Alberta Premier Danielle Smith remains unfazed by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s swift decision to eliminate the consumer carbon levy, but she warns the real challenge lies in potential hikes to industrial carbon pricing. Speaking in Calgary on Friday, Smith noted that Carney has repeatedly suggested industrial carbon prices are too low, raising concerns about significant tax increases for Alberta’s energy sector.
Carney, sworn in as prime minister just hours earlier, issued an order-in-council scrapping the consumer portion of the carbon tax. While Canadians receiving rebates will get a final payment in April, Carney reaffirmed his commitment to increasing levies on industrial polluters. Smith, citing uncertainty over how these changes will impact Alberta’s existing carbon pricing system, demanded an election for clarity on Carney’s industrial pricing plans and potential economic consequences.
For years, Smith and former premier Jason Kenney blamed Ottawa’s carbon pricing policy for rising living costs, challenging its constitutionality in court. While the Supreme Court upheld the tax in 2021, Smith’s government launched another legal battle last fall over what she calls its unfair regional application. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who previously took similar legal action, has also been vocal about the levy’s economic burden.
The elimination of the consumer carbon tax will lower gasoline prices by 17.6 cents per litre and reduce natural gas costs by over 15 cents per cubic metre. Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck welcomed the decision, simply stating, “Great. Finally.”
Source: Swifteradio.com
