Two items in Canada Gazette, Part I, 31 October 2026 affect fuel and freight costs.
1. Clean Fuel Regulations credit multiplier (proposed)
The Clean Fuel Regulations require gasoline and diesel suppliers to cut the life-cycle carbon intensity of their fuel each year. By 2030 the limits reach 81 gCO₂e/MJ for gasoline and 79 for diesel. More than 85% of compliance credits come from supplying low-carbon fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel. In 2025, 67% of those credits came from imported fuel, mostly from the United States. The government notes that the U.S. Section 45Z production credit was extended through 2029 in July 2025. It warns that relying on imports “materially reduc[es] demand for domestic agricultural feedstocks like canola.”
Under the proposal, eligible low-carbon fuel produced in Canada on or after 1 January 2026 would earn extra credits. For liquid fuels, the bonus would apply only to the portion made from North American feedstock.
- Sustainable aviation fuel: ×1.8
- Hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD): ×1.5
- Biodiesel, co-processed low-carbon diesel and co-processed SAF; hydrogen, renewable natural gas and renewable propane used in vehicles: ×1.4
- Ethanol, co-processed low-carbon gasoline, other liquid low-carbon fuels, and co-processed renewable propane: ×1.3
The proposal would also:
- raise the share of a supplier’s obligation that can be met through registered emission-reduction funding programs from 10% to 15%;
- extend those programs’ spending window from five to seven years;
- reserve half of the 10% gaseous-credit limit for Canadian-made biogas, RNG, hydrogen and renewable propane.
The government’s own numbers
- Fuel suppliers avoid $9.1 billion in compliance costs over 2026–2035. Forgone emission reductions cost $8.3 billion. The net benefit is $0.9 billion in present value.
- Emission reductions forgone average about 2.7 Mt a year, because “the multiplier creates additional credits for domestic production without requiring additional consumption of low-CI fuels”.
- The result depends on the discount rate. At 1.5%, the analysis shows a net cost of $4.8 billion.
- Pump prices: the savings “could be passed on to consumers, resulting in decreased gasoline and diesel retail prices”. How much depends on pass-through. No cents-per-litre figure is given.
The amendments would take effect the day they are registered. Comments are open for 75 days. Separately, Natural Resources Canada’s Biofuels Production Incentive is already paying more than $372 million over two years for biodiesel and HDRD made in 2026 and 2027.
2. Truck-trailer GHG standards suspended (in force)
Order in Council P.C. 2026-1003 (23 October) approves an Interim Order the Environment Minister made on 13 October. That order suspends the greenhouse-gas emission standards for trailers in the Heavy-duty Vehicle and Engine Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations, and keeps vehicle classifications aligned with the U.S. EPA. The approval extends the Interim Order for up to one year from 13 October.
