COCHRANE, Alta. — Horns blared along the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary on Monday as a protest against the hike in the federal carbon price slowed traffic to a crawl.

Hundreds of protesters, many waving Canadian and Alberta flags and holding “axe the tax” signs, blocked the major highway down to a single lane. RCMP officers were on hand to monitor the event.

“I’m here because our country is falling apart and our government has been running us into the ground and it just needs to stop,” said military veteran Gary Lambert of Innisfail as he stood on the side of the highway.

“It’s not just about ‘axe the tax.’ It’s about the freedoms. It’s about our right to free speech.”

The event, organized by a group called Nationwide Protest Against Carbon Tax, was one of about 15 that took place across the country, including on Parliament Hill. 

There were also protests at various provincial boundaries. Protesters temporarily blocked part of the Trans-Canada Highway linking Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Ottawa’s planned $15-per-tonne increase in the federal consumer carbon price came into effect Monday. It means a litre of gasoline is up 3.3 cents per litre.

Some provinces have called on the federal government to cancel the hike because of the affordability crisis. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the increase also means larger quarterly rebate cheques.

Alberta was hit with another hike Monday as the provincial government fully reinstated its fuel tax, meaning an increase of four cents per litre. The 13-cents-per-litre tax was suspended for all of 2023 and partially reinstated in January 2024.

Lambert said he’s upset about both federal and provincial tax hikes.

“People gotta realize it’s not just the one tax,” he said.

Allan Hunter of Airdrie said he was also troubled by the double whammy.

“The Alberta gas tax increase is a bit hypocritical of the (United Conservative Party government), but the carbon tax isn’t just about the carbon going in your tank,” said Hunter.

“Everything you purchase, every one of these trucks going by, every one of these cars going by, everything we consume in this country is going up today.

“Thanks Justin, you just made things even less affordable for Canadians.”

Lynne Hoff arrived at the protest with her truck pulling a manure spreader. A man wearing a Trudeau mask stood in the back.

“It’s the Liberal Manure Spreader,” said Hoff, adding people at the protest want to send a message.

“I think it’s only going to build. This is just the beginning.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2024.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press