GTA drivers will pay even more at the pump this weekend as gas prices are set to rise to yet another record high.
Fuel prices all across the GTA have climbed steadily in recent months, breaking price record after price record. And according to gas analyst and President of Canadians for Affordable Energy Dan McTeague, prices will surpass another historic high on Friday.
McTeague is predicting a GTA-wide hike of 5 cents per litre, bringing gas prices up to 195.9 cents per litre. This record-high price, McTeague says, will be seen across much of Ontario, including as far out as Ottawa, London, Windsor, and Niagara Falls.
McTeague's predictions were seconded by environmental engineering firm En-Pro International, who tweeted out that they expect to see a price of $1.959 at most gas stations in the GTA, Ottawa, and Kitchener-Waterloo on Friday.
On Thursday, prices fell 1 cent to 190.9, but that small step backwards appears to be no indication of any price relief. For months, McTeague has predicted that Ontario gas prices will surpass $2/litre this summer, and with the way prices are ultimately continuing to trend upwards, they seem to be well on their way to doing exactly that.
“It’s not going to get any better,” McTeague told STOREYS in March. “There’s no relief in sight… unless something dramatic should happen and it would require three things: the federal government backs off on its tax increases, Russia ends its war with Ukraine, apologizes and the sanctions are removed, and then the final one, of course, is that suddenly someone waves a magic wand and three new pipelines in Canada appear and we can send 3 million barrels of oil to the rest of the world that desperately needs it.”
The GTA wouldn't be the first Ontario market to surpass the $2 mark. Prices in Sudbury sat at $2.023 on Thursday, with an expected rise to $2.06 on Friday. Fuel prices in Montreal, which are typically higher than in the GTA, are expected to break a record for the city on Friday, with an anticipated $2.029 per litre.
Rising fuel costs, exacerbated by economic sanctions banning the import of Russian oil and gas in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, has had a significant impact on the cost of everything from groceries to goods and services.
In a March survey conducted by BNN Bloomberg and RATESDOTCA, a staggering 54% of Canadians reported that they were already driving less because of how high gas prices have risen. In Ontario, that number rose ever so slightly to 55%. A number of GTA-area realtors have even reported that the rising prices are making their clients re-evaluate whether they want to live in a further out city where they have to commute in for work.
“People had to best get used to it, especially those, unfortunately, who have to commute long distances,” McTeague said at the time. “And it doesn’t really matter if you’re doing it with personal vehicles, carpooling, taking the bus -- all of the prices of those things are going to go through the roof.”
