Breaking down how Trudeau’s carbon taxes impact Canadians

Governmental taxes amount to approximately 55 cents per litre of gas in Canada, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's (CTF) 2023 Gas Tax Honesty report.

Franco Terrazzano, CTF's federal director, relayed some of his organization's findings on Thursday during a press conference in Ottawa in response to the Liberals' plan to increase the existing "carbon tax" imposed on fuel.

The CTF's Gas Tax Honesty Report states:

The federal government requires all provinces, except Quebec, to pay its mandatory minimum carbon tax rate. Despite the pandemic and high inflation, the federal government raised its carbon tax every year since 2019, reaching $65 per tonne on April 1, 2023. Ottawa plans to further increase the carbon tax by $15 per year until it hits $170 per tonne in 2030.

The carbon tax currently costs about 14.3 cents per litre of gasoline. By 2030, the carbon tax is expected to cost about 37.4 cents per litre of gasoline.

The Liberals describes its taxation of carbon dioxide emissions as an effort to "protect our environment" from "carbon pollution," framing carbon dioxide as a pollutant.

Taxes make your life more expensive.

Is Trudeau providing relief? No, he’s cranking up his carbon tax.

Canadians need higher carbon taxes like we need a kick in the head.

Trudeau needs to end his tone-deaf tax hikes. pic.twitter.com/vIaXWwYMpC

— Franco Terrazzano (@franco_nomics) August 31, 2023

"In total, taxes make up more than a third of the pump price here in Canada, about 55 cents a litre," Terrazzano emphasized.

Federal taxes currently make up about 31 cents per litre of gas, according to the CTF's analysis. If the Liberals stated plans to increase the "carbon tax" go through, federal taxes will amount to approximately 74 cents per litre of gas by 2030.

Terrazzano noted that governmentally-inflated fuel costs drive up prices on all manner of goods transported by gas-powered vehicles, particularly groceries and other consumables.

The federal government markets its "carbon pollution pricing system" as a measure to combat "climate change," a euphemism for claims of anthropogenic global warming. The Canadian government further frames its taxation on fossil fuel consumption as a benevolent economic benefit to citizens:

Pricing carbon pollution is recognized as one of the most effective and efficient approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

It creates a financial incentive for people and businesses to pollute less.

All the money from the federal price on pollution charged to fuel goes directly backt to benefit Canadian families, businesses, farmers and Indigenous groups - in the same province or territory where it was collected.

The federal pollution pricing system makes life affordable by returning money to families through Climate Action incentive payments - with low- and middle-income families benefiting the most.