Alberta gas prices expected to rise further with fuel, carbon tax increases coming in April

Albertans will have to dig a little deeper into their wallets with two separate tax increases set to come into effect at the start of April.

The provincial fuel tax that was suspended from late 2022 through all of 2023 is expected to be fully re-implemented as oil prices sit below $80 USD a barrel.

The province bases the tax on the cost of West Texas Intermediate per barrel averaged over a 20-day trading cycle before the 15th of the month.

With it trading below $80US a barrel, the remaining four cents a litre will be reinstated, if that average remains below the benchmark.

“Being that it's been under $80, then we would (put it back),” said Premier Danielle Smith.

“But remember, it's going to be a permanent program, so that in the event that oil prices go up again about $90, we take the tax off completely. So that's the way the program was designed, is that when it's in that 80 to 90 zone, we want to be able to give a bit of a tax break.”

Smith says her government wants to make the right decision and not rush it with the volatility of the markets.

“We just want to make sure that when we bring the tax back, we'll be assessing it every three months in need to be able to give retailers the opportunity to respond to the changing market conditions,” she said.

April 1 is also when the federal carbon tax on gasoline increases a further three cents a litre from 14 to 17 cents.

Richard Masson, executive fellow with the University of Calgary school of public policy, says the province is tightening its belt when it comes to finances following the release of the budget.

“The oil price they have forecast in this budget is kind of $74 range,” said Masson.

“And if that happens, for every one dollar change in the price of oil, Alberta drops about $630 million of revenue.”

The federal carbon tax is increasing by $15 dollars a tonne.

Masson adds that with the federal carbon tax increasing to 17 cents a litre, it will only become pricier over the next six years.

“By the time it gets to $170 a ton in 2030, the tax will be 37 cents a litre,” said Masson.

“So that's another 20 cents to be added.”

The province says it will provide an update on the fuel tax before the end of the month.

Gas prices are averaging around 148.9 cents per litre throughout the Calgary area on Thursday.