Gas prices across Canada skyrocketed yesterday following seasonal gas changes and the Liberals’ budget reveal.

Yesterday, Canadians across the country took note of rising gas prices and were able to record them rising by up to 22 cents on average in real time as prices shot up from an average of $1.51 per litre to $1.73 in mere seconds.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford commented on the price increase yesterday while speaking at a news conference in Oakville, calling it “disgusting” and throwing the blame at oil companies.

“It is disgusting what the oil companies are doing. They are saying we have to upgrade the gas in the summer,” Ford said.

“Do you let your tanks at the gas stations drain, and do you have these tankers come up… to put the fresh gas in, or are you using the old gas and charging the higher cost?” he continued. “… Either you are putting the fresh stuff in last month, or you are gouging the people right now.”

The new normal

While prices are expected to be moderately lower today, many were shocked and appalled by the return to 2022 and fear it could be the new normal, which several outlets have stated Canadians shouldn’t be surprised by.

Here, it’s worth noting that while some outlets claim that a gas price of $1.75 is within the normal range because it’s lower than Canada’s all-time high, longitudinal data and a comparison with US prices paint a very different picture.

Based on the 120-month data for average retail price chart from GasBuddy, while gas prices in the US are on par with (and usually below) what they were 10 years ago at $0.94 per litre, prices in Canada are roughly $0.40 more expensive, rising from roughly $1.35 just before Justin Trudeau took office to $1.75 today.

Moreover, data show that while price spikes in both countries usually happen at the same time, those in Canada are always more dramatic. In other words, whatever happens in America tends to happen in Canada, too, but is significantly worse. This is exasperated, of course, by the carbon tax, which artificially raises the price of gasoline by $0.18 per litre and continues to rise.