The scourge of higher gasoline prices in northern Ontario is being blamed on western Canada, by a gas price analyst.
President of Canadians for Affordable Energy Dan McTeague points out southern Ontario has nothing to do with Thunder Bay, which is affected by prices in western Canada.
“It’s a $1.14, $1.15 a gallon, whereas Toronto is benefiting temporarily, at least, from what looks like 98, 97, 96 cents a gallon,” says McTeague, who has been studying and predicting prices for years.
He adds the strength of the Canadian dollar plays a major part in prices, including the dollar plus prices seen in Thunder Bay. When he looks at pump prices in Thunder Bay, he says stations charging anything hovering around the dollar mark, is not making money. And it probably comes as no surprise when he admits to taking many calls from frustrated northern Ontario drivers.
“Our supply of gasoline really depends on the prairies, not on New York, or southwestern Ontario, and it’s for that reason alone that we see much higher prices wholesale than what they see in southwestern Ontario,” says the gas analyst.
When looking at the Petro Canada rack prices website for the country, the most expensive is in Nanaimo, BC, and then drops moving east, before stopping in St. John, NB where it’s the lowest.
And, in a statement that’ll really floor many people, he points out no one is getting ripped off, and will gladly explain why to anyone. Having said that, McTeague adds he has called out gas stations nationwide for doing just that.
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