Gas prices climb 6 cents across GTA as new carbon tax kicks in

Gas prices rose six cents overnight at the same time the federal government’s new carbon tax kicked in on April 1.

The average price of a litre of gasoline in the GTA now sits at $1.739 after the latest increase, which comes on the heels of a 10 cent decline in the previous two days.

Factored into the new price is the federal carbon tax of 2.2 cents/litre.

The total tax collected on a litre of regular unleaded gasoline in the province has jumped from 33.5 cents to 35.7 cents.

In an effort to blunt the increase, the value of carbon-price rebate cheques from the federal government will jump more than 66 per cent in Ontario this year, to make up for too-small rebates in the last two years.

For the second year in a row, the cheques in Ontario fell shy of the requirement that 90 per cent of revenues collected to be returned to the province where they were paid.

For a family of four, the payments will hit $745 in Ontario.

The payments, for the first time, will come quarterly, rather than hidden as a lump sum in annual tax-return deposits. The first payment in 2022 will be a double payment for two quarters in July, followed by quarterly payments in September and January 2023.

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According to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), the average price for gasoline nationally on March 31 was $1.72 per litre, up from $1.22 per litre on April 1, 2021.

It peaked at a high of $1.85 per litre on March 11. Until today, the carbon price accounted for 8.8 cents of that.

The carbon price is intended to encourage people to save money by reducing their fossil-fuel use. The rebates are in place so families aren’t harmed by the carbon price, but could save even more money if they also drive less, or install more efficient furnaces, better windows and so on.

On April 1, the levy will rise to $50 per tonne of emissions produced, which is the last time the increase will be limited to $10. For the next eight years, it will increase by $15 a tonne every April.

There is some good news as the price of gasoline is expected to fall by three cents on Saturday across the GTA.

Visit CityNews for daily updates on gas prices across the GTA