A profane sign posted outside a gas station west of Edmonton targeting the Alberta NDP and Trudeau government over the carbon tax has attracted attention from across the province.
“I drove two hours today to come and see this sign,” said Tia Duplessie, who drove in from Mayerthorpe, Alta. Wednesday morning. “I had to come see it for myself.
“It really speaks for itself and I’m a supporter of this sign.”
The sign at the Tempo gas station in Spruce Grove, which read “F**K NDP/TRUDEAU,” began to gain attention on social media Tuesday night.
The owner of the gas station, who declined comment on the matter, changed the sign Wednesday morning to read: “NDP CARBON TAX HURTS ALL.”
Ashley Gould, co-owner of CT Automotive & Customs Inc. near the gas station, said she loved the sign and its original message.
“It made my day,” Gould told Global News on Wednesday. “I like the original message… I don’t want to offend our clients but if I had the opportunity to put a big sign out the front there, that’s exactly what my sign would say.
“I am totally against Notley and the NDP government and Trudeau. When I see stuff like that, it’s supporting what we don’t want here in Alberta so I think it’s good. I loved it.”
The carbon tax came into effect in Alberta on Jan. 1, 2017. On Jan. 1 of this year, the tax went up by 50 per cent, going from $20 per tonne of carbon-dioxide emissions to $30 per tonne.
READ MORE: How much will the 2018 Alberta carbon tax hike cost you?
The carbon tax hike translates to an increase of about two-and-a-half cents per litre at the pumps for gasoline. The price of natural gas went up 50 cents per gigajoule on New Year’s Day.
While the amount Albertans pay depends on their energy use and driving patterns, the Alberta NDP estimates the carbon levy will cost a family of four about $500 in 2018. The cost for a single person will be about $290 and the cost for a couple will be about $390.
Watch below: Here’s how the 2018 carbon tax hike will hit your wallet
Federated Co-op Ltd., the company that owns the Tempo brand, issued a statement on Twitter Wednesday, which read:
“Yesterday, an independent business in Spruce Grove, Alta., with a marketing agreement to use the Tempo brand, posted a profane message on an electronic street sign. Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) does not condone or support this message. As soon as notification of this message was received, the independent business owner was asked to remove it immediately. FCL understands that the operator has complied and removed the message from this sign.”
READ MORE: How will Alberta’s carbon tax hike hit your home heating bill?
Gould believes the tax has harmed Alberta’s economy and has led to price increases across the board.
“The prices of everything (are) going up. We have to increase our labour rate. All of our bills have gone up, of course, the gas has gone up,” she said. “I think it’s the worst thing that they could have ever done. I don’t believe in it.
“I just don’t think that Alberta and Canada is at fault for global warning or whatever they’re taxing us for. I don’t believe it’s us.”
Some social media users expressed their displeasure with the sign. One user with the Twitter handle @alwaysvote called the sign inappropriate, and that it showed no respect for young kids or their guardians. Another Twitter user with the handle @islayscotch called the sign disgusting and juvenile.
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