If you filed your 2024 income tax and benefit return electronically by April 2, you should receive your final carbon rebate payments starting today, April 22.
Taxpayers who registered for direct deposit with the Canada Revenue Agency will have their Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) deposited directly into their bank account. For other residents, it will be delivered via cheque.
Eligible Canadians who filed after April 2 will get the rebates after their 2024 returns are assessed.
The April 22 payment is the final CCR that Canadians will get as the consumer carbon pricing has ended.
The CCR was the government’s way to return proceeds from the federal fuel charge that applied to 21 fossil fuels and combustible waste – a signature climate policy from former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The federal fuel charge was implemented in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nunavut and Yukon.
How much are you getting?
As a result, the residents of those 10 provinces and territories are eligible for the CCR.
The amount varies by province and territory. Here’s a breakdown of the base amount for an individual:
Alberta - $228
Saskatchewan - $206
Manitoba - $150
Ontario - $151
New Brunswick - $165
Nova Scotia - $110
Prince Edward Island - $110 (the rural supplement is already included)
Newfoundland and Labrador - $149.
The department says that those who have a spouse or common-law partner, the person who files their tax return first, will receive the CCR amount for all members of the household, including children.
Here’s how much a family of four can get:
Alberta - $456
Saskatchewan - $412
Manitoba - $300
Ontario - $302
New Brunswick - $330
Nova Scotia - $220
Prince Edward Island - $220 (the rural supplement is already included)
Newfoundland and Labrador - $298
Concerns about timing
The payments are coming to Canadians less than a week before the federal election.
Robin Boadway, emeritus professor in economics at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., told CTVNews.ca earlier this month that the government should’ve been consistent by cancelling the rebate at the same time as they got rid of the consumer carbon pricing.
He explained that the rebates do not actually come from carbon tax revenues. The government had been sending out CCR payments ahead of collecting those revenues.
“It’s not that there’s a lot of money involved, it’s just the principle of the thing of continuing to send this money out, even though no carbon taxes were being collected to pay for it,” Boadway said.
He added: “Most people don’t realize that when they get this rebate cheque, it’s not actually a rebate cheque in the meaningful sense of the word because it’s not being covered by carbon tax revenues anymore. It’s just like a free handout that people are getting.”
When CTVNews.ca asked the Department of Finance Canada earlier this month if it had a response to Boadway’s concerns, it provided a link to its website detailing information on the recent changes to the Canada Carbon Rebate.
“During the election period – the Caretaker period – we cannot comment on policy positions, including matters relating to tax policy,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca. “The Government of Canada’s orientation with respect to policy matters will be determined after a new Cabinet is sworn in.”
