69 Percent of Canadians Oppose April 1 Carbon Tax Increase, Poll Finds

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement about the carbon tax during a news conference in Ottawa on Oct. 26, 2023. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Ottawa’s planned increase of the federal carbon tax on April Fool’s Day is no laughing matter for more than two-thirds of Canadians.

A newly released survey from Leger found that 69 percent of poll respondents don’t support the Liberals’ plan to increase carbon pricing next month. The April 1 hike will raise carbon taxes to 17 cents per litre for gasoline, 21 cents per litre for diesel, and 15 cents per cubic metre for natural gas.

The poll commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation found opposition to be strong across the country with the exception of British Columbia and Quebec, the two provinces exempt from the federal tax. Both provinces have their own provincial carbon levies.

“The poll is clear: the vast majority of Canadians, across every province and all demographics, oppose the upcoming federal carbon tax hike,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano said in a press release. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should listen to Canadians and stop hiking his carbon tax.”

Seventy-one percent of Canadians 35 and older and 62 percent of respondents ages 18 to 34 were against the tax hike. Rural residents were strongly opposed at 75 percent, while 70 percent of suburban and 63 percent of urban respondents were against the increase.

The 31 percent of respondents who said they were in favour of the carbon pricing increase tended to be under the age of 34 and living in an urban area, the poll found.

Carbon Tax on the Rise

Carbon pricing, which slaps a tax on carbon-emitting fuels, was introduced in 2019 in a bid by the Liberals to reduce CO2 emissions. Mr. Trudeau has described the carbon tax as a necessity to convince Canadians to switch to more eco-friendly fuels so the country can achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Carbon pricing kicked off at $20 per tonne and increased by $10 per tonne each year until reaching $50 per tonne in 2022. The Liberals then set the price to rise by $15 per tonne every year, starting in 2023, until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030.

Ottawa has maintained that most households receive more money back in Climate Action Incentive Payment (CAIP) rebates than they’re forced to shell out due to the carbon tax, but a 2023 Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) report refuted the government’s assertion.

The report indicated the carbon tax would result in a “net loss” of between $377 and $911 in 2024–25 for most Canadian households even after receiving federal rebates.

“Based on our analysis, most households will pay more in fuel charges and GST—as well as receiving slightly lower incomes—than they will receive in Climate Action Incentive payments,” said PBO Yves Giroux in a statement last year announcing the release of the report.

A second carbon tax for fuel producers is expected to impact Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in 2025. Introduced in 2023 as Ottawa’s Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR), the tax will be on top of the current carbon pricing on gasoline, and will be over and above provincial sales taxes.

The tax is expected to increase gas prices by up to 17 cents per litre, according to another PBO report. That translates to an additional cost of between $384 and $1,157 annually by 2030 for the average household.