The federal government’s plan to hike gas taxes in September spells disaster for drivers

Driving in Saskatchewan isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. And Prime Minister Mark Carney is going to make that necessity more expensive on Sept. 8.

Carney cut the federal fuel tax in April, saving drivers 10 cents per litre of gasoline and four cents per litre of diesel at the pump.

Cutting the fuel tax “is a responsible measure that will reduce operating costs for truckers and businesses in the food, agriculture, housing, construction, and delivery sectors,” said the prime minister’s office in the spring.

That’s the other key benefit of fuel tax cuts. Drivers save directly at the pump from low fuel prices, but you also save at the grocery store because it’s now cheaper to get products from the farm, factory or processing plant to store shelves.

But Carney’s gas tax cut has an expiry date. He’s scheduled to hike the gas tax back up on Sept. 8. That means filling up your minivan will cost about $7 more and filling up a pickup truck will cost you about $10 extra.

The price of gasoline in Saskatchewan is about $1.65 per litre. That’s an increase of about 43 cents per litre since March 1.

Carney originally cut the gas tax because Canadians’ budgets were buckling under the weight of skyrocketing fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Current fuel prices are not meaningfully lower than the prices that Saskatchewanians were facing at the pump when Carney cut the gas tax in the first place.

And Canadians don’t want the tax tacked back on. Leger polling shows that 63 per cent of Canadians oppose the federal government hiking the fuel tax back up. Among those with an opinion, 71 per cent of Canadians want the government to keep the tax off at the pump.

Opposition is strongest in the Prairies. Among those with an opinion, 76 per cent of people in Manitoba and Saskatchewan want to keep the tax cut around.

Carney needs to look at this poll, realize that Saskatchewanians won’t tolerate a gas tax hike and cancel it before September.

But the provincial government isn’t off the hook when it comes to fuel affordability either. That’s because Saskatchewanians typically pay four different taxes when they head to the pump.

There’s the federal gas tax that’s currently suspended, a hidden carbon tax embedded in fuel regulations that costs seven cents per litre, GST that costs about 7.7 cents per litre and the provincial gas tax that costs 15 cents per litre.

The Saskatchewan government is responsible for about half of the tax that Saskatchewanians are paying at the pump. The provincial gas tax increases the cost of a fill-up by about $10 for a sedan, $11 for a minivan or $15 for a pickup truck.

Premier Scott Moe can help Saskatchewanians weather the storm of high gas prices by cutting his own gas tax. Or at the very least, demand that Carney cancel his planned September gas tax hike.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford penned a letter to Carney urging him to cancel his planned gas tax hike. “I am urging you to extend the suspension of the federal fuel excise tax on gasoline and diesel until at least Jan. 1, 2027,” Ford said.

Moe stood against the federally imposed consumer carbon tax because it made life more expensive. He should apply the same logic to gas taxes that continue to make every trip to the pump more expensive.

Almost half of Saskatchewanians are reporting that they are worse off financially today than they were a year ago. They can’t afford to pay extra at the pumps.

Saskatchewan drivers are paying near-record prices at the pump and Moe can give them relief today by cutting the gas tax.

Carney can keep providing relief by scrapping his plans to jack the federal fuel tax back up in September.

Gage Haubrich, Prairie Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, is a fierce critic of government overspending and a champion for Prairie taxpayers.