British Columbians won’t be on the hook for the scheduled carbon tax increase on April 1, said Premier David Eby.
B.C. Premier David Eby said British Columbians won’t be on the hook for the carbon tax increase on April 1 as the province waits for the federal government to axe the unpopular tax.
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The carbon tax is scheduled to increase by $15 per tonne to $95 per tonne, which would add about 21 cents to the cost of a litre of natural gas and 25 cents to the cost of a litre of diesel.
“British Columbia will be introducing a law before April 1 that ensures British Columbians don’t have to pay that increase on April 1,” said Eby to loud applause at a town hall at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus on Friday to discuss the threat of U.S. tariffs on the B.C. economy.
The carbon tax, aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, has become unpopular politically.
Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre has led the charge federally to kill the tax. During the Liberal Party of Canada leadership race, Prime Minister Mark Carney, along with contender Chrystia Freeland, have said they will repeal the federal carbon tax if they become PM.
With Carney sworn in as prime minister Friday, further relief is on the way.
The federal cabinet has agreed to immediately end the consumer carbon price, and made the change official at the first cabinet meeting under Carney this afternoon. Carney says people who have been getting a rebate on the carbon price will get one final payment for the next quarter in April.
Eby said the province expects to hear from the federal government soon and will have legislation repealing the tax ready to go.
“As soon as the federal government announces it, we’ll introduce and pass that law in British Columbia to get rid of the carbon tax entirely,” he said.
In a statement, Eby said the carbon tax has been an “important tool” in B.C. in its efforts to tackle climate change. However, support for the measure has eroded due to cost-of-living pressures and the imminent removal of federal carbon pricing.
With files from Canadian Press
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