Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the federal government should give Canadians a summer tax holiday on federal fuel charges.
Poilievre has made the federal carbon tax a key point of attack against the governing Liberals since he took the helm of the Conservative Party. On Thursday, he took aim at other federal fuel charges.
Between Victoria Day and Labour Day, Poilievre said, the government should exempt gasoline and diesel fuel from the federal carbon tax, the GST and the federal excise tax.
“Canadians are struggling and they are unable to even afford a vacation. They need a break,” he said during a press conference in Vancouver.
The exemption could reduce the price of gas by 30 cents a litre in provinces where the federal carbon tax applies. British Columbia, Quebec and the Northwest Territories have their own carbon pricing systems.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for the suspension of all gas and diesel taxes from Victoria Day to Labour Day. He says the move would reduce gas prices by 35 cents per litre, allowing Canadians to have affordable summer vacations.
Poilievre said working Canadians have been “screwed over” by the government’s “radical, wacko agenda.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fired back at Poilievre when asked about the proposal during his own press conference on Thursday.
Trudeau pointed out that Ottawa offers rebates to offset the cost of the federal carbon tax and accused Poilievre of having no plan for the environment.
“When [Poilievre] talks about axing the tax, he talks about stopping the fight against climate change,” Trudeau said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s call for the suspension of fuel taxes this summer would undermine the fight against climate change and take away carbon rebate cheques from Canadians. Poilievre is calling for the suspension of all gas and diesel taxes from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
“His ideology is so strong he would rather watch the country burn and Canadians suffer than continue to fight against climate change,” the prime minister said, referring to recent wildfires.
Last year was Canada’s worst wildfire season on record, and the federal government has warned that 2024 could be just as devastating after a mild winter.
Municipalities in B.C. and Alberta have been evacuated in advance of fires burning in those provinces.
Trudeau also said that any conversation about fuel excise taxes should be had with the provinces which are responsible for a “significant” portion of excise taxes on fuel.
The federal government charges a flat excise tax of 10 cents a litre on gasoline and four cents a litre on diesel. Most provincial governments charge excise taxes above those rates.