Doug Ford Urges Mark Carney to Extend Gas Tax Suspension

Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, has formally requested that Prime Minister Mark Carney either make the current federal gas tax suspension permanent or extend it until January 1, 2027. The request follows a previous move by Ontario to transition its own temporary provincial gas tax cut into a permanent nine-cent per litre rate last year.

Prime Minister Carney had previously announced in April that the federal government would pause the collection of the fuel excise tax on gasoline and diesel until Labour Day. This measure was designed to mitigate rising fuel prices, providing Canadians with savings of 10 cents per litre on regular gasoline and four cents per litre on diesel.

Adding to the pressure on the federal government, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for a broader set of tax reliefs. Poilievre is urging the Liberal government to suspend both the federal fuel excise tax and the GST on fuel, while permanently eliminating the clean fuel standard and the industrial carbon tax.