WINNIPEG, MB: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Premier Wab Kinew to extend the provincial fuel tax cut to keep Manitoba fuels more affordable as the annual Gas Tax Honesty Reports shows the province has the lowest gas taxes in the country.

“Manitobans have the lowest fuel prices in the country because the provincial government made the right move and cut its gas tax,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Premier Wab Kinew needs to extend the gas tax cut so Manitobans can keep saving at the pumps.”

Drivers in Manitoba are paying 34 cents per litre in taxes when they fill up, according to the CTF’s Gas Tax Honesty Report.

Elsewhere, across the country, taxes cost an average of 60 cents per litre of fuel.

The federal carbon tax costs 17 cents per litre of gasoline. The federal gas tax costs 10 cents per litre and the GST costs about seven cents per litre.

The Manitoba government cut its 14 cents per litre gas tax for six months on Jan. 1 of this year. The government extended the cut for an additional three months in April. The cut is now scheduled to expire at the end of September.

Filling up a sedan in Manitoba costs about $22 extra in gasoline taxes. Filling up the same vehicle in Saskatchewan costs $32 extra in taxes. In Ontario it costs about $36 extra.

Recent polling shows 71 per cent of Manitobans want the government to extend the gas tax cut again. The polling also shows that 68 per cent of Manitobans want the government to scrap the gas tax permanently.

“Manitobans are saving big money compared to their neighbours because they aren’t paying any provincial fuel taxes,” Haubrich said. “Kinew can’t let these savings slip away from Manitobans, he needs to extend the gas tax cut.”