Nearly three-quarters of Canadians support a carbon tax exemption on natural gas and propane for farmers, according to a newly released poll.
A full 39 percent of respondents strongly support an exemption for farmers while 31 percent somewhat support it, according to the data collected by Leger on behalf of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).
Only 7 percent strongly oppose such a measure and 8 percent somewhat oppose the exemption, while a full 15 percent were uncertain, the survey found.
The results should be a clear signal that Ottawa needs to listen to Canadians and pass the farm heating bill in its original form, says CTF prairie director Gage Haubrich.
Also known as Bill C-234, the legislation was proposed by the Conservatives in a bid to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to expand carbon tax exemptions to include the natural gas and propane used by farmers to both dry grain and heat or cool barns.
The eight-year exemption was subsequently passed in the House last fall with support from the Conservatives, the NDP, the Bloc Québécois, the Green Party, and a smattering of Liberal MPs.
The Senate amended the legislation in December to limit the exemption to three years and only for propane used in grain dryers.
Support for the exemption was strong across all regions of Canada, with those surveyed in Alberta leading the way at 76 percent. British Columbia wasn’t far behind at 72 percent, followed by Ontario with 70 percent, and Quebec and Atlantic Canada at 68 percent. Manitoba and Saskatchewan brought up the rear at 67 percent.
Farmer Costs
The carbon tax on natural gas and propane is expected to cost farmers nearly $1 billion by 2030 unless an exemption is granted, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
The average livestock farmer can expect to shell out $726 every month to cover the carbon tax, while crop farmers can look forward to a $2,024 bill, according to stats from the Agriculture Carbon Alliance (ACA).
Greenhouses, meanwhile, can expect an average carbon tax bill to come in at more than $17,000, said the ACA, a coalition of 15 farm associations. The coalition includes the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Cattle Association, and the Canadian Grain Growers, to name a few.
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie said the carbon tax creates a financial burden on farmers, leaving them strapped for cash and unable to invest in improvements to their operations.
Canadian Cattle Association president Nathan Phinney agreed, saying farmers need to have the cash on hand to make environmental improvements to their operations.
“Bill C-234 will aid these environmental goals by providing necessary exemptions for essential farm practices, including steam flaking and temperature regulation for livestock barns,” he said.
Mr. Haubrich pointed out that the monthly carbon expense hurts Canada’s agricultural competitiveness because U.S. farmers don’t have to pay any environmental taxes. Removing the tax, he said, would not only make it easier for Canadian farmers to compete, but it would help out consumers too.
“If farmers aren’t paying millions of dollars every year in the carbon tax, it’s likely to help the rest of us out with prices at the grocery store,” he said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has argued for months that removing the carbon tax on farmers will help to lower food prices.
Canada’s carbon tax was first levied by the Liberal government in 2019 and has been described by Ottawa as a necessity to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
