Poilievre kicks off debate on non-confidence motion on carbon tax

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre urged MPs Thursday to back his motion to topple the government over its planned increase to the carbon tax — a manoeuvre that's unlikely to succeed.

If the motion carries and a majority of MPs vote non-confidence in the government, this Parliament will be dissolved and the country will head into an election.

The Liberal government is expected to survive the vote because of its supply-and-confidence agreement with the NDP, which has agreed to prop up the governing party until 2025.

Poilievre may not be in the House of Commons later today when the motion faces its final vote. He's scheduled to be at a fundraiser in Toronto.

Poilievre kicked off the debate by painting a bleak picture of Canada under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — a place where, he said, inflation has battered pocketbooks and some food bank shelves are empty as people scramble to cope with high inflation.

He argued the planned increase to the carbon tax will only make things worse.

The April 1 tax hike will increase the cost of fossil fuels; consumers are expected to pay about three cents more for a litre of gas than they do now.

The government's Canada carbon rebate is designed to make people whole for additional costs imposed by the carbon tax.

Ottawa sends quarterly cheques to families in the eight provinces where the federal tax is in place.

The tax, the centrepiece of the Liberal government's climate plan, makes oil, natural gas and propane and other fuels more expensive to encourage Canadians to choose cleaner, greener sources.

«We cannot in good conscience stand by while this prime minister imposes more misery and suffering on the Canadian people,» Poilievre said.

He said MPs should pass the non-confidence motion to «restore