Only Two Canadian Pacific Pipelines Built, Both Liberal-Era
Two oil pipelines have been built to the Pacific in Canadian history: the Trans Mountain pipeline (in service 1953) and the Trans Mountain Expansion (in service 2024), both under Liberal governments.
Carbon Taxes Unchanged; only Consumer Price Set to Zero
This is just feeding into a conspiracy theory. No carbon taxes have been "renamed" in any way. The Clean Fuel Regulations have been in place since 2022, the carbon price schedule and legislation for longer than that. The only change...
Tax Shifts Can Drive Inflation in General Equilibrium
If your personality is built on claims that taxes are a massive detriment to economic growth and that our economy is dramatically more fossil-fuel-intensive than the data suggest, you might give some thought to what changes in those taxes might...
Northern Gateway Stalled: No Shovels After Decade-Long Development
The Northern Gateway pipeline was in development before the last Conservative government took office and no shovels had hit the ground by the time that gov't left office, most of a decade later. Sit down.
Grok Misstates Cancelled BC Carbon Tax, Raises Misinformation Concerns
Here's @grok making mistakes on BC carbon taxes. BC carbon tax was cancelled last year. Weaponized misinfo or incompetence? https://t.co/5sqdnrKsfq https://t.co/wlhhs6jBEe
Exam Problem Shows Carbon Tax Raises Oil Production Costs
Lots of people talking about the industrial carbon tax impact on oil production costs. Here's a problem I used on my final exam this week in my energy economics class (yes, I know 100% capacity factors aren't realistic, but I...
Poilievre Flips From Carbon Price Supporter to Emissions Skeptic
Fun fact: @PierrePoilievre ran on an industrial carbon price rising to roughly the same rates being talked about today and an effective oil sands emissions cap. Now, more than a decade later, he's telling you that meeting any emissions reduction...
Advocates Overstate Oil Industry's Precarious Pipeline Risks
The oil industry's biggest advocates are always keen to tell Canadians how precarious the industry is. If you think the industry is thst close (carbon tax costs are generally <$1/bbl) to not being able to fill a pipeline, the pipeline...
BC Gas Prices Free of Carbon Tax, Impact Minimal
There is no carbon tax imposed at the pump in BC right now. The impact of the industrial carbon tax on fuel prices is tiny compared to the impact of the removal of consumer prices, so the total tax impact...
Three REP Rounds Lock in ≤4c/kWh Electricity
Dear Premier @ABDanielleSmith, the three REP rounds all let contracts with average costs of electricity at or below 4c/kWh. https://t.co/d95ub8MxVo
Colleague Appointed to Alberta's Court of King's Bench
I am absolutely thrilled (and a bit sad) to share the news that my friend, @UAlbertaLaw colleague, and co-author @ericadams99 has been appointed to the Court of King's Bench in Alberta. Wishing you all the best in your new role,...
78% Tax Rate Means State Bears Most Carbon Tax
"With a marginal tax rate of 78%, the state effectively shares a large portion of the carbon tax cost (because carbon taxes are deductible as operating costs)." Yes, but let's imagine why he would say if Canada raised its marginal...
Premier's Puzzling Plan: Two New Ports North of Prince Rupert
Two ports *north* of Prince Rupert? Stewart is too small, so what is the Premier thinking here?
AI Draws a Quirky Map of Alberta
I asked an AI engine to draw me a map of Alberta. It has a few issues, but it's definitely a map. https://t.co/jr4P1F9iic
Oil Firms Coined “Social License” And Decarbonization Hype
Let's pretend we don't know who brought the term "social license" into the conversation aboid Canadian oil and gas, and who ran ads on every major platform promising decarbonization of production. Neither came from politicians. Both came from consortia of...
FDI
Anyone else surprised at the relative slopes in the FDI graphs between 2005-2015 vs 2015-2025. https://t.co/tlWbOdmfMF
Canadian Oil CEOs Reject Carbon Tax, Seek Investment
No one talks down the value proposition for Canadian oil and gas more than Canadian oil and gas leaders.
