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Quick Hit:

Elon Musk announced Saturday he is forming the “America Party,” claiming it will challenge what he calls the “one-party system” in Washington. The move follows his public split with President Trump and appears aimed at targeting Republicans who supported the president’s domestic agenda.

Key Details:

• Musk announced the America Party on X, declaring that Americans are living under a “one-party system” and need a new political alternative.
• The launch followed his criticism of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
• On Independence Day, Musk posted a poll asking if Americans wanted “independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system,” which he cited as support for forming the party.

By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!

When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.

Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom. https://t.co/9K8AD04QQN

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2025

Diving Deeper:

Elon Musk formally announced the launch of his new political outfit — the “America Party” — on Saturday, marking a new chapter in his increasingly public clash with Republican leadership.

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk wrote on his platform, X. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

The announcement comes as tensions between Musk and President Trump have escalated. While Musk previously worked closely with the administration as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, the relationship has deteriorated in the wake of Trump’s push for the One Big Beautiful Bill, a major domestic package that Musk now openly criticizes.

In a series of recent posts, Musk vowed to help primary Republican lawmakers who backed the bill. “They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” he posted earlier this week.

He’s offered few specifics beyond that, other than suggesting the party will “laser-focus” on a handful of Senate and House races in 2026. So far, there’s been no indication of a formal party structure, candidate recruitment, or funding plan.

Critics were quick to compare Musk’s move to Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential bid, which many credit with splitting the conservative vote and aiding Bill Clinton’s election. “You are pulling a Ross Perot, and I don’t like it,” one user reportedly responded on X.

Meanwhile, Trump has reportedly explored options to retaliate. According to multiple reports, the president has discussed whether to revoke federal contracts connected to Musk’s companies and even floated questions about his citizenship. “We’ll have to take a look,” Trump told reporters when asked directly.

While it’s too early to tell whether the America Party will amount to more than a personal platform, the political message is clear: Musk is now openly working against Republicans he once aligned with, and doing so under his own banner.

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Lee Harding

Lee Harding exposes the truth behind Canada’s sky-high carbon tax—one that’s hurting our oil industry and driving businesses away. With foreign oil paying next to nothing, Harding argues this policy is putting Canada at a major economic disadvantage. It’s time to rethink this costly approach.

Our sky-high carbon tax places Canadian businesses at a huge disadvantage and is pushing investment overseas

No carbon tax will ever satisfy global-warming advocates, but by most measures, Canada’s carbon tax is already too high.

This unfortunate reality was brought to light by Resource Works, a B.C.-based non-profit research and advocacy organization. In March, one of their papers outlined the disproportionate and damaging effects of Canada’s carbon taxes.

The study found that the average carbon tax among the top 20 oil-exporting nations, excluding Canada, was $0.70 per tonne of carbon emissions in fiscal 2023. With Canada included, that average jumps to $6.77 per tonne.

At least Canada demands the same standards for foreign producers as it does for domestic ones, right? Wrong.

Most of Canada’s oil imports come from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria, none of which impose a carbon tax. Only 2.8 per cent of Canada’s oil imports come from the modestly carbon-taxing countries of the U.K. and Colombia.

Canada’s federal consumer carbon tax was $80 per tonne, set to reach $170 by 2030, until Prime Minister Mark Carney reduced it to zero on March 14. However, parallel carbon taxes on industry remain in place and continue to rise.

Resource Works estimates Canada’s effective carbon tax at $58.94 per tonne for fiscal 2023, while foreign oil entering Canada had an effective tax of just $0.30 per tonne.

“This results in a 196-fold disparity, effectively functioning as a domestic tariff against Canadian oil production,” the research memo notes. Forget Donald Trump—Ottawa undermines our country more effectively than anyone else.

Canada is responsible for 1.5 per cent of global CO2 emissions, but the study estimates that Canada paid one-third of all carbon taxes in 2023. Mexico, with nearly the same emissions, paid just $3 billion in carbon taxes for 2023-24, far less than Canada’s $44 billion.

Resource Works also calculated that Canada alone raised the global per-tonne carbon tax average from $1.63 to $2.44. To be Canadian is to be heavily taxed.

Historically, the Canadian dollar and oil and gas investment in Canada tracked the global price of oil, but not anymore. A disconnect began in 2016 when the Trudeau government cancelled the Northern Gateway pipeline and banned tanker traffic on B.C.’s north coast.

The carbon tax was introduced in 2019 at $15 per tonne, a rate that increased annually until this year. The study argues this “economic burden,” not shared by the rest of the world, has placed Canada at “a competitive disadvantage by accelerating capital flight and reinforcing economic headwinds.”

This “erosion of energy-sector investment” has broader economic consequences, including trade balance pressures and increased exchange rate volatility.

According to NASA, Canadian forest fires released 640 million metric tonnes of carbon in 2023, four times the amount from fossil fuel emissions. We should focus on fighting fires, not penalizing our fossil fuel industry.

Carney praised Canada’s carbon tax approach in his 2021 book Value(s), raising questions about how long his reprieve will last. He has suggested raising carbon taxes on industry, which would worsen Canada’s competitive disadvantage.

In contrast, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre argued that extracting and exporting Canadian oil and gas could displace higher-carbon-emitting energy sources elsewhere, helping to reduce global emissions.

This approach makes more sense than imposing disproportionately high tax burdens on Canadians. Taxes won’t save the world.

Lee Harding is a research fellow for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.