Ottawa set to extend the pause on federal fuel excise tax: source

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is expected to announce Wednesday that the current pause on the federal excise tax on gasoline and diesel will be extended until at least next year, a senior government source told Global News.

The extension was first reported by Radio-Canada.

The federal excise tax on gasoline was 10 cents a litre and the tax on diesel was four cents a litre but those taxes were suspended in April. The suspension was to have ended on Sept. 8.

Now, with fuel prices pushing higher because of renewed hostilities in the Iran war, the government will extend that suspension.

Champagne is to announce details of the suspension at a news conference in Ottawa Wednesday afternoon.

The federal Conservatives have had an ongoing social media campaign to “Scrap Carney’s Labour Day Gas Tax Hike” for several weeks and renewed that campaign with a fresh round of posts on Wednesday morning.