OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is highlighting a fundamental unfairness in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax policy: Quebec is paying a lower carbon tax than the rest of Canada. 

“The math is simple: Trudeau is forcing drivers in every other province and territory to pay 14 cents per litre of gas in carbon taxes, while Quebecers pay 10 cents per litre,” Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director, said. “The solution is also simple: Trudeau should scrap his carbon taxes and make life more affordable for all Canadians.”

As of July 1, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut are all mandated by the federal government to impose a carbon tax of 14 cents per litre of gas.

“The federal government is committed to ensuring that carbon pricing is in place across Canada at a similar level of stringency,” according to a government briefing. 

However, “the cost of carbon in Quebec is far lower than under the federal backstop,” according to the Globe and Mail.

Quebec’s cap-and-trade carbon tax is about 10 cents per litre of gas. By 2030, Quebec’s provincial carbon tax will rise to 23 cents per litre of gas, according to La Presse. By that time, the federal carbon tax will be 37 cents per litre.

In 2030, a Quebec family filling a minivan will pay $10 less than a family anywhere else in Canada.

“Trudeau’s special deal for Quebec shows the carbon tax was always about politics, not the environment,” Terrazzano said. “Canadians should all pay one carbon tax rate, and that rate is $0.”

Prior to July 1 and the imposition of the federal tax, Nova Scotia also had a provincial cap-and-trade carbon tax. Nova Scotia cut emissions by 36 per cent since 2005, while Quebec cut emissions by 12 per cent.