Saskatchewan’s government and Premier Scott Moe need to recalibrate as both the Justin Trudeau Liberals and the carbon tax seem headed for obliviion.
A couple of weeks before he withdrew from his re-election campaign, American President Joe Biden announced in a July interview that only the “Lord almighty” could convince him to quit.
And a Liberal government in Ottawa appears to be good news for Premier Scott Moe and his Saskatchewan Party, who have made opposition to federal policies their main political strategy, often to the exclusion of all else.
So Moe is losing his most valuable political weapon, a federal Liberal government, which has long benefitted Saskatchewan’s provincial governments — including the NDP, which governed for most of the reign of Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he no longer supports the current approach to carbon pricing and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is itching for an election on killing the carbon tax while his party enjoys a 20-point lead over the Liberals.
Moe provided no source for the claim, and no further explanation. But the province’s own carbon levy (which it calls output-based performance standards) is expected to generate $351.3 million in the province’s current budget.
Notably, the province revealed last month that it’s anticipating a higher than expected deficit of $354 million during this fiscal year.
The chances of any sort of Liberal comeback seem beyond meagre; Trudeau could be history as soon as the spring. So Saskatchewan should expect a more fulsome vision from Moe for the next four years, predicting a time without a Trudeau government or a carbon tax.
However, that poses an identity crisis for Moe’s party, which has staked so much on opposing the federal Liberals. The party itself — and voters — may well wonder what else defines this political entity.
A pivot seems unlikely for a party so entrenched, even as NDP Leader Carla Beck promises to suspend the provincial gas tax and reduce the reach of the provincial sales tax.
The looming provincial election will test whether Moe’s government can deliver a real message for Saskatchewan or whether it remains addicted to attacking the ghosts of Trudeau and the carbon tax.
Phil Tank is the digital opinion editor at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Our websites are your destination for up-to-the-minute Saskatchewan news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and leaderpost.com. For Regina Leader-Post newsletters click here; for Saskatoon StarPhoenix newsletters click here