The consumer carbon tax is gone, but not everyone on P.E.I. is happy about it

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 3:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

While galore Prince Edward Island drivers were blessed to get a large interruption astatine the state pumps Tuesday, the national government's elimination of the user c taxation drew mixed absorption from others.

The minimum terms for gasoline successful P.E.I. fell by astir 20 cents per litre, bringing it down to $1.49, portion diesel prices fell astir 24 cents to $1.66 per litre.

The alteration is the effect of a directive Mark Carney signed past period connected his archetypal time arsenic premier minister, ordering that the substance complaint beryllium removed connected April 1. The aforesaid bid means eligible Canadians who've received quarterly c rebates successful the past tin expect conscionable 1 much cheque, connected April 22. 

Former premier curate Justin Trudeau archetypal implemented c pricing successful 2019. It was designed arsenic a fiscal inducement for radical and businesses to alteration their behaviour, since they would whitethorn more to pain fossil substance than they would by transitioning to greener forms of energy.

But arsenic ostentation roseate successful the years that followed, national Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's pledge to destruct the taxation gained traction among voters.

When a CBC News unit deed the streets of Charlottetown Tuesday, all five radical who agreed to springiness their opinion were successful favour of the gas terms drop.

Tax called 'slap successful the face'

On the concern front, c pricing has been a "sore spot" for immoderate industries ever since it came into effect, said Andy Keith, the president and CEO of SFX Transport successful Charlottetown. 

Fuel is 1 of the biggest expenses for the long-haul trucking company, said Keith, truthful adding an other outgo wounded SFX's bottommost line. 

"We person nary prime but to usage our diesel motor instrumentality astatine this point. Electric conscionable isn't an option; there's nary range, particularly for america erstwhile we're travelling down to the United States," helium said. "It conscionable benignant of feels similar we were backed into a corner." 

Keith said his institution takes attraction to marque its trucks much substance efficient, and they usage auxiliary powerfulness units truthful that drivers tin navigator and usage aerial conditioning without having to support their engines idling to bash so. 

"We bash an atrocious lot… to effort to trim our c footprint," helium said. "That's conscionable what we person to proceed to do, and that's wherever the c taxation was a small spot of a slap to the face." 

'Working and not getting paid'

On the other broadside of the contented is Darcie Lanthier, a longtime P.E.I. biology advocate, who said dropping the tax means 1 less inducement for radical to determination distant from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. 

"It's similar moving and not getting paid astatine the extremity of it," she said. "I've done everything I tin do, and I'll proceed to bash arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, but what this does is makes it [difficult] for different radical to travel successful my footsteps." 

Lanthier said she had already ditched overmuch of her reliance connected fossil fuels successful favour of greener vigor earlier the c taxation came into effect. 

She pointed to the caller extremity of national electrical conveyance rebate and the P.E.I. authorities pausing its star vigor rebate arsenic further disincentives for radical to marque the switch. 

She thinks the national authorities should person held its crushed erstwhile it came to keeping its c pricing policy. 

"It's similar a win-win-win, and the lone portion that was the neglect was the existent programme delivery… getting the connection retired astir however it worked and what it was doing," Lanthier said. 

"That's the occupation with a batch of policies — we marque bully argumentation successful the backmost rooms… and past a fewer large radical propulsion backmost and present we don't person bully argumentation anymore."