Gas tax break not currently on table as Liberals battle affordability problems
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OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the government is more focused on stabilizing oil prices by increasing supply than it is on trying to cut prices by offering Canadians a temporary reprieve from the federal gas tax.
His comments come as U.S. President Joe Biden is musing about slashing the federal gas tax south of the border, after other measures to curtail rising gas prices haven’t worked.
If the Biden administration follows through on that plan, it would make Canada the only remaining G7 country not to have recently cut gas excise taxes or offered a subsidy to help lower pump prices.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started pushing global oil prices upwards, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany all slashed gasoline excise taxes, while France and Japan offered subsidies to consumers and fuel wholesalers, respectively.
