It’s been described as a signature blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s signature policy. Last month, the Liberals announced a three-year pause to the application of the carbon price on home heating oil to help ease the costs, especially in Atlantic Canada where it’s used in about a third of all households.

Climate and energy experts decried it as a weakening of Trudeau’s policy, former environment minister Catherine McKenna condemned the move, and potential leadership candidate Mark Carney said publicly that he wouldn’t have done things that way.

Provincial premiers, such as Alberta’s Danielle Smith, Ontario’s Doug Ford, British Columbia’s David Ebby, Manitoba’s Wab Kinew, and Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe all called for the carbon price to be eliminated from home heating for all their residents. Moe went so far as to pledge to stop collecting and transmitting the levy on natural gas.

What was expected by some rural MPs to be a popular announcement, unleashed a huge outcry putting the debate over carbon pricing right back on the front burner.

This week on “It’s Political” we dig into the carbon pricing debate, with Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, experts Andrew Leach, Dale Beugin and Katya Rhodes, and Liberal MP Kody Blois, whose persistent lobbying led to the policy change.

4:23.077 - Kody Blois

17:15.840 - The Case for Carbon Pricing

39:46.601 - Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault

In this episode: Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault, Nova Scotia Liberal MP Kody Blois, University of Alberta Professor Andrew Leach, Canadian Climate Institute Executive Vice President Dale Beugin, University of Victoria Assistant Professor in climate policy Katya Rhodes. Hosted by Althia Raj.

Some of the clips this week were sourced from CPAC, The Senate, The House of Commons, The Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery, CBC, Global News, CTV, Pierre Poilievre’s Facebook Page, The Conservative Party of Canada, Scott Moe’s X/Twitter account.

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Kevin Sexton mixed the program. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.