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OTTAWA — The federal government introduced its promised bill to extend the federal gas tax pause for several more months shortly after Parliament resumed sitting following the summer break.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled the legislation on Monday and it saw its first significant debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Champagne said the measure will help farmers, families and truckers.
“What I like about the measure, it’s very direct, it’s immediate, it’s very simple, applies across the country,” he told reporters.
The Liberals temporarily suspended the federal 10-cent-per-litre excise tax on April 14 after the U.S. war on Iran caused global fuel prices to spike.
Gas prices are still high as the Strait of Hormuz remains a supply line choke point.
Initially set to last until Labour Day, the gas tax pause is being extended until the end of January before dropping to five cents per litre until the end of March. It will return to 10 cents in April.
This legislation formalizes the extension of the pause, which took effect after Champagne announced it earlier this month.
The Conservatives want the tax break extended even further and are calling on the government to also lift the GST from gas purchases.
Jasraj Hallan, Conservative national revenue critic, said in a media statement Tuesday that Conservative pressure forced the Liberals to extend fuel tax relief.
“We fought for the first cut. We fought to extend it. Now we are fighting to finish the job,” he said. “The Liberals are still putting an expiry date on relief Canadians need.”
Hallan said Conservatives will support the legislation because “every dollar Canadians save matters.”
“But we will keep pressing the Liberals to adopt our full plan: to remove all federal taxes on gas and diesel until at least Canada Day 2027, and permanently scrap the Clean Fuel Regulations and industrial carbon tax so Canadians can save approximately 25 cents per litre,” he added.
When asked Tuesday if the federal government will extend the tax pause again, Champagne said, “No one has a crystal ball to see what the world is going to look like in January 2027.”
“One would hope that there would be more stability, certainly that the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz would have been resolved by then,” he added. “We hope by then things will have been settled, that the price of oil will stabilize.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2026.
— With files from David Baxter
Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
