Gas prices drop in Edmonton after carbon tax removal

Edmontonians filling up on Tuesday likely saw a big decrease in the cost of their gas. CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha has the details.

Gas prices came down overnight in Edmonton after the consumer carbon tax was removed on Tuesday.

Prices dropped by about 20 cents a litre with one gas station in west Edmonton as low as 121.3 cents per litre.

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“The savings will be astounding,” Canadians for Affordable Energy president Dan McTeague told CTV News Edmonton. “What one would hope in the short term is that we stopped seeing these fuel surcharges as the cost of the carbon tax kept continuing every year.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney eliminated the consumer portion of the carbon tax shortly after he was sworn-in last month.

“We will be eliminating the Canada fuel charge, the consumer fuel charge, immediately,” Carney said then, 10 days before calling an election.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on the Liberal government to get rid of the tax for a number of years.

In Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith said, “We’re pleased that finally the federal government succumbed to the immense pressure by our government, other provincial governments, the federal opposition leader and done the right thing and eliminated that tax.”

Dale Nally, Alberta’s minister of red tape reduction, said the province would be watching for gas companies overcharging consumers.

“We do not want the removal of the federal government’s consumer carbon tax to be a phony tax, so we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure Alberta drivers are not being gouged at the pumps,” he said in a news release.

“We will be monitoring and reviewing pump prices for any wrongdoing, and take action if needed. Businesses found guilty of price gouging can be fined by the courts up to $300,000 or receive up to two years of jail time.”

The province also encouraged Albertans to report suspected gouging to the “report a rip-off” line at 1-877-427-4088.

The elimination of the consumer carbon tax means the rebate will also go away, and an economist told CTV News Edmonton that could mean a net negative for some families.

“Most middle class and lower income Canadians, the loss of that rebate will be pretty heavy relative to the decrease in the price at the pump,” said Chetan Dave, a professor at the University of Alberta’s Department of Economics.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nav Sangha