Kinew drops hint about another gas tax cut for Manitoba motorists

Premier Wab Kinew has hinted a second gas tax cut could be coming.

While speaking at the legislature Tuesday, Kinew said, “Here in Manitoba, we’re focused on you. We cut the gas tax once, maybe we’ll do it again.”

His NDP government implemented a year-long gas tax holiday in 2024.

Kinew was replying to Tory Leader Obby Khan, who was questioning why the premier was supporting federal New Democrat Leader Avi Lewis as NDP politicians in other provinces distance themselves.

“We’re clearly doing an amazing job on health care, we’ve clearly done a lot — with much more to do — on the cost of living. All the economic policies are going great,” Kinew said.

“Given the time to raise any of those topics that Manitobans are thinking about, all the member opposite can talk about is Avi Lewis. Good signs of things to come for the federal party in the future, maybe.”

Kinew then commented about the potential for cutting the gas tax again.

He made headlines recently for calling the 14-cent per litre tax holiday “the most important thing that a provincial government ever did in the history of Manitoba.”

Those comments came during the NDP national convention, held in Winnipeg last month. The tax holiday “gave power back” to middle-class and lower-income people, Kinew said at the time.

The Manitoba government imposed a reduced tax of 12.5 cents per litre in 2025.

Khan told reporters Tuesday he doesn’t believe Kinew is serious about a second gas tax cut.

“The premier likes to make big, flashy announcements to catch everyone’s eye but distract from (the New Democrats’) failures.”

“The premier likes to make big, flashy announcements to catch everyone’s eye but distract from (the New Democrats’) failures,” Khan said.

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“The reality is, under this NDP government, we are having massive failures across the board — in our economy, in our health care, when it comes to safety.”

The average price of gas in Winnipeg Tuesday was $1.70 per litre, a map by GasBuddy.com shows. City dwellers paid $1.25 before the 2024 tax pause.

The pause cost the province about $340 million in lost revenue, Finance Minister Adrien Sala has said, defending the move as an important measure during a period of record-high inflation.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.