Alberta files federal court challenge to heating oil carbon price exemption

Alberta has filed a federal court challenge to Ottawa’s carbon pricing exemption for home heating oil, arguing it is unconstitutional and unlawful, the Alberta government said on Tuesday.

“Alberta strongly opposes the federal carbon tax exemption on heating oil, as the federal government is no longer creating minimum national standards that apply evenly across the country, and is instead creating a regime that favors one region and fuel type over others,” the provincial government said in a statement.

Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government announced a three-year exemption for home heating, measures he said were intended to relieve affordability concerns.

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The move drew widespread criticism from a number of provincial premiers, who said it unfairly benefited voters in Atlantic Canada where home heating oil is more widely used. Climate advocates argued it undermined the carbon pricing policy.

The court challenge from Alberta’s conservative government, which frequently clashes with the federal Liberals on climate and energy issues, is the latest attack on consumer carbon pricing ahead of a federal election due to take place within the next year.

Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party is polling far ahead of Trudeau’s Liberals, has vowed to “axe the tax” if elected.

Canada’s carbon price is currently C$80 a tonne, and will increase by C$15 every year until it reaches C$170 a tonne in 2030.

—Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia