News Release

FREDERICTON (GNB) – The federal government announced today that New Brunswick’s carbon tax plan for fuels has been accepted.

The provincial carbon tax is an alternative to the federal government’s backstop carbon fuel levy, which took effect April 1.

“We are pleased that we are going to have our own system in New Brunswick that takes our unique circumstances into consideration,” said Environment and Local Government Minister Jeff Carr. “It is our intention to keep all carbon revenue in New Brunswick. We will bring forward a plan in the new year that will focus on protecting consumers and investing in climate action.”

The provincial government plans to introduce legislation as the next step toward implementing the made-in-New Brunswick carbon tax on fossil fuels, effective April 1, 2020.

“We congratulate New Brunswick’s government for moving forward with an effective price on the carbon pollution from fuels throughout its economy,’’ said Environment and Climate Change Canada Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

The province’s solution will apply to 20 separate fuels, will help ensure New Brunswick is competitive with the other Atlantic provinces, and allow the government to determine how best to recycle carbon revenue and invest in climate action.

“We endorsed the New Brunswick Climate Change Action Plan in the fall of 2018,” said Carr. “We take climate change seriously and the federal government’s approval, along with all the other actions in the climate change plan, allow for a smoother transition and enable us to lower our carbon emissions while supporting important climate-change projects in this province.”

New Brunswick has already reduced its carbon emissions by 28 per cent since 2005 and is on track to meet its share of the national target of 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

More details on the carbon tax plan will be available in the new year.

The carbon tax on fuels is separate from the Output-Based Pricing System for Large Emitters. The province submitted its framework for this system at the end of July and is still waiting for a decision from the federal government.