Rebates rise as carbon price increases to $80 per tonne

The federal carbon tax and its associated rebates rise today as the national price on carbon emissions increases from $65 per tonne to $80.

While the national carbon price applies across the country, not everyone pays the federal carbon tax and receives money back.

Carbon pricing works differently in Quebec, the three territories and British Columbia — residents don't receive federal rebates. The remaining provinces are subject to the federal government's carbon tax or fuel levy, and families or residents receive rebates from Ottawa.

Canada also has a mix of federal, provincial and territorial carbon pricing systems for industrial emitters.

Starting today, the federal carbon tax increase will cost drivers an extra 3.3 cents per litre at the pump. Since Ottawa's fuel levy was introduced in 2019, the carbon tax has added 17.6 cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline. The levies for other fuels can be found online.

The rebates — recently rebranded as the Canadian Carbon Rebate — also have increased along with the carbon price, says Finance Canada. To receive the rebate, you need to file an income tax return. The rebate arrives through direct deposit in your bank account or through a cheque in the mail.

The payments come every three months; the next one is scheduled to arrive as early as April 15.

Here are the amounts a single adult person can expect to receive quarterly:

Here are the amounts a family of four can expect to receive quarterly:

Rural residents get a 10 per cent top-up on their rebates because they tend to drive more and consume more fuel. That rural top-up will double once a bill now before Parliament becomes law.

Nova Scotia, P.E.I, and Newfoundland and Labrador, however, will see their rebates decrease after Ottawa exempted home heating oil from the carbon tax. In October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the government will pause for three years the carbon pricing scheme on home heating oil in the provinces and territories where the carbon levy applies.

While New Brunswick is not seeing a drop in rebate amounts, other Atlantic provinces are because Ottawa is collecting less money from these provinces that tend to be more reliant on furnace oil than other parts of the country. 

All the money that's directly collected by the federal carbon pricing system, the federal government said, is returned to the province or territory where it's collected. About 90 per of the federal carbon tax goes towards rebates. The remainder goes to Indigenous communities, farmers and businesses.

National carbon pricing, a core federal Liberal climate policy, faces mounting opposition. Before Monday's rise, the opposition Conservatives and at least seven premiers called on the government to halt the increase. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says if he forms government he will "axe the tax," because of the financial hardship the rising carbon price places on families and businesses.