Alberta Freezes Carbon Tax, Challenges Federal Policy

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has indefinitely frozen the province's industrial carbon tax at $95 per tonne, stopping planned increases that would have aligned with federal benchmarks, including a rise to $170 per tonne by 2030. The move is intended to protect Alberta's competitiveness, especially as U.S. tariffs drive higher costs and disrupt supply chains in key sectors like oil and gas, electricity, and manufacturing. Smith argues that higher carbon prices would harm the provincial economy and make Alberta 'wildly uncompetitive.' The freeze, which maintains funding for emissions reduction through the TIER program, sets up a potential confrontation with federal climate policy. This announcement coincides with the upcoming swearing-in of Prime Minister Mark Carney's new government. Alberta's government maintains its commitment to reducing emissions through technological innovation rather than increased taxation.