The Trudeau government can rebrand its carbon tax anyway it likes, but most Canadians are giving it the thumbs down.
A survey released this week by Leger for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation found almost seven in 10 Canadians (69%) oppose hiking the carbon tax on April 1, with only 31% in favour.
A majority oppose the planned hike — a 23% increase from $65 per tonne of industrial greenhouse gas emissions to $80 per tonne — in every province, in every age group, whether they live in cities, suburbs or rural areas.
Even most residents in B.C. and Quebec, which don’t pay the federal carbon tax because they have federally-approved provincial plans, oppose the hike.
The survey of 1,590 Canadian adults, part of Leger’s online panel, was conducted from Feb. 23 to 25, after the federal government announced it was rebranding “climate action incentive payments,” meant to defray the consumer costs of carbon pricing, as the “Canada Carbon Rebate.”
“The poll is clear: the vast majority of Canadians, across every province and all demographics, oppose the upcoming federal carbon tax hike,” said CTF director Franco Terrazzano. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should listen to Canadians and stop hiking his carbon tax.”
The federal government says 80% of households paying the carbon tax receive more in rebates than they pay in carbon taxes.
But Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux says when the negative impact of the carbon tax on the economy is factored in, 60% of households pay more in carbon taxes than they receive in rebates, rising to 80% in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. by the time the tax is fully implemented in 2030.
The April 1 increase will raise the cost of gasoline by 17.61 cents per litre, up from 14.31 cents last year, on its way to 37.43 cents in 2030, when the tax will be fully implemented.
It will raise the cost of natural gas used for home heating by 15.25 cents per cubic meter, up from 12.39 cents last year, on its way to 32.40 cents in 2030.
The carbon tax raises the cost of 22 types of fossil fuel energy in all, increasing the cost of almost everything because almost all goods and services use fossil fuel energy.
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