Deciding the Price of Canada's Carbon

Canadian Prime Minister,  Justin Trudeau, has announced plans for a national price for carbon emissions, and representatives of Canadian provinces that do not currently regulate emissions don't like it.

In Canada, emissions regulations have been regional up to this point. Quebec and British Colombia have employed a cap and trade system and carbon tax, respectively, and other provinces have other regulations. A story in The Economist reports that Prime Minister Trudeau aims to change that. "Mr. Trudeau wants a national standard, in part to discourage firms from migrating to provinces, like Saskatchewan, with no carbon price, or with very low ones."

"Mr. Trudeau has made it plain that, unlike his Conservative predecessor, Stephen Harper, he takes the threat of climate change seriously. One of his first acts in office was to agree last December to sign the Paris Climate Accord, under which Canada is to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases by 30% below the levels of 2005."  In order to get the legislation he seeks, The Economist speculates Trudeau will have to entice states to cooperate. "The biggest prize, universally coveted, is more federal money for healthcare, the largest item in provinces’ budgets." How that deal is negotiated will have a great deal to do with whether or not Trudeau's carbon price becomes law.