Federal carbon price rebates to rise more than expected in Manitoba

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

The second annual report on federal carbon pricing, which was tabled in the House of Commons this week, shows Canada collected more than $4.2 billion in carbon pricing on consumers and small businesses in 2020-21.

Nearly $4.1 billion was returned in rebates, but for the second year in a row the cheques in Ontario and Manitoba fell shy of the requirement that 90 per cent of revenues collected be returned to the province where they were paid.

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In Alberta and Saskatchewan, the only other provinces in the federal carbon-pricing system, rebates exceeded that target.

So this year, as the carbon price rises another $10 to be $50 per tonne of emissions produced, Ontario and Manitoba families will see a bigger jump in their rebate cheques than expected.

The rebates are also going to be paid quarterly in 2022 for the first time, rather than a single lump sum payment issued with tax returns.