How much will the carbon tax increase hit Saskatchewan residents at the pumps?

Saskatchewan residents will see an increase to the federal carbon tax as well as a corresponding jump in the federal rebate.

As of April 1, 2023, Canada saw the largest hike yet on carbon pricing since the national plan came into effect in 2019, jumping from $50 per tonne of emission to $65 per tonne.

However, the rebates that households receive in order to compensate for the surcharge have also increased.

Saskatchewan is joined by Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta as provinces where the federal carbon pricing system applies, as they chose not to implement their own pricing on carbon that met the federal government's benchmark.

As a result, the federal government's pricing system was imposed. That means the residents of those provinces saw an increase to a charge on fuel, colloquially known as the carbon tax.

In Saskatchewan, the charge on a litre of gasoline increased by 3 cents this year.

That brings the total cost of the carbon tax to 14 cents per litre of gasoline, according to federal data.

For natural gas, the total carbon tax per litre is 12 cents, and for diesel it is 17 cents.

Politicians opposed to increase

Politicians from both major parties in the Saskatchewan legislature have offered a rare united front against an increase on Canada's national carbon price and the effect it will have on the province's residents.

"This is not the time to be increasing the carbon tax," said NDP Leader Carla Beck last week.

Premier Scott Moe also put the federal government on blast.

"This is a substantial cost on our energy bills in the province in, you know, an environment where we're seeing some inflationary pressures that are being felt by families, being felt by small businesses," he said.

The news comes amid increases to the rates charged by SaskPower and SaskEnergy.

Both Crown corporations have cited carbon pricing as a reason for their increases, which came into effect on April 1.

Rebate increasing

The increase to carbon pricing also means Saskatchewan residents will see an increase to the rebate they get through the federal government's scheme.

Since Saskatchewan does not meet the federal government's benchmark on carbon pricing, 90 per cent of the direct proceeds of the carbon tax in the province is returned to the province's residents.

The other 10 per cent of the direct proceeds is used to support small businesses, farmers and Indigenous groups.

The Climate Action Incentive is paid out quarterly

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In Saskatchewan, that means a family of four should expect to receive a $340 rebate arriving in their bank account every quarter for a total of $1,360.

That's an increase from the annual $1,101 payment for a family of four issued last year.

A single adult should expect a $170 payout each quarter for a total of $680 over the course of the year.

Last year's annual payment for a single adult was $550.

Increases set to continue

While Saskatchewan politicians may be united in their opposition, it will have very little effect on the federal government's plans for carbon pricing.

Federal carbon pricing is set to continue to climb in the coming years, jumping by $15 per tonne of emission every year until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030.

At that point, the carbon tax will be 37 cents per litre of gasoline, 32 cents per litre of natural gas and 45 cents per litre of diesel.

Data on the rebate in future years is not available as it is calculated based off of under distribution or over distribution in previous years.