The new Democrats are facing headwinds when it comes to carbon pricing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted today, Friday, although he does not understand why they are rethinking their position.

The New Democratic Party has long defended the idea of setting a price on pollution, even campaigning on that basis in the 2019 elections.

But this week, the party changed its tone, saying that carbon pricing is not the optimal solution and encouraging premiers to come up with new ideas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The new Democratic MPs also supported the Conservatives' non-binding motion in the House of Commons that calls on Trudeau to sit down with the provincial and territorial leaders within five weeks to discuss this policy.

Trudeau said on Friday during a press conference in Vaughan, Ontario, outside Toronto: "It is not a handful of conservative politicians and premiers who will divert me from continuing the fight against climate change."

"So I don’t fully understand the NDP's position and their withdrawal from affordability measures and combating climate change."

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

Trudeau pointed out today that this has left new Democratic leader Jagmeet Singh between a rock and a hard place.

"I feel for the NDP and Jagmeet, this is a tough moment, there are political headwinds, and there is a lot of political pressure."

Trudeau said, "I certainly feel concerned about affordability as well as being concerned about climate change, and everyone should feel that, noting that this should not prevent the NDP from holding to its principled political position."

He added, "I understand the political pressures facing the NDP leadership right now and the challenges of taking on an unpopular position, but doing the right thing should be something that progressive voters in this country can rely on."

Singh stated that the NDP has not changed its policy but did not mention whether he supports the federal carbon price.

Singh added in a statement that did not directly address Trudeau's comments: "The new Democrats are looking for ways to make life affordable for people and to fight the climate crisis with the urgency required."

He also chastised the Conservatives—accusing the party of ignoring climate change—as well as the Liberals, saying they are using the climate debate to divide the country.

Meanwhile, Conservatives see Singh as trying to mislead Canadians about his record in supporting this policy.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said in a post on X: "But we will not let him forget, and we will not let him try to deceive Canadians."

The Conservatives have tabled more than 20 motions in the House under Poilievre's leadership to scrap the federal carbon price. The NDP voted against all of those proposals except for two.

But now, after nearly a quarter of the federal NDP caucus has resigned or announced they would not run again, the Conservatives have turned to blaming Singh, describing him as a "desperate weak leader trying to escape his own record."

The NDP has made political gains as part of its political agreement with the minority Liberals that Trudeau leads, most notably gaining support for national pharmacare and dental care programs.

But so far, there is little polling evidence to suggest that those victories will translate into support at the ballot box.

Meanwhile, Conservatives are looking to pick off NDP seats in British Columbia and Northern Ontario, where their ongoing campaigns on cost-of-living issues and the Liberal price of pollution are resonating.

However, they were no less determined on Friday to make life difficult for the governing party, prompting a wave of calls to block progress on the Liberals' bill aimed at creating sustainable jobs.

More than once during his press conference, Trudeau had to pause and look at his mobile phone to cast a virtual vote in the House, constantly surrounded by the Ministers of Finance and Housing doing the same.