What happened
The Canadian government introduced targeted support for the airline sector, consisting of two main components: a removal of the federal excise tax on jet fuel (effective April 20 to September 7, 2026, reducing costs by four cents per liter) and a new "Liquidity for Airline Sector Resilience" facility offering up to $150 million in repayable loans to eligible airlines facing financial pressure from fuel costs. WestJet responded by strongly opposing the proposal, telling the government to stop helping airlines and avoid "screwing over Canadian taxpayers." The airline cited $400 million in taxpayer losses from forgiven COVID-era loans and argued that the US, a direct competitor, deliberately avoided bailing out its airlines to maintain a level playing field. WestJet stated it does not take government loans and advocates for a competitive environment based on airline strength rather than "corporate charity."