Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promoting the payments at various stops in the Ottawa area today, calling them a way to “bring Canadians together” in the fight against climate change without causing them financial hardship.
People who filed their 2021 tax returns in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan received deposits Friday to cover half of the amount they expect to receive for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The rest will be paid in quarterly payments in mid-September and mid-January.
All other provinces have their own carbon pricing systems and are not involved in the federal version.
It is the first time the carbon price cash has been sent quarterly rather than a single lump sum hidden in tax credits, as the federal government tries to make the payments more visible.
The success of this effort may be limited, however, given that many Canadians saw the deposit vaguely labeled on their online accounts, such as “federal payment,” “Canada Fed” and “EFT Credit Canada.”  Some on social media wondered what the payments were for, as others shared the different ways they were flagged depending on the financial institution you bank with.
“Mine showed up as ‘Direct Deposit Federal Payment CANADA,'” tweeted Lori Hausauer from Alberta.  “I like that Canada was capitalized. Just in case I forget where I live, I guess.”
That confusion was even more evident as Trudeau visited a family at a scheduled photo shoot in an Ottawa suburb on Friday afternoon.
Reza Matin, a father of two and a software testing developer, welcomed Trudeau into his home and when asked by the prime minister if they had received their payment, Matin said he received a notice of a deposit for $372.50 but was at a loss to find out who it came from the payment.
“He said it was from…” he said, pausing.
Trudeau filled in the response, saying he was saying it was from the federal government, and then Mateen agreed.
The rebates are designed to prevent families from being made worse off by the price of carbon, while incentivizing them to reduce carbon costs by driving less, installing better furnaces or solar panels, or upgrading windows, doors and insulation.
The amounts vary by province based on the estimated carbon tax consumers will pay this year, with annual payments for a family of four reaching $745 in Ontario, $832 in Manitoba, $1,079 in Alberta and $1,101 in Saskatchewan.
Payments in Saskatchewan and Alberta are higher mainly because they rely mostly on natural gas and coal for electricity, while Ontario gets most of its power from nuclear and hydro and Manitoba almost entirely from hydro.
The carbon levy applies to fossil fuels but not to low or non-emitting energy sources.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the rebates more than cover the added cost of the levy for about eight in 10 Canadian families.
The price of carbon is now $50 per tonne of emissions produced, which adds 11 cents to a liter of petrol, 13 cents to a liter of diesel and 10 cents to a cubic meter of natural gas.
The federal government expects to return more than $7 billion to Canadians from the carbon tax this year.
The levy will increase by $15 per tonne each year until 2030, adding another 3.3 cents to a liter of natural gas annually.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 15, 2022.