Ford suggests he won't follow though on 2018 campaign promise to cut gas prices unless feds follow suit

Premier Doug Ford appears to be backing away from a campaign promise to reduce the price of gas by an average of 10 cents a litre and now says that says that he will instead “match” any deduction that the federal government makes.

Shortly after his government assumed office in 2018, Ford scrapped the cap-and-trade system in Ontario, which his government claims reduced the price of gas by 4.3 cents per litre.

But the move prompted the federal government to impose a carbon tax on the province, effectively wiping out the savings.

Ford had said as recently as November that his government still planned to “keep our promise” and reduce the price of gas by a further 5.7 cents per litre on average within the current term.

But during a news conference on Monday, the premier appeared to tweak that commitment, suggesting that he would only cut the price of gas with a commitment from the feds to do the same.

“You know we cut the four-and-a-half centres and next thing you know the carbon tax came in and there was another increase on the beginning of this month so it's a total of 11 cents on the carbon tax. I'm frustrated because I feel like (if) we take off the five-and-a-half cents all of a sudden the feds thrown on this carbon tax and it wipes it right out. That's just not right,” he said. “So I'm asking the federal government to put that (planned increases to the carbon tax) on hold for at least six months as we're going through this and I match what the federal government deducts. But I just feel if I do it and then the carbon tax wipes it out it's just it's not fair to the people if that's what it comes down to.”

The price of gas has hit a new record following Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine and industry and some industry analysts are now predicting that Ontarians could be paying $2 per litre at the pumps as soon as next month.

Speaking with reporters, Ford acknowledged the impact that the rising cost of fuel is having on Ontarians, as it pushes up the price of food and inflates the cost of “getting from Point A to Point B.”

He said that he is committed to working “collaboratively” with the federal government to offset some of the expected increase in the price of gasoline.

“It's just gouging the people and it's just not fair,” he said of the price of gas. “So I am saying to the federal government if you cut five-and-a-half cents and I cut five-and-a-half cents it goes a long way. But if I cut five-and-a-half (cents) and you just add five-and-a-half (cents) it is not fair to the people.”

In Ontario there are both federal and provincial taxes applied to the cost of gas at the pumps. Ten cents per litre goes to the federal excise tax and 8.8 cents per litre goes to the federal carbon tax. The federal carbon tax, however, is supposed to go up to 11 cents per litre in April. A further 14.7 cents per litre goes to the Ontario fuel tax, as well as 13 per cent HST.