There are growing calls from political leaders for the federal carbon tax increase to be paused.

New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday.

“At a time when so many New Brunswickers are struggling to make ends meet, it’s unreasonable to ask them to pay more for a federal carbon tax increase,” Holt wrote in the letter.

“We talked to New Brunswickers across the province during my recent healthcare tour and many of them spoke about how hard it is to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living. They are making difficult choices to afford their family’s basic needs.”

The Liberal leader called on Trudeau to suspend the scheduled April 1 increase for one year.

Holt went on to say that many of the affordability problems facing New Brunswickers lie at the feet of the provincial government under Premier Blaine Higgs.

She urged the province to cancel the clean fuel adjuster, remove the provincial sales tax off of residential electricity bills, and create a made-in-New Brunswick environmental plan.

“We are committed to continuing to push the government to do more to make life affordable for New Brunswickers,” said Holt.

The carbon tax is slated to rise to $80 per tonne as of April 1. New Brunswickers will now pay a carbon tax of more than 17 cents per litre on gasoline, an increase of more than three cents.

Premiers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta are asking Ottawa to freeze the planned hike.

RELATED: Conservative leader to talk carbon tax in N.B.

The carbon tax is expected to be up for discussion in Saint John on Friday night as Higgs hosts Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for a party fundraising dinner.

Poilievre is scheduled to hold a rally in Fredericton on Saturday as part of his “Spike the Hike, Axe the Tax” tour.