Gasoline prices in Montreal hit a record high over the weekend, which continued into the start of the new week. Gas stations charge an average of $2.15 per liter for the second day in a row. CAA-Quebec advises not to fill up until prices drop by about five cents.
If you need gasoline, price monitoring site gas buddy reports that the least expensive gasoline in the greater Montreal area is sold at Harnois in Kahnawake, where unleaded costs $1.97 a litre. The Costco in Anjou comes second, maintaining the regular price at $1.99 per litre.
Over the past 10 days, costs have gone up about 15 cents per litre. Gasoline hit $2 a liter on May 6 and experts have warned that figure could continue to climb.
Statistics Canada shows that gasoline prices have risen about 20 cents every five months since this time last year. In May 2021, gasoline cost about $1.33 per litre. About five months later, it was averaging $1.55 a litre. By March of this year, it had reached $1.83 per litre.
Experts say the price hike is largely due to market instability caused by the war in Ukraine. Producers have also failed to catch up with demand, having slowed production at the height of the pandemic.
In response, the Parti Québécois proposed limiting the cost of gasoline to $1.60 per liter and making oil producers pay the difference. Leader of the PQ Paul St-Pierre Plamondon tweeted Monday that “the State cannot shovel public funds indefinitely to compensate for the massive profits of the oil companies. The consumer is trapped”.
