• UCP taking the Trudeau Liberals to court over their carbon tax exemption given to Atlantic Canadians who use home heating oil to heat their homes

• Vast majority of Albertans use natural gas to heat their homes, forced to pay carbon tax

• Premier Smith says the “selective exemption” is unfair and unconstitutional

The Alberta Government is launching a legal challenge to the federal carbon tax, particularly the selective exemption that the Trudeau Liberals recently provided that primarily benefits Canadians on the east coast. 

Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau backtracked on his carbon tax scheme with a three year “pause,” but only for home heating oil — something that mostly only Atlantic Canadians use.

In a Tuesday press conference, Premier Danielle Smith said “the carbon tax has always been unfair, but the selective way it’s being applied now is unconstitutional.” 

“They’re saying in effect that some Canadians deserve lower energy bills — but not all.” 

She added: “They’re also more or less admitting that the federal carbon tax raises costs for households, which confirms what we’ve been saying all along.” 

The UCP has been fighting the federal carbon tax since it was first introduced in 2019. 

Carbon tax “pause”

The Prime Minister said the decision to “pause” the carbon tax came after listening to Canadians who expressed their financial concerns. 

Trudeau maintains that the specific carve-out to home heating oil was done because it’s more harmful to the environment than those who heat their homes with alternative means such as natural gas. 

The federal Conservatives claim that Trudeau only made the concession because Liberal MPs from Atlantic Canada begged him to do it, while his polling numbers in the region were taking a massive hit.  

This is a developing story.