FREDERICTON — New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt confirmed today that her newly elected Liberal government will draft a carbon pricing plan that will be submitted for Ottawa’s approval.

Holt made the comments in Fredericton during a news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau said all provinces have the option of creating their own plan, so long as it meets certain national standards.

The prime minister said former New Brunswick Tory premier Blaine Higgs had initially been on board with a carbon pricing plan, but Trudeau said Higgs scrapped that idea and instead focused on criticizing the federal government.

Holt said her government would remove the province’s four-cent-a-litre gas tax and then submit to Ottawa a “made in New Brunswick climate plan.”

During the recent provincial election campaign, Holt said a Liberal government would draw up a plan that would ensure large emitters of carbon would pay for their emissions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press