“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we first practice to deceive.” Sir Walter Scott’s words in Marmion seem apt as the NDP jettisons the consumer-facing provincial carbon tax and distances itself from other elements of its CleanBC plan, which aims to dramatically slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030.

The good news is that killing the carbon tax will save consumers and businesses upwards of $1.5 billion, improve the competitive position of many B.C. exporters and provide a dollop of fiscal stimulus. But the abrupt policy volte-face also brings several complications for government.

The threads of B.C.’s climate policy web were first set in 2017. when the NDP eliminated the carbon tax’s revenue-neutral structure. Instead of trimming personal and corporate income taxes as the carbon tax steadily increased (thus keeping the overall tax burden stable), the NDP incorporated the additional tax revenue into its operating budget. In 2025-26, government planned to collect $3 billion in carbon tax revenue—a sizable jump from the $1.2 billion raised back in 2016-17.

Most of that revenue is now set to disappear. Large industrial emitters will still pay a carbon........

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