Less than two months into the gas tax holiday initiated by the provincial government, the NDP are already touting it as a big success.
According to Premier Wab Kinew, new data released by Statistics Canada shows Manitoba as the province with the lowest inflation rate across the country. Kinew says this is a direct result of the 14-cent reduction in gas taxes his party enacted on January 1.
“The numbers are in and they show that our government is taking real action to make Manitoba more affordable,” said Kinew in a press release. “Government can’t do everything, but we can do some things to help families deal with rising costs. We took action right away to give people relief at the pump and now we see that relief helping to lower costs across the province.”
For many Manitobans, the gas tax freeze amounts to significant savings at the pumps, as well as on home heating bills since it applies to gasoline, diesel, and natural gas.
But it’s likely to be short-lived. From the beginning, the NDP government only committed to a seven-month period for the tax freeze, at which point they will reassess.
For now, though, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from Statistics Canada indicates a 0.4 percent decrease in inflation in Manitoba, suggesting that the 14-cent tax savings has directly contributed to that.
According to Stats Can, gasoline prices in Manitoba are 20.2 percent lower than they were in January 2023.
