Lorne Gunter: Energy rebate not going 'to everyone' as Smith said

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeOpinionColumnists Lorne Gunter: Energy rebate not going 'to everyone' as Smith said So far, only around 1.2 million out of 3.4 million eligible Albertans have bothered to jump through the requisite hoops to get the rebate. Author of the article: By Lorne Gunter Published Sep 15, 2026 Last updated 22 minutes ago 3 minute read Join the conversation Premier Danielle Smith along with Finance Minister Jason Nixon and Affordability and Utilities Minister RJ Sigurdson announce a new affordability measure to help Albertans and families manage the high cost of living in Calgary on June 17, 2026. PHOTO BY DARREN MAKOWICHUK /Postmedia Article content We are oh so close. Article content On Sept. 16 (this coming Wednesday) the period will close for calculating what amount of tax relief Albertans should receive at gas pumps from October through to the end of December. Article content Article content Will it be 13 cents a litre or nine cents? Article content Or will the UCP government cheap out again and just give us some little cheque to compensate for the gasoline and diesel prices we’ve been paying all summer? Article content Article content Maybe instead of a $100 rebate, which proved too complicated to access and very intrusive of personal information, Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet will buy us all a case of Girl Guide cookies and some milk vouchers to go along with them. Article content Headline News Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content That would make the girls and the dairy farmers both very happy. Article content However, it would be another slap in the face to Alberta motorists. Article content We should have had 13 cents a litre off the pump price all summer. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude price was above US$90 a barrel through most of the spring. That should have trigged a big reduction in retail fuel prices. Article content It didn’t, solely because the UCP decided it wouldn’t cut the tax. Article content Ironically, Canadian drivers are getting a better deal from Ottawa. The feds gave everyone a 10-cent a litre summer holiday on the federal excise tax, then extended it until early next year. Article content Instead, the…