OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is highlighting a fundamental unfairness about the federal carbon tax: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is requiring taxpayers in other provinces to pay a higher carbon tax than in Quebec.

“Trudeau is giving Quebec a special deal on carbon taxes and giving other Canadians higher gas prices and heating bills,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “The solution is simple: Trudeau should scrap his carbon tax and lower gas prices and home heating bills across Canada.”

The federal government states all provinces are required to impose the carbon tax equally. “The federal government is committed to ensuring that carbon pricing is in place across Canada at a similar level of stringency,” states the government’s backgrounder. 

Taxpayers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut are all required to pay a carbon tax of $80 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.

However, Quebec’s cap-and-trade carbon tax is currently $57 per tonne. 

By 2030, the federal carbon tax will cost $170 per tonne, while Quebec’s will cost an estimated $97 per tonne, as reported by La Presse. That means in 2030, Quebec’s carbon tax will cost about 14 cents per litre of gasoline less than in the rest of Canada. 

“Trudeau’s special deal for Quebec shows the carbon tax was always about politics,” said Terrazzano. “Trudeau should make life more affordable for all Canadians and scrap his carbon tax.”

Current cost of carbon tax, Quebec vs. rest of Canada*

* CTF estimates for Quebec based on cap-and-trade auction price. The rest of Canada is based on the cost of the carbon tax, according to the government of Canada.