Sask. Party promises to extend carbon tax exemption on home heating

The Saskatchewan Party says that it plans to keep the federal carbon tax off natural gas and electricity used for home heating for one more year if re-elected on Oct. 28.

The Sask. Party stopped collecting federal carbon tax on home heating from Saskatchewan residents shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made home heating oil exempt from the embattled tax on pollution in the fall of 2023.

The decision prompted Ottawa to threaten legal action if the money owed from the tax was not remitted.

Party Leader Scott Moe said at the time the decision was divisive and not fair to most Canadians as home heating oil is used primarily in Atlantic Canada.

On Tuesday, Moe said the natural gas exemption will be extended until the end of 2025, while electricity used for home heating would be exempt from the federal carbon tax from Nov. 1 until April 30, 2025.

According to the Sask. Party, the natural gas exemption will save the average home about $400 this year on their bills and $480 in 2025 if Ottawa goes ahead with its next planned carbon tax increase on April 1.

Moe has also been adamant that one of the main reasons Saskatchewan has seen some of the lowest inflation in the country over the past number of months, although some experts dispute that analysis as facile.

The Saskatchewan NDP's Carla Beck has said she's also opposed to the federal carbon levy.

Her party supported Moe in the legislature in withholding the federal carbon levy on home heating. Beck has also said she was in favour of the federal NDP ending its deal with the Liberals.

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"It's about time," she said in September.

Saskatchewan residents continue to receive carbon rebates from Ottawa. Those with direct deposit are supposed to receive a payment on Tuesday.

However, the NDP, which has promised to slash PST and the provincial gas tax, says Moe is ignoring repeated calls for a break at gas pumps.

According to the NDP's candidate for Regina South Albert Aleana Young, new Statistics Canada data shows that drivers in the province are paying more for gas than those in Toronto.

“Scott Moe and the Sask. Party have ignored repeated calls to cut the gas tax, like what was done by the Government of Manitoba. Instead, Moe chose to pile a PST onto groceries and children’s clothing. The Sask. Party raised taxes on families 31 times in a single year,” the NDP said in a response on Tuesday.

-- With files from Ther Canadian Press.