Premier Scott Moe is once again playing the carbon tax card, promising that if re-elected on October 28, Saskatchewan residents will remain exempt from paying Ottawa’s carbon levy on home heating. On the surface, this sounds like good news for families after all, Moe says the average household would save $480 next year. In an era of stubbornly high grocery and utility bills, that kind of relief isn’t insignificant.
But this isn’t just about saving families a few hundred dollars. It’s also about Moe drawing a sharp line against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, which he now habitually brands as the “Trudeau-NDP government.” The label is politically clever though perhaps a bit outdated, given that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh recently ended his party’s supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals. Still, Moe knows that tying the two together plays well with his base.
The Saskatchewan government has been in open defiance of Ottawa since earlier this year, refusing to remit the carbon levy on natural gas. The province made this move after the federal government created an exemption for home-heating oil used mostly in Atlantic Canada. Moe called it unfair, and he’s not wrong. If one region gets a carve-out, why shouldn’t another? Ottawa has since reached a partial deal with Saskatchewan, collecting half of what it’s owed while the fight drags on.
Interestingly, Moe isn’t alone on this. Even Carla Beck, leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, has opposed the federal carbon levy on home heating. Her caucus supported Moe’s stance in the legislature, and she even welcomed Singh’s decision to end his deal with Trudeau. That rare alignment between government and opposition shows just how deeply unpopular the federal carbon tax has become in Saskatchewan.
Of course, there’s an irony here. Residents still receive federal carbon rebates, meaning many households actually come out ahead financially even with the levy in place. But that doesn’t erase the political optics. For Moe, the carbon tax fight isn’t just about fairness; it’s about standing up to Ottawa, playing defender of Saskatchewan families, and painting Trudeau as out of touch with the Prairies.
The real question is whether voters see this as genuine advocacy or just another round of political theatre. Moe is betting that frustration with Ottawa and a promise to keep the carbon tax off your heating bill will be enough to secure another mandate.
