Taxpayers need to brace for impact as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gets ready to hammer Canadians with his second carbon tax.

Trudeau announced that he’s increasing the current carbon tax from $30 per tonne to $170 per tonne by 2030. That’s a 467 per cent increase.

But he’s not stopping there.

One week before Christmas, Trudeau stuffed his plans for a second carbon tax within so-called clean fuel regulations. The regulations will require producers to reduce the carbon content of their fuels and if they can’t meet those requirements, then they’ll have to pay the second carbon tax.

Trudeau’s second carbon tax will make life more expensive for those who can least afford it.

The second carbon tax is expected to add up to 11 cents per litre to the price of gasoline. That could cost Canadian families nearly $40 bucks in carbon taxes every time they fill up their minivan in 2030.

Dan McTeague, a former Liberal member of Parliament who now heads up Canadians for Affordable Energy, had some strong words for Trudeau’s second carbon tax.

“This is extremely cruel,” said McTeague. “I have been in government, and I have never seen a government inflict this kind of cost on consumers.”

The government’s own impact analysis backs up McTeague’s claim, noting that Trudeau’s second carbon tax “would disproportionately impact lower and middle-income households …  as well as households currently experiencing energy poverty or those likely to experience energy poverty in the future.”

The analysis also noted that “low-income households that rely on personal vehicle transportation may also have limited ability to switch to newer, cleaner or more fuel-efficient vehicles.”

Turns out not everyone can afford a Tesla to offset rising fuel prices, or flick a switch and suddenly heat their homes with solar panels.

The government report also acknowledged that Canadians living in the countryside will feel the pinch from Trudeau’s second carbon tax. That’s because if you live in Camborne, Ont., but work in Oshawa, you can’t just stop driving your car and take your unicorn to work.

Trudeau’s second carbon tax is also expected to lead to 30,000 fewer jobs, according to a study commissioned by Canadians for Affordable Energy.

British Columbia is expected to shed more than 2,000 jobs. It’s no surprise that Albertans will be hit hard, with Trudeau’s second carbon tax costing the struggling prairie province another 6,800 jobs. Central Canada won’t be shielded from the second carbon tax either. Ontario and Quebec could end up losing more than 13,000 jobs.

The industries taking the biggest beating will be trucking, refining and oil sands extraction. 

But when it comes to relative economic damage, Trudeau’s second carbon tax will harm Atlantic Canada the most.

The feds estimate that New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador could all lose more than $200 million in economic activity in 2030. Newfoundland and Labrador could end up saying goodbye to 1,261 jobs.

Now let’s add insult to injury for taxpayers.

Taxpayers will need to pay an extra $85 million to fuel the bureaucracy administering this regulatory quagmire.  Basically, Canadians will have the pleasure of paying higher taxes so more federal paper-pushers can increase our fuel prices and force our neighbours out of a job.

Trudeau’s carbon tax announcements come only a few months after he promised he wouldn’t be increasing costs or taxes.

“The last thing Canadians need is to see a rise in taxes right now,” acknowledged Trudeau. “We are not going to be saddling Canadians with extra costs.”

The federal government’s own impact analysis shows that Trudeau is increasing costs. Trudeau promised not to do that, but he lied to us, plain and simple. And Canadians will be left paying the price.

This column was originally published in the Toronto Sun on Feb. 23, 2021.