Trudeau carbon tax to increase today

Though there have been calls by the Opposition Conservatives to delay the increase due to inflation and high prices at the pump, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has been adamantly against delaying or cancelling the tax, The Canadian Press reports.

Guilbeault previously told left-wing The Narwhal that he hopes the fossil fuel industry would be phased out within two years.

The April 1 increase brings the price to $50 per tonne. The tax is now 11 cents for each litre of gasoline.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island will all experience increases, while Quebec and Nova Scotia use cap and trade systems.

"B.C.'s price is going to $50 from $45, New Brunswick to $50 from $40 and P.E.I., which hasn't raised its levy since 2020, to $50 from $30," The Canadian Press.

The Trudeau Liberals will add 38 cents per litre to the cost of gasoline, when fully implemented.

The administration's green agenda has been a cornerstone of his campaigns, even going so far as to say that Canada, as a natural resource powerhouse, would likely not take a front-and-centre role in providing energy to Russian-energy dependent Europe for the medium or long term.

"The contrast between the need to ensure that Europe's dependence on Russian oil and gas seizes, that Russia punished with crippling sanctions, at the same time, we're able to pivot more quickly towards renewables," said Trudeau last week.

"In the medium term and in the long term, that is something Canada continues to be committed to. We recognize that replacing Russian oil and gas in the short term is going to be important.

"Canada can play, perhaps, a modest role in that. But, our commitment to reaching net neutrality by 2050, to hitting our climate commitments by 2030 remains as firm as ever, and Indeed, the partnerships we're looking at building with the European Union on issues of hydrogen... [and] renewables, are very promising, in terms of getting the world not just off Russian oil and gas, but decarbonizing our energy economy entirely," he said.