Gas prices in Canada continue to rise. How high are they near you? – Nationally
Gasoline prices in Canada have risen sharply since the start of the Iran war, but how much higher they could go is unclear as consumers struggle with the high cost of living.
Canada’s national average for regular gas sits just under $1.70 a liter as of press time, according to the CAA, and last month was closer to $1.28.
For a regular passenger car, that might mean paying about $20 to $25 more to fill up every time.
Some states pay more than the national average for regular gas, British Columbia pays some of the highest rates, while Alberta pays some of the lowest in Canada.
GasBuddy reports what states and territories pay on average for standard grade gas as of publication:
- Alberta – $1.582
- Saskatchewan – $1,585
- Manitoba – $161.4
- New Brunswick – $1.653
- Ontario – $1.66
- Nova Scotia – $1.70
- Newfoundland – $1.78
- Quebec – $1.794
- Prince Edward Island – $1.807
- Northwest Territories – $1.848
- British Columbia – $1.923
Concerns about global oil supplies due to the war in Iran have been one of the factors driving up prices at the gas pumps around the world.
“For most of Canada this past week, 85 percent of the reason is still what’s happening between Iran and the United States and the escalation in the Middle East,” said Patrick De Haan, petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.
“We also have a seasonal factor that will continue to grow for another four to eight weeks and have an impact. But the fundamentals of this remain the same – meaning the escalation in the Middle East which has continued to block the Strait of Hormuz and has a significant impact on oil supply, which drives up gas prices.”
Why are electricity prices rising so much?
Gasoline prices paid by consumers are determined by several factors, but mainly the price of crude oil, which has been hovering around US$100 a barrel as of publication and since the first strike on Iran by the US and Israel at the end of February.
A few days ago, oil was close to US$64.
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Oil prices are determined primarily based on demand expectations relative to global supply, and the conflict has led to higher oil prices because oil markets expect supply to decrease as a result.
In the Persian Gulf region, the Strait of Hormuz normally receives about 20 percent of the world’s oil, but has been effectively blocked since the conflict began after Iran threatened to attack any oil tankers allied with the US or Israel that try to pass through the narrow choke point.
This threatens the supply of oil around the world.
Seasonal factors can also make gas more expensive, and De Haan says there are usually three things in play from February to late April every year that drive prices up.
“Maintenance of the filter equipment, which reduces how much fuel can be produced at this time of year. That maintenance is a necessary evil before the summer driving season, when the filters are basically running 24-7 at 100 percent capacity,” he said.
“Demand for gasoline is increasing as temperatures rise and Canadians begin to travel more. Those seasons will continue to have an impact in the coming weeks.”
These seasonal factors, De Haan says, often cause gasoline prices to increase by an average of five to 15 cents a gallon. Still, he says most of the inflation Canadians are seeing right now is due to what’s happening in the Middle East.
Shopping around for the best price can help shoppers get a small boost, but De Haan says improving driving habits and habits is the best way to save.
“Whether that’s reducing your speed, making your car work harder, trying to avoid any red lines or accelerating hard, slowing down on the highway by five or ten kilometers per hour – even those small differences can add up to big savings,” he says.
“The name of the game here is trying to save as much fuel as possible [out of the fuel purchased]that’s where you lower your price at the tap.”
And what would it take to start lowering prices?
“If demand starts to drop enough to better match the 80 million barrels a day supply, that’s when oil prices will finally end,” De Haan said.
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