Update - 14 November 2023
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has again called for a windfall tax on all oil and gas companies.
Recall that the federal NDP is propping up the Liberal government through its confidence and supply agreement, set to expire in 2025, and that the Liberals are often forced to go along with NDP policy to stay in power.
As a result, Ottawa has clearly targeted western Canada’s energy industry, and - even in the face of collapsing poll numbers - the Laurentian politicians don’t seem to be prepared to back down.
So, in case you missed our work on this issue last year, what exactly is a windfall tax?
A windfall tax is an extra tax on an industry that the government decides is making too much money.
In Singh’s eyes, because the energy industry is making a profit, they deserve to be punished.
The eco-radical movement currently enjoying the spoils of power in Ottawa has spent the past decade denigrating oil and gas development in western Canada, and has brought in several policies designed to shut down the energy industry.
But before shutting it down, they want to squeeze it dry.
The days when the carbon tax was the biggest problem faced by the economies of Alberta and Saskatchewan are long gone.
This year alone, the federal government has rolled out a whole series of laws and regulations designed to suffocate western Canada’s energy sector.
The Sustainable Jobs Plan, the proposed net-zero electricity regulations, the extension of equalization for five more years, and more are already hurting affordability and jobs.
If the federal government brings in a windfall tax on oil and gas companies in western Canada, while giving a carbon tax carve-out to home heating oils used in Atlantic Canada, that will undoubtedly widen the gaping divide in federal-provincial relations.
It would be a clear violation of the constitution, as natural resources are exclusively provincial jurisdiction.
But that hasn’t stopped Ottawa in the past.
That's why groups like Project Confederation are so important - we keep an eye on developments like this.
Our small team has been watching governments around the world start to move toward windfall taxes.
We've been listening to the discussions, and we knew it was only a matter of time before Ottawa tried to impose something similar.
We predicted this.
But, we held them off once, and we can do it again!
Update - 16 June 2022
Earlier this week we wrote to you about the threat of a new windfall tax on oil and gas being introduced in Canada, and urged you to join our campaign against this tax.
Almost 4,000 people have already joined our campaign, so if you haven't had a chance to yet, now's the time to do so!
We also told you about how the UK government has already announced they will be introducing a windfall oil and gas tax and about how that means you can bet Justin Trudeau is considering doing the same, if not worse.
Unfortunately, since then, things have gotten worse.
On Wednesday, Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden (who is the head of the Senate Finance Committee and a key ally of President Biden) proposed a windfall surtax of 21% on all energy profits in the US.
Now, you might be wondering why a windfall tax on energy is a bad idea?
For a start, when governments tax things, they make them more expensive, not less.
(You wouldn't think we'd have to explain that to Prime Ministers and Presidents, but here we are...)
Remember also, a windfall tax is supposed to be an extra tax on a specific industry, introduced because that industry is making larger profits sheerly through luck, as opposed to through hard work, innovation, investment, or simply the production of a good product.
But, in reality, an oil and gas windfall tax would just further penalize the oil and gas industry which has fought years and years of attempts by governments to shut them down.
Many of these companies also barely survived an energy price crash caused by COVID lockdowns, and are only now *finally* starting to make back a small portion of the massive amount of money they borrowed over that time.
Even worse, the current profits of the energy industry aren't a result of luck, they're a result of failed government policies, the exact policies our politicians and the eco-activist movement want more of.
And yet, they can't seem to see the irony in them now demanding energy companies increase production, after spending years trying to shut them down.
President Biden has "demanded an explanation" as to why there is a lack of gasoline in the United States.
Biden's Energy Secretary went one step further on CNN and demanded energy companies invest billions of dollars into new production.
When asked by the - remarkably fair - show host whether that meant she no longer wanted to phase them out over the next 5-10 years, she said no, that's still the plan!
The eco-radical movement (which includes our dear Prime Minister) has spent the last eight years brutally attacking the energy industry.
The people who used environmental regulations and taxes to force the cancellation of major projects that would have massively increased production capacity are now surprised that we have a shortage of oil and gas!
The people who spent the last eight years telling oil and gas companies that they were going to be phased out are now complaining that those same companies didn't spend billions of dollars expanding!
We wish it wasn't so, but it now seems almost inevitable that this insane idea will make its way to Canada.
Prime Minister Trudeau and his eco-radical-in-chief Steven Guilbeault don't exactly seem the most likely of politicians to have a revelation and realize that energy production is good, do they?
A windfall tax on energy companies would completely destroy investor confidence in the energy industry.
You might as well call it a "why won't you die, energy industry, tax".
Federal environmental policy has already caused the cancellation of the Northern Gateway, Energy East and Keystone XL pipelines, and the Teck Frontier Mine.
Another shot like this could cripple the economy of western Canada beyond repair, and our public finances while they’re at it.
We need to work together to stop this new windfall tax before it gets started.
Stop The Windfall Tax
Last month, the British government signalled that they would be implementing a 25 percent windfall tax on the profits of all oil and gas companies, which means you can bet Justin Trudeau is considering doing the same, if not worse.
If you think the idea of a windfall tax in Canada is fanciful, you're wrong.
Just two months ago the federal government hit the financial industry with a 15% windfall tax, and the Climate Action Network and other eco-radical groups are heavily lobbying the government to do so for oil and gas too.
But, what is a windfall tax, and why would it be a terrible idea for Canada and Canadians?
In theory, a windfall tax is supposed to be an extra tax on a specific industry that is making larger profits not because they did a good job producing a good product and deserve to make a profit, but simply because they got lucky.
The problem is that the current profits in the energy industry aren't a result of luck, they're a result of failed government policies.
The eco-radical movement (which includes our dear Prime Minister) has spent the last eight years brutally attacking the energy industry.
They used environmental regulations and taxes to force the cancellation of major projects that would have massively increased production capacity, and now they're surprised that we have a shortage!
The people who spent the last eight years telling oil and gas companies that they were going to be phased out are now complaining that those same companies didn't spend billions of dollars expanding!
And now that the shortage of oil and gas has caused prices to rise, and these companies are finally making back a little bit of what they lost over the last eight years, the government wants to punish them even more.
You might as well call it a "why won't you die, energy industry, tax".
Side note: the shortage has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine - the war only slightly sped up an energy shortage that was headed our way anyway thanks to the years of underinvestment and overregulation.
A federal windfall tax on oil and gas would be a clear violation of provincial authority as, in Canada, non-renewable resources are owned, regulated, and taxed by the provinces.
As the Alberta Energy Minister said:
"If they (Ottawa) were to impose a windfall tax on the profits of the oil and gas sector in Alberta at this time, you will see an unprecedented 'fire on the prairie' of regional alienation"
But that hasn't stopped the federal government in the past.
We need to work together to stop this new windfall tax before it gets started.
If you agree, please sign our petition to Stop The Windfall Tax, and send a message to Ottawa.
