Prices climb at the pumps as provincial fuel tax partially returns

Alberta’s fuel tax has been partially reinstated to gas stations across the province, as oil dipped below $90 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate.

On Saturday, prices climbed 4.5 cents per litre, with stations in Calgary advertising regular fuel for $1.56 to $1.64 per litre.

Premier Jason Kenney says Alberta has it better than most provinces.

“On average, we are 16 cents lower than Saskatchewan, 28 cents lower than Manitoba and 62 cents lower than our West Coast friends in B.C.,” said Kenney.

Relief for the fuel tax came in April, when oil was trading around $120 per barrel.

With a significant drop in the price of oil, Kenney says the province needs to return the tax to stay out of debt.

“When the province started to benefit from much higher oil prices, we said Albertans should see some immediate benefit from that,” said Kenney.

“A $40 change in WTI is a $20-billion difference in our fiscal capacity. We don’t want Alberta to suddenly slip back into the red. We got out of deficits for the first time in 14 years and we’ve got to stay there.”

The remaining 8.5 cents will be added to the price of gas when oil is below $80 a barrel.

The fuel relief measures are analyzed quarterly, so the earliest it could return would be the end of the year, if oil drops even more.