Canada’s Carbon Price Set to Increase on April 1st – Here’s How Much Hike Is Expected

The carbon price in Canada is set to increase on April 1 which is raising questions between the Canadians that by how much percent is the price rising. The premiers are against this policy but it is defined as a “cornerstone policy” of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government, said Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, researcher with Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

But provincial leaders like Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Premier Andrew Furey are calling for a halt over affordability concerns.

What’s the increase?

Mertins-Kirkwood states that the April 1st carbon price increase is not an “unexpected increase.”

“The idea is that by putting a price on pollution, people will use fewer fossil fuels, and that drives down overall emissions from the economy,” said Mertins-Kirkwood.

“If a province or territory decides not to price carbon pollution or proposes a system that does not meet the minimum national stringency standards, that jurisdiction is subject to the federal pricing system to ensure there is an appropriate price on carbon pollution across Canada.”

The regions where the carbon price remains the same are as British Columbia, Quebec and the Northwest Territories.

Right now, the carbon pricing plan is set at $65 a tons. As of April 1, it will be $80 a tons, and will continue to rise annually by $15 until it reaches $170 a tons by 2030.

At the pumps, the April 1 hike will add roughly three cents to the cost of gas, Mertins-Kirkwood said. It’s a “much smaller increase than you’d normally expect through a fluctuation of oil prices,” he said.

“If they don’t start putting money back in people’s pockets instead of filling their pockets, guess what? They’re going to get annihilated, as I’ve said before, they’re done. They’re done like dinner,” Ford told reporters in Pickering, Ontario on Wednesday.

Navneet Kaur