The Conservatives are calling on the Liberals to give Canadians some relief at the pumps by suspending federal taxes on gas and diesel for the rest of the year.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Thursday that lifting the fuel excise tax, clean fuel standard and GST surcharges from gas and diesel would save consumers about 25 cents a litre.
That cut, he said, would amount to savings of “about $20 a fill-up, and $1,200 for the average family of four between now and the end of the year.”
Poilievre said prices have risen by about 35 per cent in recent months, and noted that gas is selling for more than $2 per litre in Quebec.
“Now, to be clear and to be fair, the recent increase in gas prices is the result of the war in Iran, but the long-term high costs in Canada are the result of Liberal taxes,” he said.
Oil prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. The conflict has cut off flows of crude through the critical Strait of Hormuz and shut down energy production across parts of the Middle East.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that the U.S. will continue its strikes on Iran for the next two or three weeks. That statement caused U.S. crude oil prices to jump on Thursday to more than US$110 a barrel.
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Poilievre said Canadians are paying 20 per cent more for gasoline than American consumers, due to a combination of taxes and a weaker Canadian dollar.
He said affordable energy is the “lifeblood” of a strong economy, and pointed out that countries such as Australia, Spain and Ireland already have taken action to lower gas prices by reducing fuel taxes.
“The lower the better,” he said. “Every penny that we can get reduced in taxes is a penny in the pocket of the people that earned it.
“It’s time to have the government pinch its pennies, so Canadians don’t have to.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked Tuesday if he was considering some kind of reduction to gas taxes. He said the government is “following it closely” and watching to see whether oil prices remain high.
He also said the spring fiscal update “would be the right time to fully answer that question.” A date for that update has not been announced.
John Fragos, a spokesperson for the Office of the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, said in an email the government is “closely monitoring” the surge in oil prices brought on by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and its implications for the cost of living.
“We are continually assessing measures and policies to support Canadians in this volatile period, while looking at ways to immediately alleviate urgent downstream price shocks and make life more affordable,” Fragos said.
NDP MP Gord Johns said he’s been hosting town halls in his riding and is hearing from people that they want relief from high prices. He also said constituents are telling him they want the oil and gas companies to cover the cost of that relief.
“All of those big oil companies were already recording record profits before the war and are sure to pocket even more,” Johns said in an email.
Poilievre estimated his proposal would cost the government some $5.25 billion in tax revenue.
To cover that, he said, the government should terminate a handful of programs and call off some planned projects, including the proposed high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City.
“End the $90-billion Alto train disaster, cut back on consultants, bureaucracy, handouts to fake refugees, foreign aid and bureaucracy. Get rid of the multi-billion dollar gun grab that targets law abiding hunters, farmers and sport shooters,” Poilievre said.
Alto, the Crown corporation overseeing the project, estimates the full cost of the 1,000-kilometre high-speed rail line at between $60 and $90 billion, with a completion date in 2037. Construction of the first phase of the line, linking Montreal and Ottawa, is set to begin in 2029 or 2030.
LIBERALS GONNA WAIT ANOTHER 6 MONTHS BEFORE DECIDING. THEN WAR WILL BE LONG OVER, AND NO NEED FOR A BREAK. TRY THINKING !!!
It’s about time people with EVs started to pay the same taxes on charging their vehicles as gas customers pay when filling up. The more EVs on the road the less taxes are being paid maybe if everyone paid their fair share taxes across the board will come down.
For those concerned about tax revenue, the federal government doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Carney said that Canadians would hold this government to account based on the price of groceries. Well, if that’s true, then taking taxes of fuel, especially diesel, makes a lot of sense for both Canadians and Carney’s government.
There should be no taxes on fuel, especially diesel. Everything we consume is transported to us by diesel. Taxing diesel it is inflationary.
Or government could regulate the cost at the pump like Germany just did (and how BC did during the Fraser Valley floods a few years ago), rather than robbing tax revenue and allowing the oil companies to pad their margins.
A tax reduction? Thats a capital idea!
Anonymous – The government should not have to pay for kids lunches…. Why not work on making things more affordable so parents can feed their kids? It should be a safety net, not feeding everyone’s kids lunch because groceries are unaffordable.
Oh wait…. we just want Daddy Government to take care of us… You will own nothing and be happy…
Bill Mazaer – If removing the taxes at the pump would cause the governement to crumble, we have bigger problems to worry about…
It was the cons that voted down school lunches. Kids don’t matter, but their gas bill does
They’ve been calling for tax cuts for 10 years, only to fall on deaf ears. Federal tax hikes coming soon – Carney.
Lol okay
Total political theatre. It is impossible. The government would crumble as would all services if they did this.
Besides, if they took the tax of and prices went down 25 cents they woul be back up 18 cents a week later and the tax would come back again.
The Liberal Clowns wont do it.
Whatever – And you can’t even put a proper sentence together. Are you drunk or just stupid?
Clean fuel standard? Is that not just another name for “Carbon Tax”.
I thought Carney claimed to have eliminated the dreaded Carbon tax? That was his platform.
BTW: has there been a replacement tax on Battery powered vehicles to compensate for the loss of the Excise tax on fuel? – at least 1 province has it…
Lets make it fair. If the provincial tax on gasoline pays for roads, then EV owners need to pay their share.
Never happen Elbows up crowd who have made life by every metric worse for 11 years will happily break you done until you are broke and happy. The idiots that vote for this party would rather be in bread lines wearing jumpers then concede Trudeau -Carney have achieved nothing other then tampons in men bathrooms and DEI initiatives. But hey a chug-muslim- tranny in some government position that serves no purpose & a drugged out tax payer funded criminal being set free again and again beats affordable living. Plus remember PP is the devil and its all Trumps fault!
So are we close to another elections? Unfortunately doesn’t look like liberals are going to lose with all those brain washed elbow-up crowds out there…
We ARE doomed!
Good luck achieving that. Mathematics is not a Liberal skill.
“The budget will balance itself”
“Interest rates are at all time lows”
“You will have to forgive me if I don’t speak about monetary policy ”
“Spending now for future generations ”
All statements similar to those coming from a drunken sailor in a brothel on a Saturday night.
So the conservatives want to cut taxes on gas. Is this so they can call for cuts to healthcare funding transfers to the Provinces? Just another gimmick to gain votes.
If I were PM I’d immediately cut all and every social program, keeping in place only those for the legitimately, physically disabled (not mentally…that’s just a scam). No more ‘First Nations’…we are all Canadians, no more special groups that suck out money and our nothing in. If people want respect, they gotta work. Also, if you don’t work you don’t get to vote.
PP lol….of course he does.
I recharged my EV for $8.32 this week.