Conservative MP presses government on EU carbon tariff threat to Canadian exports

Calgary Midnapore Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie pressed the federal government Friday to explain what it is doing about a looming European Union carbon tariff that she said could affect up to $3 billion worth of Canadian exports, as a Canada-EU summit took place.

Parliamentary Secretary Yasir Naqvi, responding to Kusie's first question on CETA ratification, pointed to trade growth between Canada and the EU since the agreement was signed, saying the government's focus is on deepening trade ties with Europe and creating opportunities for Canadian businesses.

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The exchange came 10 years to the day after Canada and the European Union signed the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as CETA, on Oct. 30, 2016. The deal entered into force provisionally on Sept. 21, 2017, but full ratification by all EU member states remains incomplete.

Kusie said nine nations have yet to ratify CETA, including France and Poland, and argued the government's attention to associate membership with Europe is misplaced. "So why is the Prime Minister so fixated upon associate membership when he should be focusing on getting the other 9 nations to ratify the agreement so we can get our Canadian beef and pork to the European market?" she said.

Naqvi said trade between Canada and the EU has grown 75 per cent since CETA was signed, citing increases of 63 per cent with France, 77 per cent with Italy and 110 per cent with Poland. "Imagine what more can we do when we have a deeper alliance with Europe that the Prime Minister is working as we speak right now," he said.

In a second exchange, Kusie raised the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which the European Union formally launched on Jan. 1, 2026. She said the tariff could affect up to $3 billion in Canadian exports and asked whether the Prime Minister would announce at the day's summit that the issue had been resolved, or would instead raise Canada's industrial carbon tax to compensate. "This Liberal government is failing on trade," she said.

Naqvi again did not answer the carbon tariff question directly. "What we are focused on is making sure that we diversify trade for all Canadians, that we create opportunities for Canadian companies to do — to be able to do business all around the world," he said. "We will continue to build those relationships so that we can create good opportunities for Canadian businesses and for Canadian workers."