Hold on to your wallets, because nearly everything is about to cost you more. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hiking his federal carbon tax again on April 1, no fooling. Despite seven of 10 provincial premiers imploring him to either freeze or scrap his carbon tax, including a fiery salvo from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at a committee hearing in Ottawa, Trudeau appears unmoved. On April 1, the federal carbon tax will increase by 23 per cent and affect nearly all oil and gas products in Canada. That includes gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane and even kerosene. Furnace oil is the notable exception, after Trudeau suspended his carbon tax on that form of home heating to appease his Atlantic Canadian caucus.The carbon tax will cost 17 cents per litre of gasoline, 21 cents per litre of diesel and 15 cents per cubic metre of natural gas. Nearly every element of daily life in Alberta is hit by the carbon tax. Filling up a family minivan will cost about $12 extra and a light duty pickup truck is going to cost about $18 more to fill up because of the carbon tax. Truckers filling up their big rigs with diesel to deliver nearly everything we eat and use will have to shell out more than $200 extra in carbon taxes alone. The carbon tax will also cost Canadians farmers $1 billion by 2030, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Because the carbon tax makes it more expensive for farmers to grow food and truckers to deliver food, it makes it more expensive for Canadians to buy food. For home heating, the average Alberta household will pay about $400 extra this year when they use natural gas to heat their home. To add insult to injury, the federal government also charges its sales tax on top of the carbon tax. This tax-on-tax alone cost Canadians about $500 million this year. By the end of 2030, the tax-on-tax will have cost Canadians $6.2 billion. The carbon tax places an enormous burden on Albertans. All told, the carbon tax will cost the average Alberta family $911 more than they get back in rebates this year, according to the PBO. And that cost will only grow as Trudeau cranks up his carbon tax every year. By 2030, the carbon tax will cost the average Alberta family $2,773 more than they get back in rebates. And the Trudeau government won’t rule out future carbon tax hikes beyond 2030. But there is some good news. Canadians are sick and tired of Trudeau’s carbon tax hikes that make life more expensive. A total of 71 per cent of Albertans oppose the upcoming carbon tax hike, according to a Leger poll commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. And a large majority of Canadians in every province and across every demographic also oppose the hike. That means the pressure on members of Parliament is building. Trudeau may still hike his carbon tax on April 1. But the fight against the carbon tax is just getting started. Kris Sims is the Alberta Director and Franco Terrazzano is the Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
