Gas prices surpass $2 per litre in Vancouver — and they’ll continue to climb this week: analyst

Gas prices continue to climb across Canada — but parts of British Columbia are seeing some of the highest prices in the country, reaching over $2 per litre in some areas. 

According to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), the average price of regular gas across the country was about $1.64 per litre on Monday — a number people would gladly pay in Vancouver, where the average sat at about $2.02 per litre on Monday. 

GasBuddy.com showed an average of $1.863 per litre in all of B.C., on Monday. The website noted the cheapest gas in the province was in Creston, where a couple of gas stations listed $1.549 per litre. 

High gas prices around the world have been linked to the war in the Middle East, where a major passageway for oil tankers — the Strait of Hormuz — is at a standstill.

Analysts expect the situation to remain that way, meaning gas prices will likely continue to climb in coming days. 

“Probably another five to six cents per litre for both gasoline and diesel,” said Matt McClain, an analyst with Gas Buddy. 

While Canada produces its own oil and gas, it is part of a global market, he said, which means its value is dependent on things going on all over the world. 

The standstill in the Strait of Hormuz is holding up about 20 per cent of the global supply of oil and gas, he said. 

“Anytime you remove any commodity, 20 per cent of it and only 80 per cent remains, you’re going to have an elevated price on the remaining 80 per cent. It can be bananas, it can be beef,” McClain said.  

When gas prices soar, drivers tend to look for ways to minimize their gas usage. McClain said anyone looking for cost-effective fuel should consider filling up in suburban and rural areas, where gas tends to be cheaper. 

“Typically in the more urban core, that’s where you’ll find your more expensive gas prices,” he said. The average price of gas in Vancouver, for example, was $2.024 on Monday, while the average cost in the Fraser-Fort George Regional District was $1.615.

The CAA website also suggests accelerating smoothly, reducing speed and combining trips to use less gas.

Doug Beckett, founder of the Prince George Electric Vehicle Association, says gas prices may be pushing some people toward purchasing EVs. 

While drivers are paying upwards of $2 per litre in the Vancouver area, Beckett says he is paying the equivalent of about 18 cents per litre to operate his car. 

“I used to pay attention to the cost of gas,” he told CBC’s Daybreak North, adding he didn’t actually know what gas cost at the time of the interview Monday. 

All this causes pain at the pumps for individuals, but it will also be hard on businesses who rely on shipping. 

The average cost of diesel in B.C. was about $2.22 per litre on Monday, McClain said. 

“That impacts trains. It impacts barges and their tugs, that impacts tractor trailers. They all use diesel for their fuel.”

Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, said the high cost of fuel could be the end of the road for some businesses. 

“We’ve seen a bunch of companies exiting the market, bunch of other ones holding on, trying to wait for an uptick in the economy,” he said. “What we’ve seen in the last three weeks [with fuel prices] is it’s going to shove up some of them out. 

“This is going to push some over the edge.”