Owners of electric passenger vehicles registered in Saskatchewan will begin paying a new, annual road-use fee of $150 as of October 1st.
An amendment was introduced on Tuesday to the Fuel Tax Act.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer explains that electric vehicles are becoming more popular and they contribute to the wear and tear on provincial roads, but because they don’t use gas, they don’t contribute to highway maintenance through the provincial fuel tax.
In Saskatchewan, all road-use fuel tax revenue is dedicated to provincial highway maintenance.
Harpauer says the average annual fuel tax paid by owners of non-electric vehicles is estimated at around $150 per vehicle, so this road-use fee will ensure electric vehicle owners pay a comparable amount.
Harpauer says there is the potential this user fee will be expanded in the future to include commercial vehicles and inter-jurisdictional trucking, and the SaskParty government is considering options to apply a tax at charging stations.

A new Vapour Products Tax was introduced in the Legislature on Tuesday.
If passed, it will mean a 20 per cent tax on the retail price of all vapour liquids, products and devices as of September 1st.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer says all vendors of vaping products will need to become licensed by the end of August.
Vendors will need a Vapour Product Tax licence in order to submit the tax collected.
The six per cent PST will continue to be applied in Saskatchewan through the end of August, then the VPT will be applied as of September 1st.
As of June 1st, heat-not-burn tobacco sticks will become a separate category under the Tobacco Tax Act and taxed at 20.5 per cent per stick, which is about 75 per cent of the tax rate on cigarettes.