Stop Quebec’s hidden carbon tax!

Province of Quebec with a dollar sign on the side and the words CO2 written on the image

Federal carbon tax is gone – but Quebec still charges one through the carbon exchange.

Fuel pump icon

In 2025, carbon pricing added 7 - 25 cents per litre to fuel costs and is projected to rise to 9.5 - 35 cents by 2030.

The longer we wait = the more we pay.

Carbon cost on fuel price (¢/L or ¢/m3)1

Table showing the Carbon cost on fuel price in cents per litre or cubic metre from 2025 to 2030 for different fuel types

* Based on the potential evolution of min. and max. prices.

Factory icon

$3B2 from Quebec’s carbon market was partially handed out to multinational corporations – not directly to Quebecers.

List of some multinational corporations to whom $3 billion from the carbon market was handed out

1 Source: MELCCFP. Le marché du carbone, un outil pour la croissance économique verte, 2025. Consultation en ligne : https://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/changementsclimatiques/marche-carbone.asp

2 Source: CÔTÉ, Gabriel. Taxe Carbone: des entreprises milliardaires profitent du Fonds vert financé par les automobilistes, mai 2025. Consultation en ligne : https://www.journaldequebec.com/2025/05/27/taxe-carbone--des-entreprises-millionnaires-profitent-du-fonds-vert

Dear Minister Drainville,

CC: Premier Legault and my MP

Small business owners are committed to protecting the environment and want to join the fight against climate change. However, the current carbon pricing system does not support them.

Quebec’s small business owners are clear:

  • 83% say Quebec’s high fuel prices raise business costs and reduce competitiveness.
  • 78% want fuel taxes reduced, as Ontario has done, to lower transportation costs.
  • 76% believe carbon pricing and environmental rules should be applied consistently across all provinces.

Quebec collects hundreds of millions each year through the carbon market. That money goes to the Electrification and Climate Change Fund (Green Fund) – but SMEs see little benefit. Too often, funds only go to large corporations or the public sector, leaving small businesses to bear the financial burden without meaningful support.

We urge the Quebec government to:

  • Eliminate the carbon exchange and stop applying carbon pricing that hurts small business competitiveness.

OR:

  • Keep the carbon exchange but redistribute revenue to Quebecers and SMEs through direct, transparent rebates.
  • Improve the governance and transparency of the Electrification and Climate Change Fund (Green Fund).
CFIB logo

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings.