Manitobans will be paying slightly less for goods and services as of Canada Day. The provinces PST is officially 7 per cent as of midnight.

The Conservative government announced on March 7 in this year's budget that the provincial sales tax would be reduced from 8 per cent.

The drop comes exactly six years to the day after the then NDP government increased the sales tax to 8 per cent. 

The Retail Council of Canada says that "The change will put more than $300 million back into the hands of Manitobans annually, and will especially be felt by households making large purchases, and businesses who have PST costs within their supply chain."

The Manitoba PC party campaigned in the last election on a promise to reduce the PST. The reduction comes just a few months before Manitobans head to the polls in an early election. NDP leader Wab Kinew wasn't surprised by that, saying when the announcement was made he believed the drop was a prelude to an early election call.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding calls it the biggest tax cut in Manitoba's history. He says a household of four should save about $500 a year.

Manitoba now has the third lowest PST in the country. Alberta has no sales tax, while Saskatchewan has a 6 per cent PST. British Columbia also has a 7 per cent PST. The Atlantic provinces all have 10 per cent provincial rates under the Harmonized Sales Tax.