Ontario Gas Prices Are Set To Rise & Could Smash Records Again Tomorrow
Ontario is going from bad to worse.
Esso gas station in Toronto.
Ontario gas prices are set to reach an all-time high by Friday, dashing any hopes of things calming down before the weekend. Say goodbye to your debt-free bank account.
Gas analyst Dan McTeague warned drivers via Twitter on Wednesday to fill up their tanks as prices were set to rise 7 cents a litre each on Thursday and again on Friday.
Prices are already sitting at a lousy 166.9 cents a litre throughout most of southern Ontario after the 7 cent increase on Thursday. However, they could skyrocket up to 174.9 cents a litre by Friday in Toronto and the GTA, Hamilton, Kingston, Niagara, St. Catharines and Waterloo.
"That's a price we have never seen or ever paid here," McTeague told CTV News. "It's well above the record, which is $1.61 per litre."
According to Gas Wizard, Thunder Bay will be the only Ontario city spared from Friday's increase, with prices remaining at 169.9 cents a litre. However, that doesn't mean it's the cheapest.
Cornwall will see prices increase by 5 cents a litre and remains the most affordable gas in the province, offering 164.9 at the pump. Sudbury's prices will remain the highest in the province at 179.9 — but that's nothing compared to Vancouver's 200.9, the highest in the country on Friday.
The dire state of Ontario's gas prices hasn't gone unnoticed by political leaders.
On Wednesday, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath announced she had teamed up with MPP Gilles Bisson to table a bill to regulate provincial gas prices.
The NDP's report alleges that Ontarians are paying record-high prices this year, over $1.50 per litre in the GTA and around $1.70 per litre in Timmins. The report also points out that "big gas chains can raise prices even when the price of oil drops."
So, in case you're wondering — yes, things really are that bad, and no, this is not normal.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.