Saskatchewan is set to be the first Canadian province to go “carbon tax free.”
And while the government promises it will save hundreds of dollars for families, the opposition NDP claims it blows a major hole in the provincial budget.
Starting April 1, Saskatchewan will slash the industrial carbon tax to zero.
“We have always stood from day one against this tax,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Thursday. “We don’t think it is in any way an environmental tax but ultimately is preventing, in many ways, investment and enhancing the inflationary costs that we are experiencing as Canadians.”
Moe said the move will give consumers a break and make industries more competitive as the United States imposes tariffs on Canada.
“The immediate effect is the removal of the carbon tax on your SaskPower bills,” Moe said. He went on to say that removal will save hundreds of dollars a year for consumers and businesses.
“In the longer term, it will reduce the cost of other consumer products that have the industrial carbon tax built right into their price.”
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Some organizations, including the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), voiced their support of the move on Thursday.
“Today’s announcement is a significant step forward for rural Saskatchewan,” SARM president Bill Huber said. “By eliminating the industrial carbon levy, the province is taking a crucial step to reduce the unnecessary costs for our municipalities and agricultural producers.”
The Saskatchewan Cattle Association (SCA) echoed a similar sentiment.
“SCA has long advocated for the complete elimination of the carbon tax,” Chad Ross, the SCA chair said. “Many producers in our province rely heavily on electricity to operate their farms and heat their homes. Removing this tax will bring savings during these uncertain economic times.”
Moe and the provincial government have been urging the federal government to remove carbon pricing altogether for a number of years.
Saskatchewan stopped collecting the carbon levy on natural gas last year after Ottawa provided an exemption to home-heating oil users.
NDP Leader Carla Beck said they are “fine” with the removal, but the ramifications need to be accounted for.
“Frankly, it’s been nothing more than a slush fund for their political pet projects, but we need to make sure our province isn’t left behind at a time when we’re facing tariffs and chaos in the global economy,” Beck said.
Beck said she sees no plan from the government to address the trade war, no plan to create jobs and a $431-million hole in the budget if they don’t receive money from the carbon tax.
The budget currently forecasts a surplus of $12 million for Saskatchewan this year. Beck said that without those industrial carbon levies, the province will quickly fall into a deficit.
“This government continues to pretend that they have somehow delivered a balanced budget or a budget with a surplus,” Beck told reporters Thursday.
“People didn’t believe it a week ago and they certainly don’t believe it today, when (the province) has just blown a half-billion-dollar hole in the budget.”
Moe said the province is still promising a surplus.
“We have every intent on delivering that throughout the year,” he said. “We feel (the levy change) will have an immaterial effect on the budget.”
Moe said he’s asking whatever party forms the next federal government not to impose a backstop to collect levies from Saskatchewan.
— With files from The Canadian Press’ Jeremy Simes
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
