Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Canadian government has 'zero-ed' (but not cancelled) the much hated consumer-facing carbon tax, but it has upped the industrial carbon tax, particularly in Alberta. For several weeks, the mostly government funded 'charity', the Canadian Climate Institute, told Canadians that the industrial price on carbon (a carbon tax applied to all large emitting industries) was, for Alberta oil sands producers, "just the price of a Timbit per barrel of oil." That sounds liked nothing, but it all adds up when the oil industry in Alberta is producing 4.1 to 4.8 millions of barrels of oil per day! Alberta had established its own carbon pricing system under "TIER" and producers were often able to trade at a credit price of $20 dollars, much lower than the headline price. Thus, the 'Timbit' analogy. (Note: This is not a product placement or endorsement. Friends of Science Society has no commercial relationship with Tim Hortons, we are simply employing the analogy the Canadian Climate Institute used.) However, when the Canada-Alberta implementation deal was enacted, the carbon price went up about six and half times, as Minister Julie Dabrusin proudly told Vassy Kapelos of CTV News. That's not where the price stops, either. There is a sliding scale where the industrial carbon tax will continue to rise. pm.gc.ca/en/news/backgrounders/2026/05/15/implementation-agreement-canada-alberta-memorandum-understanding There are lots of problems with this equation. First of all, it makes Alberta oil less competitive on world-markets; secondly, industrial carbon prices are ultimately passed on to the consumer! What began as a Timbit, escalated to almost an entire box of Timbits in one fell swoop. On top of this, the Pathways/Oil Sands Alliance has been convinced to proceed with the massive Carbon Capture and Storage pipeline facility which will mostly be tax subsidized. The project price has ballooned from ~$16 billion to between $20 to 30 billion, and is now slated to only capture half the carbon dioxide originally proposed. Canada is responsible for only 1.5% of the world's emissions. This climate boondoggle will not save the planet but will make carbon traders a lot of money - but you, the consumer and taxpayer, will end up paying for it in more ways than one. Looks like we jumped from a Timbit carbon tax to a soccer ball-sized burden with the industrial price on carbon and the CCS deal. In our opinion, this will have serious detrimental impacts on the Canadian economy. Carbon pricing is not some concept to kick around anymore now these plans are going ahead. These policies won't save the planet, but they will burden you and our Canadian economy. Read Robert Lyman's report on "The Invisible Industrial Carbon Price" (written before this latest agreement was struck) blog.friendsofscience.org/2026/02/11/the-invisible-industrial-carbon-tax Please like, share and subscribe! Join Friends of Science Society! Donate! friendsofscience.org
The Canadian government has 'zero-ed' (but not cancelled) the much hated consumer-facing carbon tax, but it has upped the industrial carbon tax, particularly in Alberta. For several weeks, the mostly government funded 'charity', the Canadian Climate Institute, told Canadians that the industrial price on carbon (a carbon tax applied to all large emitting industries) was, for Alberta oil sands producers, "just the price of a Timbit per barrel of oil." That sounds liked nothing, but it all adds up when the oil industry in Alberta is producing 4.1 to 4.8 millions of barrels of oil per day! Alberta had established its own carbon pricing system under "TIER" and producers were often able to trade at a credit price of $20 dollars, much lower than the headline price. Thus, the 'Timbit' analogy. (Note: This is not a product placement or endorsement. Friends of Science Society has no commercial relationship with Tim Hortons, we are simply employing the analogy the Canadian Climate Institute used.) However, when the Canada-Alberta implementation deal was enacted, the carbon price went up about six and half times, as Minister Julie Dabrusin proudly told Vassy Kapelos of CTV News. That's not where the price stops, either. There is a sliding scale where the industrial carbon tax will continue to rise. pm.gc.ca/en/news/backgrounders/2026/05/15/implementation-agreement-canada-alberta-memorandum-understanding There are lots of problems with this equation. First of all, it makes Alberta oil less competitive on world-markets; secondly, industrial carbon prices are ultimately passed on to the consumer! What began as a Timbit, escalated to almost an entire box of Timbits in one fell swoop. On top of this, the Pathways/Oil Sands Alliance has been convinced to proceed with the massive Carbon Capture and Storage pipeline facility which will mostly be tax subsidized. The project price has ballooned from ~$16 billion to between $20 to 30 billion, and is now slated to only capture half the carbon dioxide originally proposed. Canada is responsible for only 1.5% of the world's emissions. This climate boondoggle will not save the planet but will make carbon traders a lot of money - but you, the consumer and taxpayer, will end up paying for it in more ways than one. Looks like we jumped from a Timbit carbon tax to a soccer ball-sized burden with the industrial price on carbon and the CCS deal. In our opinion, this will have serious detrimental impacts on the Canadian economy. Carbon pricing is not some concept to kick around anymore now these plans are going ahead. These policies won't save the planet, but they will burden you and our Canadian economy. Read Robert Lyman's report on "The Invisible Industrial Carbon Price" (written before this latest agreement was struck) blog.friendsofscience.org/2026/02/11/the-invisible-industrial-carbon-tax Please like, share and subscribe! Join Friends of Science Society! Donate! friendsofscience.org
