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CARBON, Alta. – As the thermometer barely budges above -30 C, Heather Boyd gears up for the lunch rush at her small diner.

On the first business day after the New Year’s holiday, the bitter winter weather outside hasn’t lowered appetites inside the nine-table cafe at the Village of Carbon’s curling rink.

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But what is making the mercury rise inside is a different kind of carbon — Alberta’s new carbon tax, which came into effect this week.

“My opinion is this is no way to put Carbon on the map,” says Boyd, who also serves on the village’s council. “I’d rather we be known for our generosity and our beautiful town than a tax.”

In Carbon, there’s no love for the tax that shares the village’s name.

Across the community, which has roots in the coal industry older than the province itself, the Notley government faces a tough haul to convince people that Alberta’s climate levy makes sense.

As the province struggles through a prolonged economic slump, opposition is rife throughout the village of 600, located a little more than an hour’s drive northeast of Calgary.