The federal government has announced the 2020 Climate Action Incentive payment amounts for residents of four provinces in which the carbon price backstop will apply.
For those provinces that do not meet the federal stringency requirements for 2020—Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta—the bulk of the direct fuel charge proceeds from the carbon pricing system will be returned to residents of those provinces through Climate Action Incentive payments.
The government has announced the Climate Action Incentive payment amounts for 2020 for the four provinces affected. Individuals will be able to claim these payments through their 2019 personal income tax returns.
A single adult or the “first adult” in a couple will receive: $224 in Ontario; $243 in Manitoba; $405 in Saskatchewan; and $444 in Alberta. A “second adult” in a couple or a first child of a single parent will receive: $112 in Ontario; $121 in Manitoba; $202 in Saskatchewan; and $222 in Alberta. Each child under 18 (starting with the second child for single parents) will receive: $56 in Ontario; $61 in Manitoba; $101 in Saskatchewan; and $111 in Alberta.
The baseline amount for a family of four will be: $448 in Ontario; $486 in Manitoba; $809 in Saskatchewan; and $888 in Alberta.
There is a supplementary Climate Action Incentive payment for people who live in rural and small communities, which increases by 10% the baseline payment amount.
The federal government can impose its carbon price backstop in any province or territory that does not have a carbon pricing policy or whose price falls below that set by the backstop. The backstop is currently $20 per tonne and will rise by $10 per year until it reaches $50 in 2022.
The backstop currently applies in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, and will apply in Alberta from January. The federal government recently announced that New Brunswick’s proposed carbon levy on fuels, to apply from April 1, 2020, meets the federal stringency requirements. Accordingly, the federal fuel charge will no longer apply in that province as of April 2020.
