The Government of Ontario plans to temporarily reduce taxes on gas and diesel, but only after the next provincial election in June.
Ontario’s government has introduced legislation that, if passed, would lower the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel tax that includes diesel by 5.3 cents per litre for six months.
However, the change would only take effect on July 1 and end on December 31. Ontario voters are scheduled to go to the polls this June in a provincewide election.
The announcement comes as prices at the pump surge across Canada. Average gas prices in Ontario are hovering near $1.70 per litre.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford first promised to cut the provincial gas tax four years ago, during the 2018 provincial election campaign.
One of the Progressive Conservatives' signature promises was to cut gas prices by 10 cents per litre. The party said that would be accomplished by scrapping Ontario's cap-and-trade system and cutting the provincial gas tax. But that promise never materialized.
Last fall, Premier Ford promised to make good on his 2018 election promise to implement the remaining 5.7-cent cut before the upcoming provincial budget, but then backtracked soon after, saying he would only implement such a cut if the federal government in Ottawa did something similar.
