A gas station north of Newcastle, Ont., displays its gasoline per litre prices as a customer finishes pumping gas on April 1.Doug Ives/The Canadian Press
John Dyer is filling up his car on Monday afternoon in downtown Toronto for the first time since gasoline prices dropped. He prepaid $60 at the pump, which he said would normally get him three-quarters of a tank, but he’s hoping that today, the same amount will put a bit more gas in the car.
“First fill-up since I’ve heard about it [lower gas prices], but looking forward to getting more gas,” he said. “I buy high-octane fuel, so it’s a big deal.”
The drop in gas prices has come after Ottawa removed the consumer carbon levy and oil prices dropped in early April. Cutting the consumer fuel charge reduced the price of gas by 17.6 cents per litre in every province except for Quebec.
At the same time, low oil prices have resulted from uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy.
“Those tariffs were much more widespread than anticipated, causing significant concern about the future of the U.S. and global economy, which caused oil prices to plummet,” Mr. De Haan said.
He said for the average tank consumers are saving anywhere from $10 to $20 each time they fill up compared to about a year ago.
“We’re talking about $500 to $1,000 in savings over the course of the year if this keeps up,” he said.
Other customers at the gas station, including Mehmet Ismail, were glad to be saving some money. Mr. Ismail said he is saving around $20 per week since the price of gas went down.
“There’s a big difference,” he said. “It’s a small amount, but it affects daily life.”
Although the carbon charge is gone, Mr. De Haan is unsure about whether the low gas prices are here to stay because of the turmoil south of the border.
“There’s probably going to be more volatility in what voters are paying – at least for the foreseeable future – due to the uncertainty brought on the trade wars and tariffs down in the States,” he said. “The U.S. certainly being one of the world’s largest consumers of oil and commodities, what happens down there could have influence, as well as the Canadian election.”
Both Mr. Dyer and Mr. Ismail said lower gas prices wouldn’t influence their vote at the polls. However, Mr. De Haan said Canada-U.S. relations and trade policy after the election could have a sway on oil and gas costs.
“That’s something I’ll be watching,” Mr. De Haan said. “But I think for now, gas prices this summer are likely to be much lower than at any point in the last couple of summers for many Canadians.”
