On Parliament Hill

As Canadians continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Government are preparing to hammer Canadians with a second carbon tax.

The Liberal Carbon Tax is a tax on everything. It artificially inflates the price of gas, groceries, home heating and products of every kind. It has made no demonstrable impact to the environment and the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has been clear, the government’s claim that Canadians will get back more in rebates than they pay in carbon tax are demonstrably false – as is their claim the tax is revenue neutral.

Now, the Government is doubling down on this failed policy and adding a second, hidden, carbon tax – this one with no rebate whatsoever.

In July of this year, the Liberals will implement their new “clean fuel regulations”. In theory, these regulations will require producers and importers to reduce the “carbon intensity” of gas and diesel fuel. To do this, producers will need to make their operations more efficient and upgrade refining technologies and add more biofuels.

The PBO shows industry compliance to these new regulations will cost refineries and fuel suppliers between $22-$47 billion – costs that will get passed on to consumers.

According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, by 2030 this second carbon tax will cost the average Canadian household an extra $573 per year without any rebate, with families in some provinces facing costs as high as $1,157.

To make matters worse, both taxes will be applied to the sales tax portion of the fuel purchase meaning consumers are paying a tax on a tax – twice over.

When fully implemented, the combined impact of the two Trudeau carbon taxes will be an extra 61 cents for every litre of gasoline.

It will further inflate the (already skyrocketing) cost of groceries and home heating.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer report also states these new regulations will be “broadly regressive” as they would dis-proportionally hit lower income Canadians harder than those who are more financially well off. The same is likely to be true for rural Canadians for whom driving is not a choice.

The report shows the impact of these regulations will see Canada’s GDP shrink by $9 billion.

Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. The last thing they need are more crippling Liberal taxes.

Canada’s Conservatives are committed to making life more affordable for Canadians.

We will axe the Liberal Carbon Tax and repeal this new, second, Liberal Carbon Tax.