BC New Democrat Leader David Eby said an NDP re-election would reduce gasoline and diesel costs by cutting the motor fuel tax and regulating pump prices.
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British Columbia’s snap election campaign on Thursday was fuelled by B.C. New Democrat Leader David Eby’s promise of gas-cost relief and criticism of an NDP financial pledge, alongside B.C. Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson’s praise for a planned pipeline.
Eby’s platform for relief at the pumps has two parts: a temporary reduction of the provincial motor fuel tax by 10 cents per litre on both gasoline and diesel, and a permanent “price guard” that would regulate the price at the pumps.
Eby said the measures would save the average two-car family up to $100 per month, but he also said they would cost the provincial treasury about $250 million, with additional details forthcoming.
He said that if the NDP is re-elected in the Oct. 24 election, his government would ask the B.C. Utilities Commission to set the maximum price that fuel stations can charge, and update it weekly as the benchmark price for crude oil fluctuates.
Eby made the announcement at a gas station in Surrey.
Doerkson criticized the plan on Thursday, reminding reporters that Eby made a financial promise before the 2024 election that he said was not kept.
Doerkson pointed to Eby’s 2024 promise of a direct $1,000 rebate to the average household and said Eby “failed to deliver that,” adding that Eby “needs to answer that.”
Doerkson also cited that in February 2025 then-finance minister Brenda Bailey said the government could not pay the so-called “grocery rebate” because of the provincial deficit.
Alongside the gasoline proposals, Doerkson said he welcomed the federal government’s decision to designate the Pacific Link pipeline a project of national interest, and he said his party supports a second pipeline from northern Alberta to B.C.’s southern coast.
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