Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rises to vote during an overnight session in the House of Commons on Dec. 8.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the Liberals will not abandon their carbon-pricing regime despite procedural protest tactics from the Conservatives that forced MPs to vote non-stop through the night Thursday and into Friday evening.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his team said they turned to procedure to challenge the Liberals on carbon pricing. They have also pledged that they will not relent in their pursuit of getting the Liberals to change their position.
Mr. Trudeau, who was in the House of Commons on Friday morning, said “No, we’re not axing the tax” as he left the chamber with a smile.
Earlier this week, Mr. Poilievre delivered a speech to his caucus in which he said his party would put forward thousands of amendments to force all night, round-the-clock voting until the Liberals agreed to their demand “to take the tax off farmers, First Nations and families.”
What to know about Trudeau’s carbon pricing system and the latest exemptions
By Friday morning, MPs had already been voting overnight. Voting continued into Friday and was expected to wrap up before midnight.
Some of the votes roused concern from stakeholders outside the House of Commons. It’s unclear if the Conservatives intend to use additional procedural manoeuvres next week in the Commons.
Alexandra Chyczij, national president for the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, posted on X that Conservative MPs had voted against funding Operation Unifier, a Canadian military training and capacity-building mission supporting the Ukrainian armed forces, and other support for Ukraine.
“Canada’s support for Ukraine should be unanimous and beyond political games,” Ms. Chyczij wrote in her posting.
A statement from Sam Lilly, press secretary for Mr. Poilievre’s office, said the Conservatives were not voting against Operation Unifier or other support for Ukraine, but rather against the economic policies of the Trudeau government.
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said Friday that his party has “successfully killed a day of governance” and ensured that Mr. Trudeau has one less day to implement his “destructive agenda.” Mr. Trudeau could put an end to the voting should he “axe the tax,” Mr. Scheer added.
Mr. Scheer also said that when Mr. Trudeau faces enough pressure, he backs down, pointing to members of the Liberal caucus who were “revolting” because of what they were hearing from voters on home heating.
The Liberals announced on Oct. 26 that the federal government would increase the rural rebate on carbon pricing and it would exempt home heating oil from the levy. At the time, Mr. Trudeau said a three-year pause on applying the carbon price to heating oil would give people additional time and money to move to electric heat pumps.
Government House Leader Karina Gould said Friday that the Liberals would continue to stand up to the Conservatives, calling them “bullies.”
“Mr. Poilievre is just gaslighting people for clickbait,” she said.
Canadians deserve better than “risky and reckless” behaviour, she said, adding that the approach was not achieving anything except a cost to taxpayers because MPs had to be at the chamber overnight. Ms. Gould was referring to the fact that staff had to work through the night at the House.
Ms. Gould also said that abundant amounts of coffee and tea had helped to keep MPs awake on her side of the Commons.
New Democrats also took issue with Mr. Poilievre’s approach. Leader Jagmeet Singh said what Canadians see from Mr. Poilievre is “all an act.”
Daniel Blaikie, the NDP’s finance critic, said the tactics used in the chamber amounted to “hundreds of thousands of dollars to be spent on votes” that could have been resolved within an hour or two.
Conservatives talk about fiscal responsibility, he said, but “spend public dollars frivolously when it suits them.”
No custom component found for subtype: oovvuu-video
In a post on X on Friday evening, Mr. Poilievre said NDP and Liberal MPs were “crying crocodile tears because the carbon tax filibuster” cost them a night of sleep. He said now they can know what it is like for many who suffer sleepless nights because they can’t afford food and rent after eight years of Mr. Trudeau as Prime Minister.
After midnight, Mr. Poilievre returned from Montreal carrying fast food for members of his caucus, according to video posted on the leader’s social-media feed.
Mr. Poilievre posted on X about visiting a synagogue in Montreal to join the Jewish community on the first night of Hanukkah on Thursday. The Conservative party website also indicated that the leader attended a fundraising event in the Montreal-area municipality of Pointe-Claire.
Don Boudria, who faced similar opposition measures during his seven years as Government House leader for then-Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien, said Friday he does not expect Canadians will be impressed by the approach used in the Commons by the Conservatives.
He questioned how many people at a coffee shop would talk about a vote in the early hours of the morning.
Mr. Boudria, a senior associate at the Sandstone Group that works on public relations and government relations, said he is concerned about the damage the standoff has done to Parliament, adding that it amounts to stress on staff and some MPs, and may turn off prospective candidates to seek a seat in Parliament.