Axe the Tax on Summer Vacations
Conservatives call on the government to remove federal fuel taxes, including the carbon tax and GST, between Victoria Day and Labour Day.
May 17, 2024
Conservative Leader Hon. Pierre Poilievre has called for the government to suspend all gas and diesel taxes from Victoria Day to Labour Day to give Canadians a summer break from inflation. The move would suspend the carbon tax, the Excise Tax and the GST on fuels, which would lower gas prices by 35.6 cents per litre on average.
A typical family in Alberta would save an average of $955 – enough to fund a driving-distance summer holiday. And there are a lot of intriguing places in Alberta to visit!
The problem:
After nine years of inflation, high interest rates and tax increases, many Canadians are being forced to cancel their summer vacations as the Liberals’ tax-and-spend agenda has made even a simple road trip unaffordable. Parents can barely afford basic necessities, much less a summer vacation.
Families will have to pay $700 more for food this year than they did in 2023. Last year, food banks had to handle a record 2 million visits in a single month, with a million more visits expected in 2024. One in ten people in Toronto are having to rely on food banks to survive. Even members of our armed forces can’t afford the price of food, and the government recently raised their rents.
In the middle of this historic cost-of-living crisis, Trudeau and his NDP coalition partners decided to hike the carbon tax by 23% on April 1st. This is just one step in his plan to quadruple the carbon tax over the next six years, making everything more expensive at the worst possible time. In fact, since Trudeau became Prime Minister, fuel prices have surged by more than 50%.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has been clear that most families will pay more in the carbon tax than they receive in the rebate. This year, Trudeau’s carbon tax will cost typical families in Alberta $2,943 AFTER accounting for the modest rebates (which increased only 16% this year, despite the 23% increase in the tax).
The solution:
Common Sense Conservatives are calling on the government to give Canadians a summer break by axing the carbon tax, the federal fuel tax, and GST on gasoline and diesel between Victoria Day and Labour Day so families can afford a simple summer vacation.
And to pay for it, Conservatives are calling on the government to cut back on the over $21 billion in spending on overpriced consultants, which has gone up almost 100% since 2015, for contracts like the $60 million ArriveScam app and sweetheart contracts to favoured companies.
Conservatives will axe the tax on everything for everyone in a carbon tax election, but until that can happen, Trudeau must adopt this common-sense measure to give Canadians a summer break.
Poilievre said:
“After nine years of Trudeau, life has become miserable for Canadians. Justin Trudeau may be able to fly off to a luxury resort for a $230,000 taxpayer-funded vacation, but most Canadians are having to scale back or cancel their road trips after Trudeau’s carbon tax made fuel and groceries unaffordable.”
“Canadians deserve relief, not more taxes. Families should be able to afford a simple road trip. That’s why Justin Trudeau must axe his carbon tax, the GST on fuel, and the federal fuel tax between Victoria Day and Labour Day to bring home lower prices for everyone.”