British Columbia’s energy and environment ministers say they were caught by surprise by the federal government’s announcement it will pause the carbon tax on home heating oil.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that his government would pause applying carbon pricing to home heating oil deliveries for three years, in an effort to speed up Canadians’ shift to more eco-friendly electric heat pumps.
He added that the government would provide incentives and grants to households in Atlantic Canada that are more reliant on heating oil to switch to the new technology.
“We just learned of this federal announcement, which is unfortunate, because B.C. is leading Canada with our CleanBC climate action plan. We expect better partnership from the federal government,” B.C. Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Minister Josie Osborne and Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman said in a joint statement.
“When it comes to heat pumps, we’ve long been pushing the federal government for exactly this sort of joint rebate for people switching from heating oil. We expect the federal government to get this done without any further delay.”
British Columbia, along with Quebec and the Northwest Territories will not be included in the heating oil carbon tax pause, which takes effect next month and will stay in place until March 31, 2027.
Osborne and Heyman said that while heating oil is less common in B.C. than other parts of the country, some British Columbians still rely on it.
“We will be taking action in B.C.,” the statement said.
B.C. currently offers a maximum rebate of up to $6,000 to switch from gas or heating oil to an electric heat pump.
Atlantic premiers have been pressuring the federal government over the carbon tax, arguing it disproportionately affects the four provinces where up to one third of homes use oil to heat their homes.