APAS pleased with CN and CPKC removing carbon tax surcharge

Sask. farmers paid about $200 million in surcharges between 2019 and 2024, the organization said

A Saskatchewan ag organization is happy two railways have removed their respective carbon tax surcharges.

CN and CPKC removed their carbon tax surcharges on April 1 to coincide with the federal government’s move of eliminating the consumer carbon tax.

“This is massive for farmers,” Bill Prybylski, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said in an April 10 statement. “Axing the surcharges puts more cash where it belongs – in our pockets and back into our rural communities.”

The railway carbon tax surcharge rates in 2019 were $0.04 per mile, APAS information says.

In 2024, those figures increased to $0.1390 per mile.

Overall, the surcharges resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs for Saskatchewan farmers.

“Between 2019 and 2024, Saskatchewan farmers have been saddled with about $200 million in carbon surcharges by the railways,” Prybylski said. “We've fought tirelessly for relief, and seeing it finally come to an end is incredibly rewarding.”

And APAS estimates farmers would’ve paid about $80 million in rail fuel surcharges this year.

The ending of the carbon tax surcharge applies in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick.

Customers in British Columbia and Quebec will still pay the surcharge.

In B.C., for example, CPKC’s rate is $0.137 per mile.

And CN’s April 2025 rate is $0.4605 per mile, its website says.

APAS is concerned about increased costs for Saskatchewan farmers.

“Moving forward, it is crucial that we have clarity on the implications and application of the continued provincial carbon pricing in British Columbia on rail freight costs for our producers,” Prybylski said.