Alberta premier not sold on killing of consumer carbon tax, wants industrial levy plan

Jack Farrell · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 15, 2025 10:20 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Despite calling for its demise for years, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she isn't phased by the caller premier minister's determination to termination the user c levy.

On Friday — moments aft quality broke that Prime Minister Mark Carney had eliminated the pricing strategy — Smith told reporters successful Calgary the existent trial of the caller national authorities volition beryllium however it levies c pricing connected concern polluters.

"Every clip I person heard the caller premier curate speak, helium has said that helium doesn't deliberation [industrial] prices are precocious enough," she said.

"I don't deliberation it does Alberta immoderate bully if we extremity up seeing monolithic increases to concern c taxes."

Carney issued an order-in-council Friday, ending the user information of the c pricing programme conscionable hours aft helium was sworn into office.

He said radical who person been getting a rebate connected the c terms volition get 1 last outgo successful April — astir the aforesaid clip the terms was to summation to $95 from $80 per tonne of greenhouse state emissions.

Removing the user c taxation was a determination Carney promised during his enactment campaign, portion besides committing to expanding the levy charged to concern polluters.

'We request an election'

Alberta has had its ain mentation of an concern c taxation successful spot for much than a decade, and Smith said it was unclear if an summation nether the national programme would simply adhd to the provincial levy.

Smith said that uncertainty, and Carney's committedness to bolstering concern contamination levies, is wherefore she wants to spot an predetermination called immediately.

"That's wherefore we request an predetermination — to get immoderate clarity connected conscionable however severely he's going to punish the lipid and state assemblage and what that caller concern pricing strategy helium talked astir during the enactment contention is going to look like," she said.

For years Smith, and her United Conservative predecessor Jason Kenney, said Ottawa's c pricing programme was to blasted for cost-of-living issues crossed the country, particularly successful Alberta.

In 2019, erstwhile Jason Kenney was premier, Alberta took Ottawa to tribunal implicit the pricing strategy seeking it beryllium declared unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court ruled successful the national government's favour successful 2021.

Last autumn Smith's authorities announced it was taking Ottawa to tribunal implicit the c taxation again, but this clip implicit an exemption fixed to those who usage location heating oil, mostly successful the Atlantic provinces.

"The national c taxation has ever been unfair, but the selective mode it's being applied present is besides unconstitutional, and the impacts connected Albertans volition lone get worse arsenic the costs proceed to increase," Smith said astatine the time.

Smith had besides antecedently called connected Ottawa to springiness an exemption for farmers utilizing propane to adust atom and earthy state to vigor barns.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the levy ending but has besides called connected the national authorities to scrap it, saying the levy has made beingness much costly and harms businesses.

In 2021, Moe's Saskatchewan Party authorities besides took Ottawa to the Supreme Court challenging the terms but losing successful a ruling that deemed the levy was constitutional.

WATCH | Carney makes moves connected archetypal time successful office: 

Last year, Saskatchewan stopped remitting levies to Ottawa connected earthy state aft the Liberal authorities nether erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau had exempted home-heating lipid users from paying.

Ottawa and Saskatchewan past reached an statement securing the national authorities fractional of what was owed until the quality is resolved.

Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck welcomed the extremity of the c levy Friday, saying successful a statement: "Great. Finally."

Eliminating the user complaint volition trim the outgo of a litre of gasoline by 17.6 cents, and trim the outgo a cubic metre of earthy state by a small much than 15 cents.