Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is joining a growing chorus taking action on sky-high fuel costs for consumers, asking the province to suspend Alberta’s fuel tax.
Farkas made the comments outside Calgary city council chambers following the April 14 Executive Committee meeting.
The mayor first congratulated Prime Minister Mark Carney on his sweep of the three byelections on Monday. He said he’s worked well with the Prime Minister thus far, and said he’d continue to advocate for the needs of municipalities.
“I was certainly pleased to see the federal government’s decisive action to impose a moratorium on the federal fuel tax until at least Labour Day,” Mayor Farkas said.
“I’ll certainly be joining calls, including the Canadian Taxpayers Federation here locally in Alberta, to urge Premier Danielle Smith to do the same.”
Mayor Farkas said that given that the province increased provincial property taxes by roughly $350 per homeowner, a reduction to the province’s fuel tax would amount to a roughly $300 annual savings.
Fuel prices have spiked following the conflict in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has choked off the supply of world oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
Gas prices in Calgary over the past few weeks of the conflict have risen as high as $1.78 / litre of fuel, only recently receding from highs, falling to about $1.66 /litre. Alberta’s portion of the fuel tax is 13 cents per litre. The fuel rates are adjusted quarterly, and are to be fully suspended based on the price of oil being above $90/bbl.
The federal fuel excise tax, suspended by PM Mark Carney on Tuesday, is 10 cents per litre. The federal government expects that its decision will save citizens $2.4 billion in fuel costs.
“We’re building a stronger, more resilient, and more independent Canadian economy,” read a statement from PM Carney.
“As we build, we’re cutting your taxes, reducing the costs of your homes, and providing you relief at the pump. We cannot control what other nations do. We’re focused on what we can control – building Canada strong for all.”
Premier Smith is reluctant to cut the fuel tax in the wake of the Alberta budget deficit
Back at the end of March, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith responded to a caller on her weekend Corus radio program, Your Province, Your Premier, saying that Albertans shouldn’t expect any changes to the province’s fuel tax program.
At the time, Premier Smith said that the high prices had only been around for three weeks.
“The amount that we can do to mitigate on the cost of fuel is 13 cents a litre. So, if you have a 55-litre tank, the most we can help you on a fill up is $7.15 if we went down to zero,” she said on the program.
“So, that’s why I just want to manage some expectations, is that, yeah, we could take that off, but you’ll still be facing the high prices at the pump, because the world prices are just out of our control.”
Premier Smith said there are other ways they could look at providing affordability relief for Albertans, on top of personal income tax cuts and work to bring down electricity prices.
“I want to make sure… that we’re doing something that’s going to be meaningful, and that we’re not acting in a way that’s premature before dollars come in,” she said.
“We still have a significant deficit from last year, the long-term price of oil is expected to average at 61… I don’t know how quickly this, this conflict is going to end.”
On Tuesday, the Alberta NDP also chimed in on a fuel tax cut.
“With the cost of gas skyrocketing recently, Albertans feel every cent when they fill up,” said Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi, in a prepared statement.
“Right now, families and business owners are doing the math at the pump and wondering what they’re going to cut next. Dropping the provincial gas tax is one clear, practical way the government can help today.”
The province was contacted late Tuesday to see if their stance on the fuel tax had changed, and the story will be updated with their response when it is received.