Energy Data Suffers From Painfully Short Time Series
It will never stop being depressing that we have such short time series for important energy data. This is all the data that's available in one series. Thanks for very little, @StatCan_eng. https://t.co/aohxEtK5sC
Calls to Revive National Energy Program with Added Cleaning Reserves
There's always at least one who wants a return to the National Energy Program, except with the addition of whatever "cleaning reserves" are.
Canada's Energy Regulator Grants Pipeline Builders Entry Rights
Y'all are going to be big mad when you learn about right of entry provisions for the construction of pipelines in the Canadian Energy Regulator Act. https://t.co/bTzN0OWdPh
Toronto's Small Share Raises Questions on Cost, Impact
Interestingly, this throws a massive dart at Toronto's proposal. The Toronto CMA is about 1/5th of Canada's population, so it does make one wonder how much Toronto's program is going to cost and/or how little it will be able to...
Open‑Enrollment Energy Markets Course Launches at UAlberta
For the first time, I am teaching an open-enrolment course at @ualberta. This class is open to students and members of the community and is targeted at those looking for an introduction to energy markets, policies, and trends. Poster by...
Freight and Small Food Plants Exempt From Carbon Tax
Dear @TheTorontoSun, you keep publishing this and it remains incorrect. Freight transport is not subject to the industrial carbon tax. Also, almost all food processing plants are too small to be covered by industrial carbon pricing. https://t.co/abpQeVfFMS
US Chicken Prices Outpace Canada, Now Converging Post‑pandemic
I thought (likely incorrectly) that fans of the @FoodProfessor might like some context, so I made a couple of graphs. US chicken prices have increased far faster than Canadian prices in recent years and have basically tracked Canadian prices for...
Worker’s Agenda Omits Oil Tax, Mirrors Lewis Platform
I can't find the proposal for an oil and gas export tax in the Worker's Agenda? And, more importantly, is the @ABFedLabour opposed to any new fossil fuel infrastructure? Because that's what's in Lewis's platform. https://t.co/ngYuBaCqtY
Industrial Carbon Tax: Key Tool for Climate Mitigation
I am going to use this as an auto-reply on stories about the role of the industrial carbon tax. https://t.co/ZcVNH2IkKS
Truckers Face $6K Rise From Carbon Tax Hike
Dear @SenatorWallin, you should learn what is covered by the industrial carbon tax. I challenge you to show a calculation that the April 1 increase in the industrial carbon tax increases costs to truckers by $6k. Please show how those...
New Bill Mirrors Referendum Topic, Questioning Vote Relevance
This is now the second piece of legislation introduced on a topic directly addressed by one of the 56,432 referendum questions to be put to Albertans this Fall. Perhaps the answers to those questions are not the point?
Past Oil Subsidies and Costly Refinery Warn Against Expansion
We had a policy of discounted domestic oil prices once. It was called the National Energy Program. Ask your AB caucus colleagues about it. And, we did build a refinery a decade ago and it ran billions over budget....
Questioning Borrowing for Savings Amid Limited Federal Revenues
Why would we borrow *more* to build a savings fund? Unless we're going to get our fiscal house in order and fund gov't spending differently, I don't understand the rationale here. Further, federal resource revenues are small. The vast majority...
Chronic Pain Over 45: Endless Whack‑a‑Mole or Acceptance?
Does the 45+ "what is sore today" whack-a-mole end or do people just give up?
Canada’s Missteps Sink Energy East, Favor KXL
The process for Energy East had to be suspended when a TC consultant violated conflict of interest rules. It was then delayed again because TC changed the design. TC then cancelled the project to pursue KXL. Who do we blame?...
Canada Approved Keystone XL Fast; US Delays Keep It Unbuilt
The Canadian approval for Keystone XL was completed in a little more than a year, 15 years ago. It has been rejected, rejected, approved, rejected, and approved again in the US since that time. It remains unbuilt. It's proponent, TC...
US Blocks Keystone XL, Cancels Energy East to Focus Domestically
Keystone XL was approved on the Canadian side. The US rejected it multiple times. TC cancelled Energy East to double down on the US.
