‘You feel helpless’: Gas prices to increase this week, could reach $2 a litre by the fall
Posted August 8, 2023 7:51 pm.
Last Updated August 8, 2023 7:57 pm.
Canadian drivers are feeling pain at the pumps yet again, as gas prices are expected to climb this week, and by the fall, they’re expected to reach close to $2 a litre.
It’s yet another setback, with many Canadians already feeling the financial pinch as the cost of living rises. After a four-cent drop over the recent long weekend, gas prices are expected to go back up, with a climb of four cents by Thursday.
“It’s ridiculous. I don’t have an answer, and I don’t think anybody does, but we’re captives,” said one man CityNews spoke with on Tuesday. “Oil goes up, and gas goes up. Oil goes down, and gas goes up. It’s frustrating.”
It’s the long-term surge creating panic at the gas pumps. By September, prices could be 20 cents higher than they are currently.
“$1.90 or $1.85 is very possible, and more importantly. We’re going to stay there,” said Dan McTeague, President of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
RELATED: CityNews Toronto daily gas prices
The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) says gas prices tend to dip in the winter months but stay high in the spring, summer and fall due to the seasonal pattern of less driving due to shorter days and poor weather. This, combined with a lower oil cost, has been known to lower gas prices. CityNews was told the opposite is likely to be true this year.
Many Canadians already feel squeezed with the cost of living, accelerating rates not seen in decades. One Toronto resident that CityNews spoke to at a local gas station on Tuesday said the expected rise in gas prices becomes more troubling given the standard of living in the city.
“As the prices rise, it becomes really hard to make ends meet,” he said. “You feel helpless. You feel like, ‘Well, what can you do?'”
Canadians feeling the pinch
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says July’s home sales, listings and prices edged up from the same time last year, but activity looks to be slowing in the face of higher interest rates.
The average selling price was up 4.2 per cent in July from a year earlier to $1,118,374, while the benchmark price was up 1.3 per cent. The average cost of a detached home in the market rose 4.8 per cent year over year to top $1.4 million, while semi-detached properties increased 2.8 per cent to $1.1 million.
“Everything is super expensive. It’s nuts. We work in the city, I am in construction, but many of us live up north or in the GTA, and they come in, it’s just not worth their while anymore,” said another resident.
McTeague says there aren’t many people in Canada not feeling the pinch.
“It’s one of the reasons why many people are concerned by any movements by governments to raise prices.”
CityNews was told the weak Canadian dollar is adding about 28 cents a litre to the price of fuel. The federal government’s carbon tax also adds 14 cents to every litre.
“Nobody has shown the average person what the carbon tax actually does,” said one resident. “How does it benefit me? What are they doing with it?”
Last June, gas prices peaked at $2.15 a litre as COVID-19 restrictions started to lift. Experts don’t believe prices will reach those levels this year.
