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Sep 16, 2020Liked by Line Editor

Wow, mic drop..... I have to say, I’ve never seen the pragmatic case for the CPC’s opposition to a carbon tax. The ideology-based, “carbon tax is a tax, taxes are bad, therefore carbon tax is bad” line of reasoning is clear enough, but it’s never seemed practical except as a means to appeal to the party’s faithful (which you only need to put so much effort into).

If memory serves, a revenue neutral carbon tax was part of Michael Chong’s platform in the 2017 CPC leadership race. He got slammed for it then (“why don’t you go join the Liberals, Michael”, etc....), but he’s now Erin O’Toole’s foreign affairs critic, which (one might assume) translates into a fairly influential cabinet post if the Conservatives win the next election. Though a change in the party’s messaging would have to be managed very carefully, I wonder if they might be willing to do it this time around.

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The last time something like this happened, I am thinking Mulroney's GST, the West formed a regional party, the Reform Party, and the liberals stayed in power for 10 years.

Don't ignore your base.

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