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But it wasn鈥檛 until Monday that Poilievre cleared long-standing ambiguity over his own plans, promising not only to 鈥渁xe the tax鈥� on consumers, but to also scrap the federal government鈥檚 industrial pricing scheme.

鈥淲e will also axe the tax on steel, aluminum, natural gas, food production, concrete and other industries instead of taxes,鈥� Poilievre said, referring to the current requirement under a 2019 law for all provinces and territories to have minimum carbon prices on heavy emitting industries.

鈥淲e will use technology. Technology, not taxes, is the best way to fight climate change and protect our environment,鈥� he said.

The promise immediately raised questions about whether the Conservatives could maintain Canada鈥檚 current international commitments to slash emissions that cause climate change. According to the , industrial carbon pricing is expected to account for almost half of the country鈥檚 projected emissions reductions by 2030, when the current government aims to slash greenhouse gas output by at least 40 per cent below 2005 levels.聽In a statement Monday, the institute’s president Rick Smith said cancelling industrial pricing would create business uncertainty and “leave Canada without a credible climate plan.”

Poilievre’s announcement also sparked criticism from other federal parties, and environmental groups who accused the Conservatives of caving to corporate interests.

In place of national carbon pricing, Poilievre promised to expand existing tax credits for clean technology and investments in clean manufacturing in a “carrot, not stick” approach. He did not specify how much he would expand these credits, which the current government expects to cost $11.4 billion over five years, or how much they would reduce emissions.

Poilievre also dodged a question about whether he would have a target for national emissions reductions, stating he would view climate change as a global problem and that Canada could help cut global emissions if it exports more natural gas that displaces dirtier fuel.

“I don’t think it is an achievement to shut down a Canadian steel mill 鈥� and then see one open up in China that produces 10 or 20 times more emissions for each unit of steel. (What) we need to do is acknowledge that the best way to reduce emissions is to bring home clean production here,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre鈥檚 spokesperson, Sebastian Skamski, did not respond when asked if the Conservatives would stay in the international Paris Agreement, which is based on countries adhering to national emissions targets to avoid the catastrophic extremes of climate change.

He also did not say how much it would cost for Poilievre to expand the tax credits, or whether the hit to government revenue would be matched with cuts under his 鈥渄ollar-for-dollar鈥� promise to match new spending with equivalent reductions.

In an interview with the Star, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson described Poilievre鈥檚 emphasis on technological incentives over taxes as 鈥済arbage,鈥� and argued the Conservative leader doesn鈥檛 understand the need for both 鈥渃arrots鈥� and 鈥渟ticks鈥� to spur economic growth and reduce emissions.

Wilkinson also said that 鈥� at a time when Canada is searching for deeper trading relationships in response to U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 punishing tariffs 鈥� the European Union is looking to tax imports from countries with weaker climate policies. Removing the industrial carbon price could mean Canadian products face such a tax, Wilkinson said.

For that reason, Wilkinson argued it is bad economic and environmental policy to scrap industrial carbon pricing, a walk-back on climate action that is 鈥渁ping鈥� what Trump is doing in the United States, which has included withdrawing from the Paris Accord and promising to crank up fossil fuel production.

The Conservatives have also promised to repeal the Trudeau-era Impact Assessment Act, which they allege is failing to clear the way for major development projects, including fossil fuel pipelines. The party also opposes the Liberal government’s planned emissions cap for the oil and gas sector, and clean fuel regulations that Poilievre has described as a second “carbon tax.”

鈥淭his shows us that Mr. Poilievre never had an intention to address climate change, and he feels emboldened by President Trump,鈥� Wilkinson said of Monday鈥檚 pledge to get rid of the national requirement for industrial pricing.

At a news conference, Poilievre also alluded to Trump in arguing that Liberal policies like the industrial carbon price have weakened the Canadian economy and left the vulnerable to Trump鈥檚 tariffs and threats of annexation.

“The combination of Trump’s tariffs and Carney’s would be a disaster for the workers behind me. Workers would lose wages, consumers would pay more money, and jobs would leave Canada, making us even more dependent on the Americans, just like Trump wants,” Poilievre said.

He also accused Carney鈥檚 new Liberal government of trying to deceive Canadians by removing the consumer carbon price while planning to adopt a 鈥渂igger鈥� tax on carbon emissions after the next election.

That was a reference to Carney鈥檚 plan to replace the consumer price with a series of green incentives, which he said in January would be funded by selling credits into the existing industrial pricing system and using proceeds to pay for people making energy-efficient changes like replacing furnaces or buying an electric car.

Asked about that plan on Monday, Wilkinson said the government is still working out the details of how that will work. 鈥淲e will need to come forward with a plan that shows exactly how we’re going to meet those targets,鈥� he said.

The New Democrats have also signalled they鈥檙e willing to back away from consumer carbon pricing. In their case, however, they鈥檝e stressed that the onus to pay for emissions reductions should fall on big business and save workers from bearing the brunt of climate costs.

NDP MP Laurel Collins said in a statement Monday that Poilievre鈥檚 pledge to scrap the entire federal carbon pricing regime means he is offering a 鈥渢ax break for billionaires鈥� that will eat away government revenues and lead to social program cuts.

鈥淲e have to put workers first,鈥� Collins said, calling for spending to build an east-west electricity grid.

鈥淲e can fight the climate crisis and make big polluters pay.鈥�

Environmental groups also criticized Poilievre鈥檚 announcement, with Greenpeace鈥檚 Keith Stewart accusing the Conservatives of letting the fossil fuel sector 鈥渙ff the hook for doing their fair share to fight climate change, while regular people are left to pay the cost in the form of ever-stronger wildfires, floods and storms.鈥�

Julia Levin, associate director of national climate at the organization Environmental Defence, also defended industrial carbon pricing in a statement Monday. Levin argued the policy pushes heavy industries to slash emissions and become more competitive by investing in clean technology.

“Any political leader who is threatening to do away with these rules is catering to corporate interests over the public good. We only have to look south of the border to see how dangerous that approach is,” Levin said.

According to the organization , Canada was responsible for 1.54 per cent of global emissions in 2021, making it the world鈥檚 10th heaviest producer of greenhouse gas pollution.