Ontario will lose nearly 99,000 jobs because of Ottawa’s $170 per tonne carbon tax by 2030

TORONTO—The federal government’s plan to impose a $170 per tonne carbon tax in place nationally by 2030 will result in just under 99,000 fewer jobs in Ontario, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan, Canadian public policy think-tank. “The federal government has said the higher carbon tax will have ‘almost zero’ impact on the economy, but in fact, a tax of that magnitude will have significant effects on the economy and on Canadian workers across the country, including in Ontario,” said Ross McKitrick, a Fraser Institute senior fellow and author of Estimated Impacts of a $170 Carbon Tax in Canada.

National $170 per tonne carbon tax will cause a 2.1 per cent drop in Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The study also finds that a national $170 per tonne carbon tax will cause a 2.1 per cent drop in Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which in 2019 would represent a loss to the economy of about $44.1 billion. Ontario’s economy is projected to contract by 2.2 per cent. And even taking the carbon tax rebate into account, the average Canadian worker will still have $1,800 less income every year as a result of the $170 carbon tax. “Many previous studies, including some from the federal government itself, have shown that a large carbon tax will have major negative impacts on the economic well-being of Canadians,” said Elmira Aliakbari, director of natural resource studies at the Fraser Institute and study co-author. “Our new study confirms these earlier findings. The government needs to be transparent with Canadians about what the real costs of this policy are likely to be.” Media Contact: Ross McKitrick, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Drue MacPherson, Fraser Institute drue.macpherson@fraserinstitute.org