Taxpayers: Long Weekend Drivers Should Fill Up in Alberta – Energy News for the Canadian Oil & Gas Industry

Taxpayers: Long weekend drivers should fill up in Alberta

Alberta has no provincial fuel taxes
British Columbia has the highest fuel taxes in Canada

LETHBRIDGE, AB: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is reminding drivers to fill up in Alberta if they’re driving to British Columbia this long weekend.

“Albertans pay the lowest fuel taxes in Canada and that usually means we pay the lowest pump prices,” said Kris Sims, Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “If you’re pulling the camper out to B.C., you’ll save about $35 by filling your pickup truck in Crowsnest instead of in Sparwood.”

The gas price in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta is about $1.39 per litre.

Across the border, the price in Sparwood, B.C. is about $1.68 per litre.

Similar price differences can be found at other provincial crossings.

The difference in the pump price is largely due to the difference in taxes.

With the suspension of the provincial fuel tax, Alberta drivers save 13 cents per litre on gasoline and diesel, and they pay no other provincial fuel taxes.

The federal taxes on fuel in Alberta amount to about 31 cents per litre.

The interior of B.C. has a 14 cent per litre provincial gas tax, plus a second provincial carbon tax embedded in fuel regulations that costs about 16 cents extra per litre of gasoline.

The gas taxes in the interior of B.C. amount to about 64 cents per litre once you account for carbon taxes, sales taxes and excise taxes.

“British Columbians are struggling to afford the basics and these high fuel taxes just heap on the punishment,” said Carson Binda, B.C. Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Premier David Eby should follow Premier Danielle Smith’s lead and scrap his provincial fuel taxes so drivers can save some serious money.”