Price of gas in GTA hitting highest level in 6 months on April 1
Posted March 31, 2024 5:28 pm.
Last Updated April 1, 2024 11:47 am.
Gas prices across the GTA spiked to their highest levels in six months on Monday.
The federal carbon price, also referred to as the carbon tax, was scheduled to go up by $15-per-tonne on April 1, bringing the total price to $80 per tonne. That saw the carbon tax on gasoline go up by 3.3 cents per litre, while diesel increased by 4.1 cents per litre.
As a result, the price of gasoline at the pumps rose to 162.9 cents/litre, according to Roger McKnight, chief petroleum analyst at En-Pro. Gas prices in the GTA are expected to hold at this price on Tuesday.
Monday’s price eclipsed the previous high of 160.9 cents/litre set back on March 21 and is the highest price for gas in the GTA since September 2023 when fuel was 173.9 cents/litre.
The Ford government announced on March 25 that it would extend the gas tax cut until the end of the year.
Premier Doug Ford says the tax the province takes will remain at nine cents per litre, which he claims will save the average Ontario household $320 since the cuts were first introduced in July 2022. At that time Ford cut the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre and the diesel tax by 5.3 cents per litre until June 30, 2024.
Relief for motorists isn’t expected anytime soon as prices are set to rise by as much as 10 cents within the next two weeks as refiners switch from winter to summer gasoline.
Along with the increase in the federal carbon price, the quarterly rebates sent to Canadians – now known as the “Canada Carbon Rebate” – are also increasing. A family of four in Ontario can expect to receive $280 in April, July, October and next January.
