New Democrats vote with Conservatives to support motion

The Liberals and the Bloc Québécois voted Monday to strike down a motion calling on the federal government to extend a carbon tax exemption to all forms of home heating, not just heating oil.

The non-binding motion was sponsored by Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, who said the exemption is divisive and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is engaging in regional favouritism.

Speaking outside the House of Commons after the vote, Poilievre said Trudeau has a “carbon tax coalition” with the Bloc Québécois, whom he referred to as “separatists.”

“He’s now signed on with the separatists to divide Canadians into two separate classes: those who will have to pay carbon tax on their home heat, and a small minority who will get a pause from the pain,” he said.

Statistics Canada reports that in 2021, only three per cent of all Canadian homes relied on home heating oil. Most of these homes are in the Atlantic region, but the new exemption applies across the country.

Trudeau has said heating oil is much pricier to use than natural gas and households in Atlantic Canada need more time to replace their furnaces with electric heat pumps.

The Liberals also have said there are actually more Canadians outside the Atlantic region that use home heating oil, but only three Atlantic provinces have signed on to a program to help oil users switch to heat pumps.

The New Democrats voted in favour of Poilievre’s motion.

Before the vote, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he is “always reluctant to vote alongside the Conservatives in any way” but he also rejects “the divisive approach of the Liberals.”

At a meeting in Halifax on Monday, Canada’s premiers said they want fair treatment under the carbon tax. Some went even further; Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the tax should be eliminated altogether.

Singh said the NDP wants the GST taken off home heating. The party also wants to use revenue from a proposed windfall tax on oil and gas companies to help Canadians buy a heat pump.

Shortly after the votes were tallied, Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay raised a point of order accusing Liberal MP Ken McDonald of raising his middle finger during the proceedings.

In response, McDonald said he “scratched the side of my head with two fingers,” prompting loud exclamations from Conservatives.

Speaker of the House Greg Fergus said he would review videotape of the alleged incident and report back if necessary.