Gas prices in Canada have been climbing sharply since the Iran war began, but how much higher they could go is unclear as consumers struggle with the higher cost of living.
Canada’s national average for regular gas is sitting just below $1.70 a litre as of publication, according to CAA, and a month earlier it was closer to $1.28.
For an average passenger vehicle, that might mean paying roughly $20 to $25 more to fill up every time.
Some regions are paying much more than the national average for regular gas, with British Columbia paying some of the highest prices, while Alberta pays some of the lowest in Canada.
GasBuddy states what individual provinces and territories are paying on average for regular 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 Iran war have been one of the main factors driving prices up at gas pumps all over the world.
“For the bulk of Canada over the last week, 85 per cent of the reason is still what’s happening between Iran and the United States and the escalations in the Middle East,” says Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.
“We also have a seasonal element that will continue to ramp up for another four to eight weeks and be impactful as well. But the primary of this remains the same — that is escalations in the Middle East that have continued to essentially block the Strait of Hormuz and impacting oil supply in a major way, driving up gas prices.”
Why gas prices are rising so much
Prices for fuel paid by consumers are determined by several factors, but especially the price of raw crude oil, which has been hovering around US$100 a barrel as of publication and since the first strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel at the end of February.
In the days before, oil was closer to US$64.
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Oil prices are determined mostly based on expectations for demand relative to the global supply, and the conflict has led to higher oil prices because oil markets anticipate supply will be constrained as a result.
In the Persian Gulf region, the Strait of Hormuz normally sees about 20 per cent 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 U.S. or Israel that try to pass through the narrow choke point.
This is putting the global oil supply in jeopardy.
Seasonal factors can also make gas more expensive, and De Haan says there are usually three factors at play from February to late April every year that send prices up.
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“Refinery maintenance, which limits how much gasoline can be produced at this time of year. That maintenance is a necessary evil before the summer driving season, when refineries are basically operating 24-7 at 100 per cent capacity,” he says.
“Demand for gasoline goes up as temperatures warm up and Canadians begin travelling more. That seasonality is going to slowly continue to be more impactful over the weeks ahead.”
These seasonal factors, De Haan says, typically cause gas prices to rise an average of five to 15 cents a litre. Still, he says the vast majority of the price increases Canadians are seeing right now are because of what’s happening in the Middle East.
How to save money on gas
Shopping around for the best price could help consumers find small improvements, but De Haan says adjusting routines and driving habits is the best way to save.
“Whether that’s reducing your rate of acceleration, making your car work less hard, try to avoid any red lines or hard acceleration, slow down on the highway by five or 10 kilometres an hour — even those small differences can add up to significant savings,” he says.
And what would it take to start moving prices down?
“If demand does start to come down enough to better match that 80 million barrels a day that’s being supplied, that is where oil prices will eventually stall out,” De Haan says.
Gas prices are going up all over the world. Gas and oil are priced globally not federally
Currently in Alberta, 1.54, thanks Ontario for allowing me to fill up yesterday for 1.72.
SMH
Canada doesn’t get their oil from Iran, we have our own supply. Why then, are our gas prices going up?
I have seen this game for many years and the arguments are the same, oil companies are greedy and I am afraid here in Canada they work against Canada since they are own by the US…Canada sells the oil to the US to produce gas almost at discount, but the price of the gas in canada it is still higher than in the US..
209.9 in Powell River, BC.
And this is the issue, Why on earth are we using Iran’s oil when we have our very own in Canada. I fear for our next generations, How is their life gonna look like? All these wars that are going on is about greed. Well, I’ll tell you something anyone who claims to love God knows that greed is a sin. You guys are doing this to yourselves and you are destroying our future generations to come. Everyone has an opinion but the bottom line is, is that it is greed. And God knows.
Yep. Gas prices are rising but home electricity rates stay the same and stable… That’s why I switched over years ago.
$1.64. On callingwood rd.
Canadians should not be paying so much,but we must thank the federal liberal government for keeping alberta closed to getting oil out to other countries not just usa who in turn sell it for higher prices.
Manitoba $161.4?? That’s too much…Lolzzz
We import about 11% of our oil from middle east…..
And ask why such an oil rich country as ours is subject to the instability of the middle east.
If instead of a decade of ideological infants keeping Alberta oil, Ontario’s 650 Billion cubic feet and Quebec’s 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the ground, west coast pipelines under developed, and blocking a pipeline to Eastern Canada, we’d had adults in charge, imagine how impervious Canada and perhaps the world would be to the cyclic Middle East oil shocks.
The Sunny Ways lost decade is a disaster Canada will never recover from.
Since World War II, the U.S. Navy has primarily functioned as the global guarantor of international shipping lanes, protecting trade routes and ensuring the free flow of commerce, while their NATO partners were slashing defense spending in favor of taxing their subjects into oblivion to pay for the “free” stuff were are no longer able to afford because of our out of control taxation and self-inflicted economic decline.
$2.11 to $2.14 Lower Mainland B.C.
Still cheaper than when the terrorists had the Carbon Tax added
In 2014 we bought our second EV & sold our last gas car. It cost $1.40 per 100 kilometers to drive either car which we charge at home ivernight
Too bad we didn’t have any resources in this country. Elbows up!
Saw one place at $1.549 this morning.
214.9 in Maple Ridge BC we must be getting hosed.Thx NDP
This is what Canada gets for allowing others to control.our resources and not maximizing their benefits