Alberta’s Finance Minister Travis Toews announced Dec. 20 that the province would suspend the full provincial fuel tax for six months, starting Jan. 1.
That means Albertans will save 13 cents per litre on gasoline and diesel for the first half of the new year, Toews said. That’s an estimated $440 total for people driving pickup trucks and fueling once weekly, or up to $300 for cars or SUVs.
“Reducing the cost of fuel benefits all Alberta drivers. It becomes more affordable to transport goods and products, to go to work and visit loved ones, to run errands and drive children to school,” Toews said in a statement.
Alberta’s gas prices are, on average, the lowest in the country. This is due to lower transportation costs for the fuel, the government has said, as Albertans are close to the source. On Dec. 21, the average price in Alberta was 123.2 cents per litre, according to CAA’s gas prices tracker. The highest price was in neighbouring British Columbia, where the day’s average was 157.9 cents per litre.
British Columbia’s Vancouver area has the highest fuel tax in the country, at 27 cents per litre for gasoline, though most of the province is at 14.5 cents per litre. Quebec is the next highest, at 19.2 cents per litre.
After June 30, 2023, Alberta will “review the fuel tax on a quarterly basis and consider reinstating it in stages,” the government said on its website.
Since April, Alberta has had a limited fuel-tax relief program in place. It provides relief based on the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil. Toews said since April, Albertans have seen a total of about $850 million in fuel tax savings.