Minister Contradicts Himself on Diesel Carbon Tax Exemption
The FP talks here (11:20) about exemptions for diesel from the industrial carbon tax, and yet he published a piece in the Toronto Sun and elsewhere this week on trucking cost implications that assumed the industrial carbon tax applies to...
Media Misreports Diesel Carbon Price, Overstates Emission Costs
The media's go-to on all things food supply chain related missed a 21c/L drop in carbon prices on diesel fuel, and wrote an article on the implications of the no-longer-existent carbon price on combustion emissions increasing to 29c/L.
Carbon Diesel Tax Drop Disproves Linear Increase Assumption
Carbon price directly applied on diesel decreased by 21c/L from 2024-26. It was scheduled to increase to 29c/l. The Food Professor's math assumes that linear increase over time remained in effect. No, it's not the CFR or the industrial price,...
Google AI Repeats False $6k Trucking Cost Claim
Was pretty depressing to see how Google AI integrated the false $6000 per year number for trucking costs from the FP. Also mimicked the responses to calling it out: "it's the CFR", or "it's the industrial carbon tax." Once you...
Debate Highlights Misunderstood Assumptions Behind Carbon Tax Analysis
Me: this post assessing the impact of the industrial carbon tax is based on incorrect assumptions, incorrect math, or both. Internet: WHY ARE YOU CLAIMING THERE ARE NO TAXES? Me: There are, indeed, taxes and I have never claimed otherwise. Internet: Ha!...
Most Oil Sands Emissions Come From End‑User Combustion
For years, we talked about the wells-to-wheels emissions from oil sands to remind people that most of the emissions from refined products came from combustion by the end user and a small share was from the production and refining of...
FoodProfessor Misstates Carbon Tax Never Covered On-Farm Diesel
And we have the @FoodProfessor spreading more misinformation. The carbon tax has *never* applied to on-farm diesel. https://t.co/r23JyHnPNU
Carbon Pricing Impact Depends on Supply Chain Coverage
Quick explainer of how the Food Dude's math is wrong (again) today: when you think about the impact of carbon pricing on fuel costs (diesel in this case), what matters is which parts of the supply chain are covered and...
This Tweet Still Stands—Math on Carbon Pricing Unsettled
If you're placing bets on who is getting the math correct on carbon pricing, may I remind you that this tweet is still posted.
Misapplied Carbon Price Reveals Year‑long Calculation Error
Show your work, Sylvain. When you get to the part where you applied the $110/t carbon price to combustion emissions from diesel fuel, you'll have found your mistake. I really hope you'll spell it out so everyone can see that...
Linear Carbon Pricing Assumes Nonexistent Combustion Tax
This is going to be fun. Spoiler: the only way you get a linear relationship from 2023-26 is if you assume the carbon price applies to combustion emissions consistently over that period. Carbon price hasn't applied to combustion emissions since...
Diesel Tax Shift: Combustion Emissions Tax Gone, Production Charges Up
If you want to understand the issue w diesel prices, here's a graph of the emissions in a barrel of diesel from production to combustion. The changes in the last 13 months have eliminated the tax entirely on combustion emissions,...
Industrial Carbon Price Doesn't Raise Pump Diesel Cost
The industrial carbon price doesn't apply to diesel at the pump. If you think it adds 30c/l to the cost of production and refining (where it actually applies), you simply have no idea about the emissions profile of a litre...
Trucking Excluded From Industrial Carbon Pricing, Not Covered
Has he really been writing on this for a year thinking that trucking is covered by the industrial carbon pricing regime? They're not. Large, point source facilities are covered and that does not include trucks nor does it include most...
Quebec Taxes Diesel, Federal Carbon Price Spares Truckers
Quebec's carbon price applies to diesel fuel. The federal carbon price does not. Truckers, from the perspective of carbon pricing, were consumers. The carbon price for consumers was zero-rated a year ago.
Propose National Oil Company with Price Controls and Export Tax
Have you considered a policy that would implement a national oil company and price controls? Perhaps some form of export taxation to fund these activities?