Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced he's temporarily removing the federal excise tax on gas and diesel.
Beginning Monday and lasting until Labour Day, the cost of gas will drop by 10 cents per litre of gasoline and four cents per litre of diesel. The fuel tax holiday will also remove the four cents per litre excise tax on aviation fuel. It's expected to cost an estimated $2.4 billion.
Gage Haubrich is the Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
"It's great to see that the federal government is moving in some way to make life more affordable for Canadians," said Haubrich. "Unfortunately, this isn't a permanent tax cut, which is what Canadians really need at this time. Taxpayers would like to see the government provide some sort of permanent tax relief. Even if it was a permanent tax cut relief, not just the temporary one announced."
On average, the price per litre of gas in Manitoba is $171.9. On average, the price per litre of diesel is over $2.00 per litre.
"When we're looking at how much a Manitoba family pays every time they head to the pump, it's about $9.00 in the gas tax when you're filling up a mini-van and $11.00 when you're filling up a pick-up truck," offered Haubrich. "Over the course of the year, that's more than $550 in gas tax that one family is paying."
With Carney's tax holiday, it'll save drivers $7 every time they fill up a minivan, about $10 when filling up a pickup truck.
In 2024, the Manitoba government cut its provincial gas tax by 14 cents per litre in 2024. Premier Wab Kinew recently called his previous gas tax the most important thing that a provincial government has ever done in the history of Manitoba.
For Haubrich, now is the time.
"It's up to Mr. Kinew to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. If it's the most important thing that a government has ever done, it's probably equally important to do it now," ended Haubrich. "There's no reason for him to be sitting on his hands about it; he needs to bring it back and get Manitobans saving at the pumps again."
Kinew also said that if gas prices remain high, he may cut the gas tax again.
