An Australian carbon tax opponent was in Saskatchewan on Tuesday to discourage support for the federal government's national carbon-pricing plan.

Chris Berg from the Institute of Public Affairs, an Australian think tank, was in Saskatoon today as part of a cross-country tour with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Berg says the Australian carbon tax, which was introduced in 2012 and repealed in 2014, failed because it raised taxes on household consumables and energy prices.

His organization was a strong opponent of the Australian carbon tax, having pushed heavily for it to be repealed.

Speaking to CBC Radio's The Afternoon Edition, he said a carbon tax in an economy the size of Australia's would not have done anything to stop the progress of global warming.

"We need to do a large, international effort if we're going to make any change in that area," said Berg.

"When we introduced it, the rest of the world didn't follow, it was a failed policy."

Australian tax short-lived

The Australian tax was worth $24.34 Cdn per metric tonne of carbon dioxide when it was axed in July 2014.

It had been controversial from the start, with former prime minister Julia Gillard having initially vowed not to introduce it.

After her Labour party was elected in 2010, she needed the support of the minor Greens party to form a government — and the Greens wanted a carbon tax.

Gillard agreed, and the measure's imposition was viewed by some as a broken promise.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says the Liberal government's carbon price plan will "siphon" $2.5 billion from the province. (CBC)

Berg's message in Canada is that a carbon tax imposed within countries like Canada or Australia will not make any impact on the global climate without an international agreement.

"If we don't have a global agreement then really all you're doing is self-harming your economy," he said.

"This is a global problem, it needs global solutions and no global solution appears to be forthcoming."

Berg said the United States and China would need to be on board with any successful climate change agreement, and he did not expect that to happen.

Canada's carbon tax

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Ottawa will set a carbon pricing deadline, with the federal government imposing a price for any province or territory that doesn't do so on its own before 2018.

Emissions would be assessed at a "floor price" of $10 per tonne starting in 2018, increasing to $50 per tonne by 2022.

Premier Brad Wall has said he will not sign the national agreement, and is threatening to take the federal government to court over the plan.