The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney to scrap carbon taxes and cancel anti-pipeline laws instead of using taxpayer money to back a proposed pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast. The group argues that government policies are making pipeline investment uncompetitive and that public funding is a band-aid for a problem governments created. A Leger poll cited in the article shows 68% of Canadians believe businesses pass most or all of the industrial carbon tax cost to consumers. Oil companies and economists have said carbon taxes and the Canada-Alberta energy MOU are blocking private investment in pipelines. The Alberta government is expected to announce details of its proposed one-million-barrel-per-day pipeline on July 2, 2026. The debate highlights a central tension in Canadian climate and energy policy: whether carbon pricing and regulatory barriers are stifling resource development, and whether public money should fill the gap left by private capital.
