HALIFAX — Atlantic premiers are welcoming Ottawa’s retreat from its carbon pricing policy in Atlantic Canada, saying it will help the region cope with inflation.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey says in a statement that his Liberal government is pleased the prime minister recognized the impacts of carbon tax on the region by lifting the carbon pricing off home heating oil for three years.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston welcomed the measure as “a step,” but also said in an interview today that leaving the carbon pricing on gasoline “is still very punitive.”

The Progressive Conservative leader says he’d hoped Ottawa would remove carbon pricing altogether and instead support the province on its initiatives to meet its emissions targets.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs offered no praise to the prime minister for his retreat, saying in a tweet it didn’t go far enough, as he urged Ottawa to cancel the carbon tax altogether.

The federal government announced the measure on Thursday, along with an increase in the carbon price rebate for rural Canadians, as affordability concerns have left the party flailing in the polls in Atlantic Canada. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press