Kamloops-area drivers and fuel-dependent businesses will remain covered by Ottawa’s temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax until Jan. 31, 2027.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the extension Wednesday, keeping the federal excise-tax rate at zero on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels through the end of January. The measure applies nationally, including to fuel purchases in Kamloops.

The suspension will not end all at once. Beginning Feb. 1, the federal excise tax will return at half of its regular rate until March 31. The full federal rates are scheduled to resume April 1.

For gasoline and unleaded aviation gasoline, that means the federal tax is to remain at zero until Jan. 31, rise to five cents per litre for February and March, then return to 10 cents per litre on April 1. For diesel and aviation fuel, the tax will remain suspended until the end of January, increase to two cents per litre for two months, and return to four cents per litre in April.

The policy concerns the federal fuel excise tax specifically. It is not a general suspension of every tax or charge that can be reflected in the price paid at a fuel pump, and the federal announcement does not establish what any particular Kamloops station will charge.

That means the extension maintains a federal tax reduction for regular fuel buyers, commuters and businesses that use gasoline or diesel, but there is no verified Kamloops-specific estimate of the savings for a household, business or litre of fuel. Retail fuel prices can vary, and the Department of Finance release did not provide local pump-price projections.

The federal government said the extension is intended to reduce costs for Canadians, including truckers and businesses in food, agriculture, housing, construction and delivery. Those sectors rely on fuel to move goods and carry out work, though the announcement did not identify particular Kamloops businesses or quantify local effects.

The original temporary suspension began April 20 and had been legislated to end after Sept. 7. It reduced the federal excise tax by 10 cents per litre on gasoline and unleaded aviation gasoline, 11 cents per litre on leaded aviation gasoline, and four cents per litre on diesel and aviation fuel.

According to the Department of Finance Canada, the extension is expected to provide about $2.9 billion in additional tax relief. The government estimates total relief from the measure in 2026-27 at $5.3 billion.

Draft legislative proposals accompanying the announcement set out the revised dates and rates. The official announcement was made by Champagne; the reviewed federal release does not identify Prime Minister Mark Carney as the person who announced the extension.