tool, but it's not the only tool.
“Getting rid of the carbon tax on everyday British Columbians enables them to support a party that wants to take climate action, frees them up to be able to afford their groceries, but also say 'we want to make sure that there's an environment here for our kids.'”
UBC political scientist Stewart Prest said it is hard to say whether Eby's move will change the course of the race. Prest adds that he reads the move as the B.C. NDP feeling pressure from the provincial Conservatives in trying to tack toward the mainstream position on the carbon tax. "They (B.C. NDP) don't want to be the last the country in the country holding the bag on an unpopular policy," he said.
But this move, especially in light of previous reversals, also raises the question of whether "this is a government that has principles willing to stand on or if it is ultimately government by focus group," Prest said.
For provincial Conservatives, Eby's move gives them "another reason to say they are right" about the carbon tax, Prest said. "I don't think it changes the direction of the argument. It changes the nuance of how they make the case."
Effectively, Conservatives can campaign on being the "genuine article" while accusing the provincial New Democrats of stealing from their playbook, he said.
Eby's move could also change the fortunes of the B.C. Greens, who have "really been an after-thought" in this election. "But If anything is going to put wind in the sails of the B.C. Greens, this would be it."
