'Too little, too late': B.C. reacts to Eby's promise to slash gas prices
While relief at the gas pump might sound like a good idea, Eby’s latest announcement to cut the provincial gas tax in B.C. is being met with fierce criticism.
On Oct. 1, Eby announced that a re-elected NDP government would cut provincial taxes on both gas and diesel by 10 cents per litre, as well as crack down on oil and gas companies for price gouging.
He said this two-pronged plan would save drivers up to 30 cents per litre, or about $20 on an average tank of gas.
If re-elected, David Eby’s BC NDP is promising to slash gas prices by up to 30 cents per litre or up to $20 for a full tank.
A portion of the provincial gas tax would be suspended “to provide immediate relief.” #bcpoli #vanpolihttps://t.co/5g8p3rycG9
— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) October 1, 2026
In Daily Hive Urbanized comments, our readers were largely unimpressed with this annoucement, pointing out election timing, B.C.’s $13.8-billion deficit, and some prior broken promises from the BC NDP — like cancelling the $1,000 grocery rebate it promised ahead of the 2024 provincial election.
“Of course, a temporary relief is relevant when elections are around the corner. Also remember that this is going to cost us and will raise the deficit even more,” said one reader.
“Another broken promise to add to your collection, Eby. Last time you said you would give $1,000 to each BC individual, then when you won you retracted that offer by saying we can’t right now because of tariffs,” another reader wrote.
Other people wrote that the timing of this announcement “proves his own political self-interest” and that “nothing is stopping [Eby] from doing this right now.”
On X, one person lamented that this promise is “too little, too late.” Another pointed out the challenges of controlling the price of a global commodity — which is currently under pressure from the war in the Middle East.
In the BC NDP press release, they said that U.S. President Donald Trump started the war in Iran, which caused oil prices to spike, and that oil and gas companies used that as an opportunity to “unfairly inflate their margins by 20 cents a litre.”
What do other B.C. political parties have to say?
Shortly after Eby’s annoucement, Trevor Halford, the former interim leader of the Conservative Party and now MLA candidate for Surrey-White Rock, issued a statement slamming Eby’s plan.
“For nine years, David Eby and the NDP have made life in British Columbia more expensive. They raised the carbon tax at the pump year after year, while British Columbians paid some of the highest gas prices in North America. Now, three weeks before an election, Eby has suddenly discovered gas costs too much,” he said.
In an emailed statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, the BC Green Party said that the BC NDP had previously refused to suspend the gas tax because the revenue was needed for services like public transit, and to prevent gas companies from profiting from it.
“Nothing has changed beyond the gas companies becoming even more predatory,” they said.
“In a time when British Columbians are hurting from an out-of-control cost of living crisis, they need permanent solutions. That looks like taxing the enormous windfalls fossil fuel companies are making right now, and putting that to work for British Columbians in the short and long term. We need real solutions to provide immediate relief to people, without decreasing our revenue and undercutting the services those people depend on.”