The Court of Appeal of Alberta (Canada) has ruled that the federal carbon tax is unconstitutional. However, this ruling will not have an immediate effect on carbon taxation in the province. Alberta’s decision will be transmitted to the Supreme Court of Canada, as Saskatchewan has lodged an appeal after the local Court of Appeal decided in favour of the federal government. Ontario also launched a court challenge to the carbon tax.
Canada's nationwide climate-change strategy includes a carbon tax, which must be either adopted by the provinces or imposed by the federal government ("backstop" mechanism). The federal "backstop" mechanism applies in Alberta since January 2020. The tax will rise by CAD10/tCO2eq (around US$7.5/tCO2eq) on 1 April of each year from CAD20/tCO2eq in 2019/2020 to CAD50/tCO2eq by 2022/2023.
According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada, the Canadian government is expected to collect CAD2.81bn (US$2.1bn) in direct revenue in 2019-2020 from its federal carbon tax.
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