Carbon Tax Calculator

Canada’s Carbon Pricing History and Current Status

Canada introduced a federal carbon pricing backstop in 2019 under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. The fuel charge started at $20 per tonne of CO2 equivalent and was scheduled to rise by $15 annually until reaching $170 per tonne by 2030. Provinces that implemented their own equivalent systems — such as British Columbia’s provincial carbon tax and Quebec’s cap-and-trade system — were exempt from the federal backstop.

The federal consumer carbon tax (fuel charge) ceased to apply on April 1, 2025, under regulations made on March 15, 2025. All fuel charge rates were set to zero, and the Climate Action Incentive Payment (CAIP) rebate program was discontinued. The industrial carbon pricing system for large emitters (the Output-Based Pricing System) remains in place. British Columbia, which ran its own provincial carbon tax ($80 per tonne from April 2024), eliminated its consumer carbon tax on the same day, April 1, 2025, and cancelled its climate action tax credit.

Federal Carbon Price Timeline

While the consumer fuel charge has been removed, the federal government has signalled that industrial carbon pricing and regulatory measures for large emitters will continue. Canadians no longer pay a direct carbon tax at the pump, and the quarterly CAIP rebate payments have ended. This calculator is maintained for historical reference and comparison purposes.