One of Premier Doug Ford’s biggest promises was to make the government’s temporary gas tax cut permanent. Pictured: Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Photo Credit: Doug Ford/X.
The Ontario PC Party announced several affordability commitments earlier this week as part of the Ford government’s re-election platform, including permanently cutting the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre, removing road tolls from the eastern portion of Highway 407, and banning congestion pricing on Ontario roads and highways.
“With President Trump continuing to threaten tariffs that would skyrocket costs for hard-working families, it’s never been more important to protect people’s wallets by putting more money back into their pockets,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Our PC team will save Ontario drivers thousands of dollars every year by axing tolls on Highway 407 East and making our cut to the gas tax permanent. We’ll protect Ontario drivers by banning congestion charges just like we banned road tolls.”
The Ford government temporarily cut the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre, or 6.4 cents per litre once sales tax savings are factored in, back in July 2022. However, the cut was temporary and has been extended four times.
Ford’s announcement about making the gas tax cut permanent means the average two-car family will continue to save $35 at the pumps each month, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Taking the tolls off Highway 407 East could save daily commuters between Clarington and Pickering $7,200 a year, according to the PC Party.
Banning congestion pricing would prevent future provincial governments or municipal governments from introducing fees for drivers to use roads during peak times. Congestion pricing was recently introduced in parts of New York City.
At Ford’s announcement, he also highlighted some of the actions the PC government has taken to save taxpayers money since coming to power, including eliminating license plate sticker fees, ending tolls on Highway 412 and Highway 418, freezing fees on driver’s licences, and ending the Drive Clean program.
Ford also pledged to continue to fight the federal government’s carbon tax.
Niagara West PC candidate and Associate Minister of Energy and Electrification Sam Oosterhoff weighed in on Ford’s gas tax commitment and the impact it will have on Niagara.
“This shows the PCs commitment to continually cut costs for families and job creators,” said Oosterhoff. “Everything we eat and use was driven somewhere on a truck. Gas tax cuts help reduce the cost of living – not just when you gas up, but also by reducing the cost of transportation for all the goods that we consume.”
“Doug Ford and the PCs will always look to make life more affordable in Niagara.”
Ontario’s opposition parties have not yet said whether they’d extend Ford’s gas tax cut, make it permanent, or let it expire.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
