Ontario extends 5.7-cent gas tax cut to summer

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is extending a 5.7-cent cut to the gas tax until next summer.

The government launched the cut in July 2022 and has extended it several times since.

The reduction and a 5.3-cent cut to the price of diesel fuel will remain until June 30, 2024.

Ford first promised to lower gas prices by 10 cents per litre during the 2018 election campaign.

At the time, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party said that would be done by scrapping the province’s cap-and-trade system and shrinking the gas tax.

In a news release, the government said the initiative is saving households $260 on average since the tax cuts were first introduced.

The government did end cap-and-trade soon after the 2018 election, meant to lower prices by 4.3 cents a litre, but that prompted the federal carbon tax backstop to kick in, negating those savings. Ford’s government tried fighting the levy in court, but lost.

The Canadian Press