As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact every industry, gas prices in Canada have plummeted, with fuel in Toronto dropping to where it was 15 years ago.
And while this might sound like great news for drivers, it just goes to show how much the virus continues to hurt the economy.
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On Friday, En-Pro said gas prices would fall at midnight down to an average price of 73.9 cents/litre at most gas stations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
However, some local gas stations are currently showing prices as low as 65.9 cents (at a local Costco) and 67.9 at a Toronto east gas bar, according to the Gas Buddy website, which tracks prices across 150,000 gas stations in North America.
This is a significant change from the $1.11 a litre people were paying last month and marks the lowest prices have been in Toronto in fifteen years, according to data from Statistics Canada.
The last time gas prices in Toronto were lower than they are right now was in December 2004, when average prices hit 72.5 cents. However, in December 2008, prices did drop close to this, hitting an average of 74.2 cents in Toronto.
The lower prices at gas pumps are a result of the continuing decline of oil prices, which are, in part, a result of the ongoing oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia and the reduced demand from consumers as more people stay indoors due to COVID-19.
This comes as provincial health officials confirmed 78 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the province's total up to 503 cases, marking the largest single-day jump since the virus began to spread in Ontario.
