New Brunswick gasoline prices tumble to 3-year low

Fuel prices across most Canadian provinces — including New Brunswick — tumbled Tuesday morning, ending six years of federal carbon carbon charges on fossil fuels sold at retail.

New Brunswick's Energy and Utilities Board lowered the maximum price that can be charged for gasoline in the province by 20.2 cents to $1.44 per litre.

The reductions included a 17.6 cent elimination of all carbon charges and 2.6 cents in HST attached to that. The combination is enough to save $10.10 on a 50-litre fill-up.

It's the lowest price setting in New Brunswick since January 2022. 

Maximum prices for diesel, which contains more carbon than gasoline and carried a higher carbon charge because of that, were lowered 24.6 cents.

The change was causing brisk business at service stations across the province among those who knew it was coming, but the reduction is not a pure discount. 

University of Alberta economist Andrew Leach told CBC News the cheaper prices will be followed by the end of federal carbon rebates and that will cost many Canadian households more than they gain.

"So you take away the carbon price, you take away the rebates, then that's a net negative for most lower-income households and a net positive for most higher income households," Leach said.

In New Brunswick over the past year, federal carbon rebates totalled $760 for a family of four in urban areas and $912 for those living in rural areas.

Also ending are carbon charges on other fossil fuels including propane and natural gas. About 7,500 New Brunswick households heat with natural gas and on average will save about $270 over the next year with the change.