VANCOUVER, B.C.: Drivers in B.C. are paying some of the highest gas taxes in Canada,
according to a new report from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The tax burden is set to
increase on Sept. 8, 2026.

“British Columbians are struggling to afford high prices at the pump and Ottawa is getting ready
to make fuel even more expensive,” said Carson Binda, B.C. Director for the Canadian
Taxpayers Federation during a press conference in Vancouver. “The provincial and federal
governments need to cut fuel taxes, not hike them.”

Taxes cost B.C. drivers:
● 54 cents per litre of gasoline and 56 cents per litre of diesel in Metro Vancouver
● 47 cents per litre of gasoline and 48 cents per litre of diesel in Victoria
● 41 cents per litre of gasoline and 42 cents per litre of diesel in the rest of B.C.

On a 64-litre gasoline fill-up, drivers are paying a total tax bill of:
● $34.60 in Vancouver
● $30.03 in Victoria
● $25.93 in the rest of B.C.

Metro Vancouver motorists face the third highest gas-tax bills in the country, behind Montreal
and the rest of Quebec. Victoria drivers rank fourth while those in the rest of B.C. rank sixth,
behind Nova Scotia.

Drivers in Vancouver and Victoria face higher tax bills because of regional transit taxes.
Provincial fuel regulations embedded in the Low Carbon Fuel Standard add an average of 18
cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline across the province.

“B.C. drivers pay some of the highest taxes in Canada because of the provincial government’s
hidden fuel regulations,” Binda said. “You’re even charged taxes on the taxes you pay at the
pump.”

Tax-on-tax adds more than $1 to the cost of a fill-up anywhere in B.C.
The federal government suspended the federal excise tax in April, saving drivers 10 cents per
litre of gasoline and four cents per litre of diesel. The federal government is set to hike the tax
back up in September.

Among decided British Columbians, 75 per cent oppose the federal government ending the fuel
tax holiday, according to Leger.

“Families already pay the cost of a chicken dinner with all the fixings in taxes every time they fill-
up the minivan,” Binda said. “Ottawa needs to permanently cut the excise tax on fuel.”

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