By Nia Williams
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Canada’s main oil-producing province Alberta will drop its provincial fuel tax to give consumers some relief from soaring energy prices, Premier Jason Kenney said on Monday.
The move, taking effect on April 1, will knock 13 Canadian cents per litre off the price at the pump and remain in place while U.S. crude remains over $90 a barrel.
Benchmark U.S. crude futures jumped to a 14-year-high before settling at more than $118 a barrel on Monday as the United States and European allies considered banning Russian oil imports following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. [O/R]
Canadian inflation is running at a 30-year high and is expected to get worse as a result of the Ukraine crisis.
“This massive tax relief is in response to sky-rocketing costs and is going to provide Albertans with the relief that they need when the cost of everything is going up,” Kenney told a news conference.
United Conservative Party leader Kenney said the federal Liberal government’s carbon price, which is due to rise to $50 a tonne on April 1, was piling unnecessary pressure on consumers.
The Alberta government estimates the tax relief will cost the province C$1.3 billion, but it is drawing in billions of dollars in extra revenue as a result of higher than expected oil prices.
(Reporting by Nia Williams; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy)
