CFIB calls on BC to match feds' temporary gas tax relief

Ottawa recently announced it would suspend the federal excise tax on gas and diesel.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has called on the government of British Columbia to follow Ottawa's lead and provide relief for drivers at the pump.

The government recently announced it would reduce prices by temporarily suspending the federal excise tax on gas and diesel.

As of April 14, a litre of gas in Northern BC costs around $1.66. In the Lower Mainland, prices have risen above the $2 mark. 

According to the CFIB, if BC mirrored Ottawa's policy and did away with provincial gas taxes, Vancouverites would see the biggest discount, at 27 cents per litre, while in Victoria, a litre of gas would be 20 cents cheaper. Across the rest of BC, the move would result in a smaller but still noticeable discount of 14.5 cents per litre.

To put that in perspective, a construction worker filling up a standard pickup truck in Vancouver could see savings of $23.49 per tank. Doing away with gas taxes would not come without consequences, however. In Vancouver, for example, revenue generated helps fund public transportation costs. 

While some have suggested that now is not the time to be making such a move given BC's large deficit, CFIB Senior BC Policy Analyst Kalith Nanayakkara argued that the problem Victoria has is with spending, not revenue.

"BC is in an entrepreneurial drought," he told Sitka Media. "We've gone six consecutive quarters with more businesses closing and leaving than the number of businesses opening and entering the market — we haven't seen something this bad since Covid-19."

Nanayakkara said one of the main reasons for this trend is the cost of doing business in BC, citing the expansion of provincial sales tax on a number of professional services introduced in Budget 2026.

"We're hearing that seven in ten BC small businesses will be forced to pass those increased costs on to consumers," he noted, "and that was before this fuel crisis began, so you can only imagine what the impact increased fuel crises will have on small businesses and their bottom line."

Nanayakkara made it clear that the relief would be "immediate and temporary," in line with the federal policy, which is set to kick in April 20 and last until September.