Scrap Manitoba gas tax permanently, Tories say

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative party is calling on the New Democrats to permanently cut the provincial gas tax.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday he would cut the federal excise tax on gas and diesel beginning Monday and lasting until Labour Day. The move will lower the price of gas by 10 cents and diesel by four cents.

Premier Wab Kinew hinted last week the Manitoba government might temporarily remove the provincial gas tax, which is 12.5 cents per litre. It did so in 2024 for the entire year.

Upon reinstatement of the tax in January 2025, the province reduced the levy from 14 cents to 12.5 cents.

“Remove the gas tax today, permanently, to make life more affordable for Manitobans.”

“Remove the gas tax today, permanently, to make life more affordable for Manitobans,” Tory Leader Obby Khan said Tuesday inside the Manitoba Legislative Building.

He deemed a permanent cut a “pretty reasonable ask.”

Khan said the preferred measure of saving Manitobans money would be to increase the basic personal exemption, but the NDP won’t sign off on that.

With Kinew meeting Carney in Ottawa Tuesday, deputy premier Uzoma Asagwara fielded Khan’s queries during question period.

“He is asking our government to do more of what we’ve already done for Manitobans,” Asagwara said. “Our government did what the PCs refused to do for two terms.”

On Thursday, Kinew said he’d spend a month considering a cut to the province’s gas tax, noting a decision would depend on fuel prices.

“Our government did what the PCs refused to do for two terms.”

The average price of gas in Manitoba was $1.72 per litre on Tuesday morning. That’s a 41-cent hike from the previous year, online fuel price tracker GasBuddy said.

Manitoba’s average price hovered around $1.53 per litre last month. Prices skyrocketed following a joint attack by the United States and Israel on Iran in late February. Oil has since stopped flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Khan said any provincial tax removal requires new economic growth to make up the lost revenue. “It’s a balancing act,” he said.

The provincial government is projecting a $498-million deficit for its 2026-27 fiscal year.

gabrielle.piché@freepress.mb.ca