Canadian Federal Carbon Tax

Under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the Canadian federal government implemented a coordinated nation-wide carbon price for all provinces without their own carbon pricing mechanism, beginning at $20 per ton of CO2e in 2019 and rising to $50 per ton. Federal guidance indicated that provinces can implement “(i) an explicit price-based system (a carbon tax like British Columbia’s or a hybrid system comprised of a carbon levy on fuels and performance-based emissions trading system like in Alberta) or (ii) a cap-and-trade system (e.g. Ontario and Quebec).” Otherwise, the federal tax would apply.