Crombie refuses to weigh in on federal carbon tax [Video]

Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie refused to weigh in on the federal price on carbon emissions even as her party ruled out a provincial carbon tax if elected in 2026.

On Monday, Crombie revealed her party is striking a new climate change panel that will study potential legislative actions to combat greenhouse gas emissions but stressed that the panel is restricted from looking into new taxes as a solution.

“The only one criteria, the one mandate I’ve given them, is to not go in that direction (carbon tax),” Crombie said at a news conference at Queen’s Park.

Crombie has been facing questions, however, about whether her anti-carbon tax mandate is a criticism of the federal Liberal’s pricing policy, which places a surcharge on all fossil fuels in Ontario and other provinces that don’t have carbon pricing policies of their own.

While the federal government argues that the average Ontario family …