Opponents spar over gas tax holiday

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the prime minister to extend the 10-cent per litre gas tax holiday, set to end on Labour Day.

“We’ve done polling that shows a majority of Canadians from across the country oppose the tax coming back on at the pumps,” said Gage Haubrich, Prairie director of the non-profit advocacy group in front of the Manitoba legislature Tuesday.

Those polled in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were more opposed to the return of the federal gas tax than anywhere else in Canada, he said.

Haubrich said the group was also asking Premier Wab Kinew to “follow in the steps of (Ontario) Premier Doug Ford and send a letter to the prime minister calling on him to extend the gas tax cut as well.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced the 10-cent-per-litre fuel tax cut starting April 20 in response to rising fuel prices sparked by the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. It’s set to expire Sept. 7.

“When you head to the pump, you’re paying about $21 to fill up a minivan in just tax, about $27 in just tax to fill up a pickup truck. But it could get more expensive soon,” Haubrich said.

The near-five-month federal gas tax holiday is expected to cost the government $2.4 billion in lost revenue.

In 2024, Manitoba lifted its 14-cent-per-litre fuel tax for one year as an affordability measure, costing the province an estimated $340 million in lost revenue. When it was reimposed in 2025, it was reduced to 12.5 cents per litre.

The premier told reporters in March at the NDP convention that the gas tax holiday was “the most important thing that a provincial government ever did in the history of Manitoba because it gave power back to the middle class and to the low income folks.”

Carney should follow Kinew’s example, Haubrich said.

“The premier knows that gas tax cuts work. He should always be looking to cut his gas tax as well to save drivers money. The very least he can do is call the prime minister to keep this cut as well.”

Canada needs to get off the fossil-fuel roller-coaster, the Manitoba director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said Tuesday.

“Fuel tax cuts create a significant fiscal hole for governments, stripping away reliable revenue needed to fund public services and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels,” said Molly McCracken. “Why should the Canadian public purse — and climate action — suffer because the U.S. war with Iran has driven up gas prices?”

McCracken said it’s telling that the taxpayers federation makes no mention of climate change or the urgent need to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Canadian oil and gas companies are projected to make $60 billion in excess profits this year while “tax hawks” like Haubrich are calling for gas tax cuts, she said.

“The planet is burning because of fossil fuels. Instead of doubling down on our dependence on an increasingly volatile commodity, Canada and Manitoba should tax fossil fuel profits and use that revenue to make life more affordable — by investing in high-quality public transit, electrification and a genuinely just transition,” McCracken said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca