Canadians can expect even higher prices at the pumps once the Trudeau government moves ahead with its planned carbon tax hike on April 1.
The hike comes even as gas prices hit record highs across Canada, with parts of downtown Vancouver now paying over $2.00 per litre.
The 25% increase to the tax will raise the cost of greenhouse gas emissions from $40 per tonne to $50 per tonne. The Liberals have stated that they will continue to increase that cost by $15 per year until 2030, when it’s expected to reach $170 per tonne. The increase will also impact the price of any goods transported using fossil fuels.
Some politicians including Brampton, Ontario mayor Patrick Brown are urging the federal government to put a halt on the tax hike, citing the unprecedented gas prices now plaguing Canadians.
“The supply concerns caused by Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and other inflationary pressures have made energy unaffordable for many. Canceling the increase on the carbon tax right now is the right call,” Brown wrote to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
“No new burdens should be on the backs of taxpayers during a period of economic upheaval.”
“My policy has been consistent throughout this pandemic. I want no new taxes and no new burdens on the backs of our families and our small businesses,” said Brown.
Yesterday, Conservative MP and leadership contender Pierre Poilievre said that if elected prime minister his government would scrap the federal carbon tax and take a technology-centric approach to fighting climate change.
“Scrapping the carbon tax will reduce the cost of living, it will mean small businesses will have more money to hire workers and provide affordable goods for their people, and it will allow us to recentre the focus of environmental policy onto real results, not revenue and onto technology rather than taxes,” said Poilievre.
In October, Ontario Premier Doug Ford also warned that the gas prices were “just the beginning” of Canadians’ woes when it came to the downstream effects of the carbon tax.
“The carbon tax is the single worst tax on the backs of Canadians that’s ever existed. It’s driving up the cost of groceries, it’s driving up the cost of us getting from point A to point B, driving your kids to work, I have fought this day in and day out,” said Ford.
To date, the Trudeau government has not made any indication that it will halt planned increases of the carbon tax.
