The carbon tax will cost the Quebec economy $3.2 billion in 2024, or $361 per person, according to estimates from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CCF).
Based on data published by the Government of Canada, which models the economic cost of the carbon tax between 2018 and 2030, the FCC estimates that it will cost the country’s economy $11.9 billion in 2024, or 295 $ per person. In 2030, it could cost $30 billion, or $678 per person.
It is in Ontario that the economic cost of the carbon tax will be highest for 2024: $4.1 billion in total and $258 per person.
“Although Quebec applies its own carbon tax through a cap-and-trade system for emissions allowances (SPEDE), the federal government’s data includes the cost of this separate policy,” the FCC stressed.
Thus, La Belle province is just behind Ontario, with an economic cost for 2024 estimated at $3.2 billion, while the cost per person will reach $361.
“The carbon tax is expensive for Quebecers, whether at the gas station or on the gas heating bill,” declared Nicolas Gagnon, Quebec director of the FCC, in a press release.
“Prime Minister François Legault must realize that the carbon tax does indeed affect Quebecers in addition to putting a brake on our economy,” he added.
Economic cost of the carbon tax
British Columbia : $1.7 billion; $311 per person
Alberta : $1.8 billion; $372 per person
Saskatchewan : $476 million; $390 per person
Manitoba : $216 million; $150 per person
Ontario : $4.1 billion; $258 per person
Québec : $3.2 billion; $361 per person
New Brunswick : $137 million; $169 per person
New Scotland : $103 million; $99 per person
Prince Edward Island : $22 million; $122 per person
Newfoundland and Labrador : $143 million; $274 per person
Northwest Territories : -$15 million; -$324 per person*
Yukon : $6 million; $136 per person
Nunavut : $14 million; $352 per person
Canada : $11.9 billion; $295 per person
* A negative number represents an economic advantage, says the FCC
