It is now official: After 17 years, the B.C. consumer carbon tax will officially be scrapped as of April 1, 2025.
While many assumed it would land on this date after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that he would cancel the carbon tax, the B.C. Ministry of Finance has now confirmed that it is tabling legislation on Monday, March 31, 2025, to remove the tax effective April 1, 2025.
The province also stated that it would notify fuel sellers and natural gas retailers now.
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Previously, Premier David Eby said the following:
“As the federal government removes the requirement that B.C. have a carbon tax in place, we will act quickly so the people of British Columbia don’t feel the pinch.”
He added, “As that work is underway, B.C. is also readying legislation to eliminate the scheduled increase to the carbon tax that would otherwise have occurred on April 1, 2025.”
The province is taking steps to ensure that gas retailers stop collecting tax from consumers beginning April 1, meaning you should see some savings at the pump next month.
“The Province will continue to act on the commitment to battle climate change by ensuring people in British Columbia have affordable options to make sustainable choices and by encouraging industry to innovate,” the Ministry of Finance states.
The ministry also said that despite removing the carbon tax on people, the province plans to continue ensuring that “big industrial emitters pay their fair share through the output-based carbon pricing system.”
“The system holds large industrial emitters accountable and offers cost-effective ways to cut emissions.”
Eby first pledged to scrap the carbon tax during the Fall 2024 provincial election campaign but added the disclaimer it could only happen if the federal government removed the law requiring it. Carney did just that, allowing this new legislation to move forward.
Eby said that even though the consumer-based tax would eventually be removed, the province would “continue to make sure that big polluters pay… And for the people who are filling up their cars, who are heating their homes, for the residents of British Columbia, we’re going to make sure that the carbon tax is not there for them.”
We asked the ministry for more details about the consumer carbon tax, but it informed Daily Hive that more information would be revealed next week when the house is sitting again.
With files from Kenneth Chan