Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, delivers remarks in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

OTTAWA - Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of catering to his "rich friends" in the oil and gas sector by pushing a policy to scrap carbon pricing.

Guilbeault said Tuesday that Poilievre is clearly trying to curry favour with oil and gas executives who contributed to a fundraiser he held in Banff, Alta. last year by promising to kill the carbon price, eliminate the clean fuel standard and move away from regulations to cap emissions in the oil and gas sector.

"It is their interest that he's protecting. I can assure you that oil executives don't show up to my fundraisers," Guilbeault said.

"He wants to give polluters a free pass, but he should not get one."

An Elections Canada filing shared by the Liberals shows that a number of executives, including one from a major oil and gas company, attended a Conservative fundraiser advertised as "An Evening with Pierre Poilievre" on April 11, 2023.

The evening cost up to $1,700 per person. The attendee list includes Alexander Pourbaix, executive chair of the board of directors at Cenovus, Adam Waterous, managing partner and CEO of Waterous Energy Fund as well as Jim Riddell, who heads Paramount Resources.

Separate Elections Canada records show that all three men made a donation of $1,600 each to the Conservative Party of Canada the same week.

The Canadian Press has reached out to all of them for comment.

In an email, a spokesperson for Cenovus said that Pourbaix purchased a ticket but did not attend the event.

The spokesperson did not say whether Pourbaix would want a Conservative government to do away with carbon pricing and instead said Cenovus believes Canada needs "a carbon policy environment that enables growth in the sector without putting our industry at a competitive disadvantage to other major exporting countries."

Earlier this year, the CEOs and executives of some of Canada's largest oil and gas companies — including Cenovus — told a parliamentary committee that they while they oppose an emissions cap on their sector, they do support carbon pricing as a tool to reduce their industry's environmental impact.

The Liberals are ratcheting their efforts to defend the consumer carbon price as the policy's future appears increasingly in jeopardy.

Poilievre has built his entire election strategy around a promise to "axe the tax" for consumers, which was brought in by the Liberals to encourage individuals and smaller businesses to reduce carbon-emitting consumption by making fossil fuels more expensive.

The Conservative leader has not made his position clear on the industrial carbon pricing system, which makes big polluters pay on a portion of their emissions.

He insists the consumer carbon levy is making life less affordable while the Liberals charge that Poilievre never discusses the rebates sent out to offset the cost.

In a statement on Tuesday, Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman highlighted that the party received more than 100,000 donations between July 2023 and June 2024, with an average contribution of $198.

Lantsman said Conservatives are listening to everyday Canadians.

"We will axe the tax for good and for everyone to bring home lower prices," she said in a statement.

As Poilievre courts workers' votes, he has gone after corporate lobbyists and business groups, accusing them of cozying up to the governing Liberals.

Poilievre vowed in a National Post op-ed he penned earlier this year that a Conservative government will not pursue polices advocated by business groups unless they convince Canadians that it's the right thing to do.

He called on business leaders to cancel their "lunch meeting at the Rideau Club" — an exclusive social club in Ottawa — and go to Canadians directly with their policy asks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.

Note to readers: A previous version of this story identified Alexander Pourbaix as the CEO of Cenovus. He now holds the title of executive chair of the board of directors.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2024