Trudeau says he doesn't understand why NDP is pulling back from carbon price support

The New Democrats are facing political headwinds when it comes to carbon pricing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged Friday, but he said he doesn't understand why they're pulling back their support.

The New Democrats are facing political headwinds when it comes to carbon pricing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged Friday, but he said he doesn't understand why they're pulling back their support.

The NDP have long been proponents of the climate policy, and even campaigned on it in the 2019 election.

But this week, the party shifted its position, saying carbon pricing is not the "be-all, end-all" and encouraging premiers to come up with new ideas to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Its MPs also backed a non-binding Conservative motion in the House of Commons demanding that Trudeau sit down with provincial and territorial leaders within five weeks to discuss the policy.

"It's not a handful of conservative politicians and premiers that are going to turn me away from continuing the fight against climate change, the fight for a better future and the fight to put more money in people's pockets," Trudeau said Friday in Vaughn, Ont., a city northwest of Toronto.

"So I don't entirely understand the position of the NDP and pulling back from affordability measures and from the fight against climate change."

The Conservatives insist that the carbon price is making life less affordable for Canadians, while the Liberals say rebates from the price on pollution mean most Canadians end up with more money at the end of the day.