On Canada Day, the Trudeau government is set to hand Nova Scotians the largest single carbon tax hike in Canadian history.

That hike will send the price of gas, groceries and other essentials soaring.

Beginning in July, Ottawa will force the federal carbon tax on Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. It will start at 14 cents per litre and soar to almost 40 cents per litre by 2030.

Nova Scotians will be hit the hardest because the province previously relied on a cap-and-trade system instead of a provincial carbon tax. The cap-and-trade system only increased gas prices by two cents per litre.

That means gas taxes will spike by 12 cents per litre overnight.

A family filling up a minivan in Halifax on June 30 will pay $37.50 in taxes for just a single fill up. But if that family were to go to the pumps the next day, their total tax bill would be $47.85. 

That’s a tax hike of more than $10 in just one day.

How did we get here?

Four years ago, the feds unveiled its carbon tax plan. The Trudeau government declared that any province that refused to follow its lead would see a carbon tax imposed by Ottawa. That tax is set to increase annually, until it gets to 37 cents per litre in 2030.

At the time, former Nova Scotia premier Stephen McNeil worked with the federal government to establish a cap-and-trade system in Nova Scotia rather than a carbon tax. Ottawa signed off on the plan at the time.

Evidence from Nova Scotia shows that provinces can reduce emissions without taxing themselves to misery. Even though Nova Scotia’s cap-and-trade system only increased gas prices by two cents per litre, the province has led the nation in emissions reduction. Nova Scotia has already reduced its emissions by 36 per cent from 2005 levels and is on track to meet the federal target of 40 per cent by 2030. 

The province did it by transitioning from non-renewable energy sources, like coal, to renewable energy sources, including wind and solar.

Given the evidence, one would think the feds would see Nova Scotia’s success as a model to emulate. 

But the Trudeau government doesn’t seem to care about evidence. According to the Trudeau government, despite Nova Scotia’s sterling track record, the province’s plan isn’t aggressive enough. The feds are therefore imposing the carbon tax on Nova Scotia. That move will only further fuel the inflation fire, making gas, groceries and other essentials more expensive.

“Nova Scotia is already a national leader in reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change,” said Premier Tim Houston last year when pleading with the Trudeau government not to impose a carbon tax on Nova Scotia. “We can achieve our ambitious GHG targets without a punishing federal carbon tax.”

Despite the evidence, the Trudeau government has decided to punish Nova Scotians. Not because the Houston government isn’t addressing climate change, but because Nova Scotia won’t toe the line on taxes.

And the numbers show the federal carbon tax is set to hit Nova Scotians hard.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer is warning that the carbon tax will cost Nova Scotia households an average of $431 this year, even after the rebates. 

But it gets worse.

According to the Houston government, the carbon tax will cost Nova Scotia households $2,000 a year on average by 2025 and $3,000 by 2030.

Given Nova Scotia’s track record of reducing emissions without taking taxpayers to the cleaners at the gas pump, Ottawa should be looking to Halifax for advice, not punishment.

Instead of raising taxes and worsening inflation, the feds should take a new approach and work with provinces to reduce emissions without a costly carbon tax.

Nova Scotia is proof positive that it can be done.