File photo (Image credit: CFJC Today).

By Michael Reeve

CANADA VOTES 2025

Election Issues 2025: Carbon tax and the environment

Apr 24, 2025 | 4:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Conservative Party of Canada had been campaigning on a carbon tax election for years ahead of the writ drop, but with the Liberals lowering the consumer carbon tax levy to zero dollars per tonne, one of the main topics of the election cycle was quickly negated.

Nevertheless the environment file remains an important topic for voters as they head to the polls.

Kamloops candidates were asked — What would you party do on the environment file?

Carbon tax or no carbon tax, B.C. Interior residents know all to well the effects of climate change, from floods, to drought, and yearly smoke filled skies throughout the summer wildfire months.

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The People Party of Canada believes that humans are responsible for environmental damage, but not overall climate change.

“What we want to do is protect our soil, protect our water, protect our air,” said Chris Enns, the PCC candidate in Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola. “We want to balance our economy with our environmental policy and make sure that if green energy is cost effective we allow it to be developed in a free market environment.”

The Green Party now stands alone in favour of carbon pricing. Despite the challenges, Owen Madden, the candidate in Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies, sees the file as an economic opportunity.

“At the moment if you were to take energy generated from oil, gas and coal, and just shy of double that, is the renewal portion of what new energy looks like across the globe. So we don’t want to get left behind, we don’t want to buy ourselves into, lock ourselves into producing the type of energy the world wants to get away from,” Madden said.

Mel Arnold, the Conservative Candidate for Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies, said one of the “key pieces” he has been working on since he was elected in 2015 is aquatic invasive species.

“The risk of zebra and quagga mussels being introduced into our water bodies and water systems here, the ecological damage and the economic damage that has been caused by that has been totally ignored by the liberal government,” Arnold said.

The Tories are also not confident that the Liberals will keep the consumer carbon tax at zero dollars. They also say the industrial carbon tax will still be passed down to consumers.

The Liberals, however, are remaining steadfast in keeping the industrial carbon price in place, ensuring big polluters continue to pay for their emissions.

“We are keeping the price on carbon for industrial emitters which is a necessary policy and removing would be a disaster not just for our environment but for the industries themselves who have written in support of an industrial carbon price,” Iain Currie, the Liberal candidate in Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, said.

Elsewhere, the NDP are looking to help support homeowners in the face of climate disasters, something those in the Venables Valley are still dealing with following last year’s wildfire.

“We would develop a national climate disaster insurance program for high-risk properties and for damage not covered by private insurance,” Phaedra Idzan, the NDP candidate in Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies said.

“That’s a big one for folks, a lot of insurance companies are no longer covering fire damage, which is very scary. and we would help all families retrofit their homes to be more resilient to wildfires.”

Election day is Monday April 28.

More election issues will be discussed this week, and tomorrow candidates will be asked about their party’s plan regarding crime and public safety.

Monday’s topic was affordability, Tuesday’s story was on housing, and Wednesday’s article was on U.S. trade relations.