The Carbon Tax was a major part of Trudeau’s downfall near the end of his term. Why did he have such a hard-on for the Carbon Tax? Why didn’t he cancel it when he had a chance and maybe salvage his political career? Why did Carney scrap it on his first day?

EDIT thanks for all the responses. It now makes so much sense. Trudeau was on his way out. He knew it. He took all the heat so that the new leader could take credit and ushering in a “We’re not Trudeau” party leadership, potentially saving the party during the next election and sticking it to Poillivere

  • darkpandaEnglish
    18·
    3 days ago

    A few theories

    a) he didn’t want to be the one to kill his own baby.

    b) people didn’t like Trudeau as it was, so him scraping it wouldn’t have meant as much as having his successor scrap it. Now Carney gets a boost from getting the credit and it helps the Liberal Party’s chances in the upcoming election ‘cause Carney can now distinguish himself from his unpopular predecessor.

    • liverpoolbutterEnglish
      5·
      3 days ago

      I’m not sure how intentional b) is, but I think it will work. Plus, I believe what replaces it will not actually be better, just less transparent and not be in people’s faces. Killing the tax and introducing a new non-consumer facing tax would get torn to shreds with Trudeau doing it.

  • CheeseAndCatsupEnglish
    11·
    2 days ago

    I’m just an American that lives here, but I think he knew he was past his best by date in the eye of the public. The best thing to do was to take as much heat as possible on the way out. It was better for the party to let his successor take credit for publicly appeasing decisions. Poilevre is a snake oil salesman, and his snake oil was “Trudeau is the problem” and “Axe the Tax”. Trudeau eliminated himself and let his successor take credit for axing the tax. Just good politics.

  • ahalEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    I think it also would have made him look weak. It would be seen as capitulating to Poilievre. It wouldn’t have won anyone over.

    But Carney didn’t have that optics problem.

  • running_ragged@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    3 days ago

    Im honestly wondering if it was so they could pull the whole rug out from under PP. Swap Trudeau and the Drop the tax and he had nothing left. Maybe thats giving them too much credit.

  • Avid AmoebaEnglish
    21·
    2 days ago

    I think in addition to what others have outlined, he’s also a bit too self-confident. There’s been multiple occasions during his tenure where he’s defended what he thought was right, even if unpopular with his own party.