Additionally, Canada's federal (national) government collects value-added tax (GST) across the country, and some provincial governments also collect a provincial sales tax (PST), which may be combined with the GST into a single harmonized sales tax (HST). HST, GST, or GST + PST where applicable, are calculated on the retail price including the excise taxes.[1]
Fuel tax rates across Canada
Gasoline
Gasoline Fuel Taxes by Province/Territory (cents per litre) (Effective April 1, 2024)
^ abExcluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria
Tax collection and rate changes
In March 2022, the Alberta government announced it would suspend the collection of the fuel tax starting April 1, as a way to fight the rising cost of fuel.[19]
In December 2023, the Alberta government announced that with lower oil prices, the fuel tax would be phased back in after Dec. 31, 2023.[20]
The Government of Canada collects about $5 billion per year in excise taxes on gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel[21] as well as approximately $1.6 billion per year from GST revenues on gasoline and diesel (net of input tax credits). The Canada Revenue Agency, a part of the government, collects these taxes.
Collectively, the provincial governments collect approximately $8 billion per year from excise taxes on gasoline and diesel.
The federal taxes go into general coffers and help to fund a range of programs: $2 billion of the approximately $5 billion collected from federal excise taxes goes into the now permanent annual Gas Tax Fund for municipal infrastructure. Provincial tax revenues usually go to fund road repair and construction, and additionally in some provinces a portion of revenues (for example, 2 cents/litre in Ontario) is also distributed directly to municipalities.[22]
Criticism
In Quebec, an Ipsos poll released in 2022 found that 73% of the population thought that the taxes levied on fuel were too high.[23]