70 Percent of Canadians Want Carbon Tax Scrapped for Farmers, Poll Finds

A dairy farmer herding cows in Carrying Place, Ont., on March 24, 2020. Alex Filipe/Reuters

Nearly three-quarters of Canadians support a carbon tax exemption on natural gas and propane for farmers, according to a newly released poll.

A Leger poll found that 70 percent of those surveyed are in favour of farmers receiving more than the current carbon pricing break on gasoline and diesel. They say the farmers deserve the same relief on their natural gas and propane bills.

A full 39 percent of respondents strongly support an exemption for farmers while 31 percent somewhat support it, according to the data collected by Leger on behalf of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).

Only 7 percent strongly oppose such a measure and 8 percent somewhat oppose the exemption, while a full 15 percent were uncertain, the survey found.

The results should be a clear signal that Ottawa needs to listen to Canadians and pass the farm heating bill in its original form, says CTF prairie director Gage Haubrich.

“Canadians understand that just like the carbon tax costs them big money to fuel up their cars and heat their homes, it also costs farmers, but on a much larger scale,” Mr. Haubrich said in a blog post.

Also known as Bill C-234, the legislation was proposed by the Conservatives in a bid to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to expand carbon tax exemptions to include the natural gas and propane used by farmers to both dry grain and heat or cool barns.

The eight-year exemption was subsequently passed in the House last fall with support from the Conservatives, the NDP, the Bloc Québécois, the Green Party, and a smattering of Liberal MPs.

The Senate amended the legislation in December to limit the exemption to three years and only for propane used in grain dryers.

Support for the exemption was strong across all regions of Canada, with those surveyed in Alberta leading the way at 76 percent. British Columbia wasn’t far behind at 72 percent, followed by Ontario with 70 percent, and Quebec and Atlantic Canada at 68 percent. Manitoba and Saskatchewan brought up the rear at 67 percent.

Support was highest in those aged 35 or older at 74 percent, although more than half of those in the 18–34 age group were also in favour of the exemption at 60 percent.

Farmer Costs

The carbon tax on natural gas and propane is expected to cost farmers nearly $1 billion by 2030 unless an exemption is granted, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

The average livestock farmer can expect to shell out $726 every month to cover the carbon tax, while crop farmers can look forward to a $2,024 bill, according to stats from the Agriculture Carbon Alliance (ACA).

Greenhouses, meanwhile, can expect an average carbon tax bill to come in at more than $17,000, said the ACA, a coalition of 15 farm associations. The coalition includes the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Cattle Association, and the Canadian Grain Growers, to name a few.

Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie said the carbon tax creates a financial burden on farmers, leaving them strapped for cash and unable to invest in improvements to their operations.

“In order for farmers to make investments into technologies that enhance their efficiency and sustainability, they need access to the working capital,” Mr. Currie said. “Bill C-234 would keep those funds in farmers’ hands and allow them to make the necessary investments that will allow our sector to unleash its potential as a natural climate solutions provider.”

Canadian Cattle Association president Nathan Phinney agreed, saying farmers need to have the cash on hand to make environmental improvements to their operations.

“Bill C-234 will aid these environmental goals by providing necessary exemptions for essential farm practices, including steam flaking and temperature regulation for livestock barns,” he said.

Mr. Haubrich pointed out that the monthly carbon expense hurts Canada’s agricultural competitiveness because U.S. farmers don’t have to pay any environmental taxes. Removing the tax, he said, would not only make it easier for Canadian farmers to compete, but it would help out consumers too.

“If farmers aren’t paying millions of dollars every year in the carbon tax, it’s likely to help the rest of us out with prices at the grocery store,” he said.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has argued for months that removing the carbon tax on farmers will help to lower food prices.

“We know that lowering the carbon tax not only saves us money when we gas up and heat our homes but we take that tax off the farmers and truckers who bring our food, and we can afford to eat again,” he said during a Jan. 28 speech, adding that the Tories would scrap the tax entirely if elected in 2025.

Tory MP Ben Lobb, who tabled the farm heating bill, rejected the Senate’s amendments, bringing the legislation back to the House of Commons in its original form early this year. Mr. Lobb asked the House of Commons to also reject the amendments, and his motion was last considered in the House in February. A vote has yet to be held on the legislation.

Canada’s carbon tax was first levied by the Liberal government in 2019 and has been described by Ottawa as a necessity to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.