The Alberta government is freezing its industrial carbon tax at $95 per tonne of emissions to protect businesses from growing uncertainty caused by the ongoing tariff war. The province argues it can reduce emissions through technological innovation, not “unrealistically high taxes” as required by the federal government.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz announced the freeze Monday, halting a planned increase to $110 per tonne in 2026 and a further rise to $170 per tonne by 2030 under the province’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation.
Smith said she heard the concerns of business and industry leaders who were warning that further tax hikes would harm Alberta’s competitiveness and be detrimental to their businesses.
“Alberta remains committed to reducing emissions through the development and implementation of new technologies, not unrealistically high taxes, while responsibly powering the world for decades to come,” said Smith.
Since 2007, Alberta has reduced emissions from the oil sands by over 22 per cent, while simultaneously increasing oil production by 90 per cent. Meanwhile, the province’s overall emissions have decreased by around 7.2 per cent.
“If industry told us that any increase past $100 per tonne would be harmful, you can imagine what $170 per tonne industrial carbon tax would do to our industry,” said Smith. “That would be devastating to Alberta’s economy. This is yet another example of Ottawa overstepping into our provincial jurisdiction with reckless policies that damage our industry.”
The premier explained that the tax freeze would help not just the energy industry but also agriculture, forestry, petrochemicals, and more.
Schulz said energy demand is soaring globally, and the world wants Alberta’s resources, but Ottawa’s climate agenda has made investment more difficult.
Smith pointed to Quebec’s lower carbon price as further evidence of unequal treatment under Ottawa’s climate framework and urged the federal government to abandon its “ideological” approach.
“But for the past ten years, our province has faced a tidal wave of anti-energy, anti-agriculture and anti-resource policies from the federal government,” said Schulz. “They’ve added costs, increased delays and effectively hung a ‘closed for business’ sign on Canada’s door, whether for LNG, oil and natural gas or the many other resources that we are blessed with.”
Schulz explained that while Canada contributes just 1.5 per cent to global emissions, it was recently paying over 34 per cent of the world’s carbon taxes.
“This is our jurisdiction, not Ottawa’s. And if the federal government wants to work together to keep our economy strong, respect the Constitution and do the right thing for the environment, they can follow the path forward that has been outlined by the Premier over the last couple of weeks,” said Schulz.
The provincial government explained in its press release that tariffs being imposed by the United States are already increasing costs, disrupting supply chains, and creating uncertainty for industry. These concerns make it an already challenging environment for competitiveness.
The industrial carbon tax freeze is aimed at protecting tens of thousands of Alberta jobs across key sectors, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, manufacturing, mining, and more.