Rapidly rising record gas prices show no signs of slowing

The busy summer tourism season is almost here and gas prices in Ottawa are showing no signs of slowing down.

The price for a litre of regular is already sitting at a record high $2.149 per litre at most Ottawa stations and experts believe rising oil prices will only contribute to more expensive costs at the pumps.

Roger McKnight, EnPro’s chief petroleum analyst, told CityNews last week the only way consumers are going to see relief is if different levels of government find a way to work together.

“The only way consumers are going to get a break is if governments, federal and provincial, start reviewing the tax structure,” said McKnight. “But to do that you have to have cooperation between the federal and provincial governments, which is a stretch.”

Since the beginning of the month, the price of gasoline has climbed 16 cents to surpass the previous high of $2.09 a litre set last month. The average price has risen 11 cents in just the last four days.

Gas prices have risen rapidly over the last year as a tight global supply has been worsened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The average price was sitting around $1.30 per litre one year ago.

Prices have also been pushed higher by strong demand as the economy reopens and a busy travel season gets underway.

“The problem is really in the U.S. inventory report that came out (Thursday),” said McKnight. “That’s sort of the benchmark that all pricing analysts and Wall Street traders use, and it doesn’t look very good at all.”

Across the country, British Columbians are seeing the highest price for gasoline. According to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), the average price for a litre of gas in B.C. was $2.22, followed by Newfoundland and Québec ($2.17), and PEI ($2.13).

Fuel prices across the country are expected to creep up another three cents in the coming days, he said, with average gasoline prices forecasted to reach as high as $2.12 a litre across the country by late Monday.