Quebec becomes only province with a price on carbon, but it might not last

Maura Forrest · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 1:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

As Quebec becomes the past state successful Canada that hasn't abandoned c pricing, the provincial authorities could commencement feeling unit to align itself with the remainder of the country.

There has agelong been a wide statement successful Quebec connected the request to trim greenhouse state emissions, and the province's cap-and-trade system, launched successful 2013, has ne'er been particularly controversial.

But immoderate accidental Prime Minister Mark Carney's determination to scrap the national user c terms could alteration that — especially erstwhile Quebecers announcement the quality astatine the pump.

As of Tuesday, the national c price, which applied successful astir provinces and territories, has officially been scrapped.

British Columbia, which was the archetypal state to enforce its ain c terms successful 2008, has besides repealed its tax.

Asked Monday astir whether helium should enactment successful kind, Premier François Legault said helium would hold to spot the result of the April 28 national election. 

"We decidedly person to beryllium competitive," helium told reporters during a travel to Germany.

He added that Quebec's cap-and-trade strategy "ultimately costs little for the consumer" than the national c terms did.

With the national measurement present gone, however, critics of c pricing accidental it's lone a substance of clip earlier Quebecers commencement to consciousness symptom astatine the pump.

"When we comparison prices betwixt Gatineau oregon Montreal and Ottawa ... that quality is going to beryllium striking," said Carol Montreuil, a vice-president with the Canadian Fuels Association.

"I deliberation a batch of radical are going to beryllium questioning whether possibly it's clip to enactment a intermission connected that [cap-and-trade] system."

He said galore Quebecers volition beryllium "looking astatine the authorities for a break," particularly with the added load of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

It's hard to foretell precisely however Quebec state prices volition comparison to the remainder of the state successful the lack of the c price. 

In 2024, the national levy accounted for 17.6 cents per litre of gas. Quebec's cap-and-trade system, which is linked to California's, presently costs astir 10 cents per litre.

But Pierre-Olivier Pineau, seat of vigor assemblage absorption astatine HEC Montreal, the concern schoolhouse of Université de Montréal, cautioned that radical extracurricular Quebec won't needfully spot state prices driblet by a afloat 18 cents connected Tuesday.

"At slightest for a transitional period, the distributors and the work stations volition support a larger nett margin," helium said.

Will Quebecers notice?

On March 31, the website GasBuddy.com showed Quebec arsenic having an mean state terms of astir $1.53 per litre — among the lowest successful the country. The mean terms successful B.C. was a afloat 25 cents higher, astir $1.78 per litre.

One happening is clear, said Nicolas Gagnon, Quebec manager of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "Quebec volition beryllium going from 1 of the places wherever state is comparatively affordable close present to 1 of the places wherever the terms is the highest successful the country," helium said.

Gagnon is hoping to prehend this "window of opportunity" to unit the Quebec authorities to abolish its c price.

But Normand Mousseau, a physics prof astatine the Université de Montréal and technological manager of an vigor institute astatine the university, pointed retired that nary large governmental enactment successful Quebec has travel retired against the cap-and-trade system.

He said it's improbable Quebecers volition wage overmuch attraction to state prices successful neighbouring provinces.

"There's a statement successful Quebec that clime issues are existent and we indispensable bash something," helium said. "So I find it hard to spot it becoming a governmental contented close now."

Pineau said if the authorities does commencement to consciousness unit connected c pricing, it could ever take to redirect immoderate of the gross from the c marketplace to taxpayers. 

Currently, the wealth goes to Quebec's electrification and clime alteration fund, to beryllium spent connected programs that trim emissions.

That's different mode Quebec's c terms is chiseled from the national system, which returned astir of the gross straight to households.

But Pineau added that 1 of the reasons Quebec's cap-and-trade strategy hasn't go a governmental lightning rod whitethorn conscionable beryllium that it's much analyzable than a c levy, and the outgo is little obvious.

"If you don't recognize something," helium said, "it's hard to beryllium against it."