The tax break Manitobans have been getting at the pump this year will now last the rest of 2024, the province announced Sept. 25.
It is the second time the provincial government has extended the measure. In late 2023, the newly elected NDP government announced a six-month pause on the 14-cent-per-litre provincial fuel tax, a move they linked to ballooning cost of living and which had been part of their election bid.
That first “gas tax holiday” came into effect Jan. 1 and was meant to last until June. Before that deadline, however, the province announced that they were extending it until September. Now, a Sept. 25 release said, it will extend until Dec. 31, 2024.
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In comments published in the release, Premier Wab Kinew estimated that the measure saves pickup truck owners $14 per fill up and cited Manitoba Bureau of Statistics numbers, which he said have pinned a 0.4-percentage point inflation decrease on the tax break.
“Since we cut the gas tax in January, inflation has gone down in Manitoba,” he said. “This is what governments are for. We know Manitobans are still struggling with the impact of interest rates and grocery prices so we’re going to continue to step up and save you 14 cents at the pump.”
