587.742.6023Sign inSell grainThe fuel tax did not come back September 8: the suspension now runs to January 31, 2027
The federal fuel excise tax has been suspended since April 20, 2026, and it did not come back on September 8. Finance Canada extended the suspension to January 31, 2027. Diesel then carries half the excise, 2 cents a litre, from February 1 to March 31, 2027. The full 4 cents applies from April 1, 2027.
Correction, September 19, 2026: this page said the tax would return on September 8, 2026, and later that it had. It did not. On September 2 Finance Canada extended the suspension, and we missed it.
What happened
In April the federal government suspended the excise tax on gasoline and diesel from April 20 through September 7, 2026. On September 2, before it ended, Finance Canada extended it to January 31, 2027. There was no gap: diesel bought on September 8 carried no federal excise, and none applies until February 1, 2027.
The dates ahead
Until January 31, 2027: no federal excise on diesel. February 1 to March 31, 2027: half rate, 2 cents per litre. From April 1, 2027: the full 4 cents per litre. Each of those is a date set in advance, not a move in the oil market or the crop.
The arithmetic, in two lines
The full excise on diesel is 4.0 cents per litre. GST is charged on the price including excise, so five percent of the excise rides along too. That’s about 4.2 cents per litre at full rate, and about 2.1 cents at half rate. It’s worth being precise about what that number is, because it gets quoted loosely: 4.2 isn’t the tax. It’s a 4.0 cent tax plus 0.2 cents of GST charged on the tax. We keep the two apart in our own pricing for the same reason this page does: a blended number can never be split again later.
What it means for grain freight
This harvest hauls without the excise. When it comes back, it comes in two steps late in the crop year. Most carriers reset their fuel surcharge weekly off the posted diesel price, so each step shows up in freight quotes the week after. A tax step looks exactly like a rate increase unless someone breaks it out, and we break it out. A few cents a litre should never drive the trade: the bid, the window, the bin space and whether the truck exists all matter more. Every number on our prices page already has the trucking off. To know what your lane runs now, ask us.
Questions farmers are asking
No. It was due back that day, but on September 2, 2026 Finance Canada extended the suspension to January 31, 2027. Diesel has carried no federal excise since April 20, 2026, and still doesn’t.
In two steps. From February 1 to March 31, 2027 it’s half rate, 2 cents per litre of diesel. From April 1, 2027 it’s the full 4 cents per litre. GST is charged on the excise too, so the steps at the pump are about 2.1 and then 4.2 cents per litre.
Not because of the fuel tax, which stayed suspended. A fuel surcharge that moved that week moved with the diesel market, not with a tax.
More on what sets a grain freight rate, with the only measured Alberta series we know of: What it actually costs to truck grain in Alberta.