Carbon Tax Rebates Paid Out Today: How Much You'll Receive

Gas prices are displayed at a gas station in Carleton Place, Ontario, a town just west of Ottawa, on May 17, 2022. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The first payment of the year from Ottawa’s carbon pricing rebate program is on the way for many Canadians, although the amount received will vary by province.

Canadians in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I, and Newfoundland and Labrador will receive a rebate via direct deposit or cheque beginning Jan. 15, if their income tax and benefit returns have been filed.

The payment marks the first rebate of 2024 from the federal government’s Climate Action Incentive Payment (CAIP) program.

The rebate, which is sent out quarterly, applies solely to the provinces where the federal fuel charge is collected. British Columbia, Quebec, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon are not included because they collect their own fuel tax.

Rebate Size

The CAIP amount received varies not only by province but by family size, according to a government website.

Payments are determined based on the number of adults and children in the household with different amounts for the first and second adult, the government website says. The larger the household, the larger the rebate. CAIP also includes a rural supplement of 10 percent of the base amount for residents of small and rural communities.

Under the program, a family of four will receive payments of up to $386 in Alberta, $340 in Saskatchewan, $264 in Manitoba, $244 in Ontario, $184 in New Brunswick,  $248 in Nova Scotia,  $240 in Prince Edward Island, and $328 in Newfoundland and Labrador, the government says.

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A single person will receive up to $212.30 in Alberta, $187 in Saskatchewan, $145.20 in Manitoba, $134.20 in Ontario, $101.20 in New Brunswick, $136.40 in Nova Scotia, $120 in Prince Edward Island, and $180.40 in Newfoundland and Labrador under the program.

The federal government maintains that eight out of 10 households will receive more money back in rebates than they’re forced to shell out due to the carbon tax, but a Parliamentary Budget Officer report suggests otherwise.

Released last March, the report indicated Ottawa’s carbon tax will result in a “net loss” of between $377 and $911 in 2024-25 for most Canadian households even after they receive federal rebates.

“Based on our analysis, most households will pay more in fuel charges and GST—as well as receiving slightly lower incomes—than they will receive in Climate Action Incentive payments,” said PBO Yves Giroux in a March 30 statement announcing the release of the report.

Further Hikes

A second carbon tax for fuel producers, put in place in 2023, could raise gas prices further if producers are unable to meet the requirements of the regulations, according to another PBO report. The tax is expected to increase gas prices by up to 17 cents per litre, translating into an additional cost of between $384 and $1,157 annually by 2030 for the average household.

The carbon pricing program has received heavy criticism from Canadians with many saying they are unwilling to pay more.

A September Leger-National Post poll found that 68 percent are unwilling to pay more at the pump to support the Liberal government’s net-zero emissions policies, while 37 percent of survey respondents want the carbon tax scrapped and 18 percent want it reduced.

Carbon pricing, which slaps a tax on carbon-emitting fuels, was introduced in 2019 in a bid by the Liberals to reduce CO2 emissions. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has described the carbon tax as a necessity to convince Canadians to switch to more eco-friendly fuels so the country can achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Carbon pricing kicked off at $20 per tonne and was set to increase by $10 per tonne each year until reaching $50 per tonne in 2022. The price was then set to rise by $15 per tonne every year, starting in 2023, until it reaches $170 per tonne in 2030.