Victoria, April 14, 2026 – Following the federal government announcement that it would temporarily suspend the federal excise tax on gas and diesel, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on the B.C. government to match the relief through provincial gas taxes.
“Small businesses tell us they are increasingly worried about the impacts of rising fuel prices. Those costs are beginning to show up on store shelves and invoices as they get passed onto consumers,” said Ryan Mitton, Director of Legislative Affairs for CFIB in B.C. “Temporarily suspending provincial motor fuel taxes could save drivers up to 27 cents a litre.”
The provincial gas taxes drivers pay vary by city. Temporarily suspending provincial gas taxes would result in the following savings:
For a construction contractor working on a project in Vancouver, this tax relief would translate into saving $23.49 on a tank of gas for a standard pickup truck.
“Entrepreneurs don’t need a task force to tell them the price of gas is too high,” said Kalith Nanayakkara, CFIB’s Senior Policy Analyst for B.C. “Small businesses have been hit by multiple tax increases in the latest provincial budget, so the least the province could do right now is help them with the high cost of gas.”
CFIB’s latest Monthly Business Barometer showed a spike in fuel cost constraints reported by B.C. small businesses, rising 10 points to 35 percent in March 2026.
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For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Kalith Nanayakkara, CFIB
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 103,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.