OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation today hosted its 21st annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, with press conferences held across the country from Vancouver to Fredericton, highlighting the high price of gasoline, compounded by carbon taxes and the practice of charging tax on top of tax.

“It is fundamentally wrong for governments to be charging tax on tax,” said CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick. “This unfair practice costs Canadians $1.9 billion per year, and with carbon taxes being piled on as well, many families are feeling the squeeze.”

The CTF’s 2019 Gas Tax Honesty Day report shows that taxes make up much of the price difference from province to province, and even city to city. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have the lowest gas prices because they have the lowest gas taxes while Vancouver and Montreal have the highest prices and the highest gas taxes.

“On average, 34 per cent of the price at the pump in gas taxes,” said Wudrick. “The federal government’s ill-advised carbon tax is only making things worse, in some cases driving Canadians to cross the border in search of cheaper gas. If the federal carbon tax keeps rising to the level the government’s own report says is needed to reach emissions targets, it could mean gas prices of $2 per litre as the new normal.”

The 21st annual Gas Tax Honesty Day report, including detailed calculations and breakdowns of gas taxes across the country, can be found HERE.