The 16 Canadian farm groups that are members of the Agriculture Carbon Alliance (ACA) are welcoming Prime Minister Carney’s order-in-council scaling down the federal consumer carbon tax to zero, but are calling for further legislative changes to provide long-term certainty.
“The reduction of the consumer carbon price to $0 is a good first step for Canadians – and, by extension, our farmers, growers and ranchers,” says Dave Carey, co-chair of ACA and vice-president of government relations with the Canadian Canola Growers Association, in a March 17 news release. “We welcome this news, and we look forward to the ongoing discussion on permanently removing the carbon pricing mechanism for producers.”
He says ACA members are hoping this will come through legislative changes when Parliament resumes, likely after a federal election. Specifically, the alliance is urging Parliamentarians to “reach a permanent solution via the removal or alteration of the existing Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to exempt all farmers, growers and ranchers of all sizes from carbon pricing entirely.”
“The Prime Minister’s actions have come as welcome news, but Canadian producers need certainty on this issue – particularly during this challenging time in international trade,” notes Scott Ross, co-chair of the ACA and executive director of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
“Farmers are being squeezed from seemingly all sides at once with inflation and tariffs from both the US and China. The long-awaited removal of the carbon tax will provide farmers a bit of relief from this pressure and can be seen as recognition for the difficult place Canadian farmers and consumers find themselves in today,” noted CFA president Keith Currie, in a separate release.
While the federal consumer carbon tax or fuel charge paid on fossil fuels has been reduced to zero as of April 1, the federal output-based or industrial carbon tax for large emitters, such as fertilizer and chemical manufacturers, remains in place.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed on Monday that his party would also repeal the industrial carbon pricing system.
During the Liberal leadership race, Carney said he would modify the industrial carbon tax and developing a carbon border adjustment to apply duties on imports from countries that don’t meet certain criteria for reducing emissions.
