City of Red Deer will lead the charge to get a break on carbon taxes.
Council unanimously approved a resolution for the next Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis) conference calling on the organization calling on the Alberta government to push the federal government to extend carbon tax rebates to municipalities and make them exempt from any future carbon taxes.
Prime Minister Mark Carney reduce the six-year-old carbon tax to zero on April 1 ahead of the upcoming federal election campaign.
The carbon tax program, which cost $80 per tonne as of April 1, 2024, was costing Red Deer about $1.5 million a year in 2023, equivalent to a one per cent tax increase. Canadian Energy Centre estimated Alberta municipalities paid about $37 million in carbon taxes the same year.
Although the carbon tax has been reduced to zero, the city wants the province to pressure the federal government to guarantee municipalities won't be hit by a similar consumption-based carbon tax in the future.
Red Deer also wants municipalities to be available for the retroactive carbon tax rebates that were available to individual Canadians, and extended last year to small businesses.
Whether the carbon tax, which has been temporarily suspended, will make a return is unclear.
City deputy chief of staff Colin Connon told council on Tuesday that the tax may be dropped permanently, be revived again, or return in another form.
In its background to the proposed resolution, the city notes that municipalities have been environmental leaders and often bankroll pricey green initiatives at the same time they are hit by carbon taxes, which boosts bills for heating buildings, providing public transit, and maintaining parks and public works infrastructure.
The city will seek a seconder for its resolution, which would then go to the ABmunis conference in November to be discussed and voted on by municipal representatives.
Mayor Ken Johnston said the city has already been talking to Olds as a potential seconder.
ABmunis represents about 275 cities, towns and villages.
