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By Alice McFarlane

Removing carbon price on agriculture

First step towards removing carbon price for farmers welcome news

Mar 18, 2025 | 4:11 PM

While Prime Minister Mark Carney eliminated the consumer carbon price via Order-in-Council on the day he was sworn in, the Agriculture Carbon Alliance (ACA) said the action provides increased certainty for farmers.

But ACA also added ongoing discussions on permanently removing the carbon pricing mechanism for producers needs to continue.

Dave Carey ACA co-chair said the reduction of the consumer carbon price to $0 is a good first step for Canadians – and, by extension, farmers, growers and ranchers.

“With many farmers on the eve of a new growing season, and others in the midst of harvest, they need certainty when it comes to future carbon pricing and the impact on all farms. We hope this will come through legislative action once Parliament has resumed,” Carey said.

The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, passed in 2019, sets out a legislative framework for both the consumer carbon price and the industrial price.

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ACA said without a future legislative change the risk remains that farmers could continue paying a carbon price on essential farming activities like irrigation, grain drying, feed preparation, heating or cooling of barns and other agriculture growing structures.

Farmers are facing a significant rise in input, land and labour costs, while seeing a reduction in their revenue due to trade uncertainty, according to Scott Ross, ACA co-chair.

“The Prime Minister’s actions have come as welcomed news, but Canadian producers need certainty on this issue – particularly during this challenging time in international trade,” Ross said.

With no viable fuel alternatives, carbon surcharges pull capital from investments that would otherwise augment the sector’s potential to reduce emissions further and support food security.

ACA urged Parliamentarians to reach a permanent solution via the removal or alteration of the existing Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to exempt all farmers, growers and ranchers of all sizes from carbon pricing entirely.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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