Suspending all taxes on fuel until the end of this calendar year would save Canadians 25 cents a litre, about $20 per minivan fill-up, and $1,218 for a family of four.

Ottawa, Ontario – With Canadians paying almost 20 per cent more at the pumps than Americans due to high Liberal taxes, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for zero federal tax on gas and diesel for the rest of 2026. The plan would eliminate the Fuel Excise Tax (10 cents-a-litre), the Clean Fuel Standard (7 cents), and the GST (8 cents) to save Canadians 25 cents-a-litre. The plan would remove the excise tax and GST until the end of the calendar year and eliminate the fuel standard tax permanently. Conservatives also plan to permanently eliminate the Industrial Carbon Tax.

“Canadians deserve affordable fuel and food,” said Poilievre. “Seniors should be able to enjoy a worry-free drive to see grandkids, parents should not stress about filling the minivan for hockey practice and workers should be able to fill their trucks stress-free. That is why Conservatives call for zero tax on gas the rest of the year.”

“While the Iran war explains the sudden rise in world oil prices, it does not explain why Canadians pay so much more than Americans. Liberal taxes force Canadians to pay 28 cents-a-litre or 20 per cent more than in the United States,” Poilievre added. “High Liberal fuel taxes drive up the cost of groceries, which are already rising the fastest in the G7.”

“Liberal Prime Minister Carney did not eliminate the carbon tax: he renamed it the fuel standard, raised the Industrial Carbon Tax and now people are paying more than ever. Carney has taxed our gas, blocked our resources, weakened our dollar, giving us the worst economy and the fastest rising costs in the G7,” said Poilievre.

On April 1st, Americans were paying just $1.50 per litre CAD, while Canadians paid $1.78 per litre CAD – almost 20 per cent more.

Other countries have already taken action to lower the price consumers pay by reducing their taxes on fuel:

  • Australia cut their excise tax in half for three months, reducing the price of fuel by 26.3 cents per litre. 
  • Spain cut their sales tax on gas and fuel, saving up to 30 cents per litre at the pump. 
  • Ireland cut its excise duty on diesel by 20 cents and by 15 cents per litre on gasoline until the end of May.

“While other countries scrap taxes on gas and diesel to lower the cost at the pump, Carney is raising them at exactly the worst time,” Poilievre added. “Conservatives would eliminate all taxes on gas and diesel until the end of the year to restore an affordable life for Canadians.”

“Zero tax on diesel would lower the cost of everything that comes in a truck, including food and homebuilding supplies. That makes housing, food and fuel more affordable. It would also power our businesses to ship more goods and hire more workers,” said Poilievre.

According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, using data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, the clean fuel regulations add 7 cents per litre this year, with the cost rising to 17 cents per litre by 2030. That’s on top of the industrial carbon tax, which will rise to $170 a tonne, which is projected to shrink the economy by 1.3 per cent and lead to 50,000 job losses.

As part of the Conservative “dollar-for-dollar” principle, Poilievre announced that Conservatives would pay for tax relief by cutting wasteful spending on the gun buyback, bureaucracy, consultants, foreign aid, and boondoggles such as the $90 billion the Liberals are spending on their ALTO train that has failed to build a single metre of track.

Mark Carney doubled the deficit by adding $90 billion in net new spending, above Trudeau-era levels. He should reverse some of that spending to free up money to suspend his fuel taxes. By contrast, Conservatives estimate the plan for zero tax on gas would save Canadians a total of $5.25 billion.