Latest hike has $2-per-litre gas right around the corner

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In Winnipeg, $2 a litre for regular gas has never been so close.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/05/2022 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In Winnipeg, $2 a litre for regular gas has never been so close.

Shell stations advertised $1.96.9 per litre Tuesday afternoon.

“(Prices are) kind of crazy,” said David Dion, who visited a Shell station on Corydon Avenue. “That’s about $200 plus to fill up my truck.”

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The Shell gas station at Portage Avenue and Olive Street with posted gas prices at 196.9 per litre Tuesday.
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Shell gas station at Portage Avenue and Olive Street with posted gas prices at 196.9 per litre Tuesday.

Manitoba’s regular unleaded gas prices have jumped nearly 70 cents per litre within the past year. The province saw an average $1.277 per litre on May 31, 2021, according to fuel tracking website GasBuddy.

“It almost feels like some people will have to make life decisions, filling up their car,” Dion said. “At the same time, it’s like, we don’t have a choice.”

Dion, a drywall deliverer, spends much of his day commuting.

“I need to get to work, people need to get to their work or bring in their kids to daycare,” he said.

Some, like Stacy Home, have made significant changes because of rising fuel costs.

Home said she quit her full-time government job because she couldn’t afford the commute. She’d drive her diesel-powered Volkswagen Jetta from near Stonewall to downtown daily, she said.

“I don’t know how people can afford it,” Home said. “It’s crazy.”

She stopped at a Corydon Avenue Shell station Tuesday but didn’t fuel up — they didn’t have diesel.

“Before COVID, my car used to be $55 to $60 to fill. Just last week, I put $110 in it,” Home said. “With the price going up, it’ll probably be closer to $125.”

Home is working part-time and getting rides where she can, or staying overnight at friends’ houses, she said. She’s looking for remote work — it will cut down on gas bills.

Manitobans could see $2 per litre at the pump this summer, fuel analyst Dan McTeague told the Free Press earlier in May.

“Summer’s always a quirky time of year,” McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, said.

Prices will likely remain high due to demand, even if the cost of oil drops, McTeague said.

Most Canadians are already paying over $2 per litre for gasoline. Newfoundland averaged $2.22 per litre Tuesday, according to GasBuddy. British Columbia followed at $2.14 per litre.

Manitoba’s average was $1.89.5 per litre Tuesday. While Shell’s prices jumped, other brands stayed put — for now.

“I don’t know what you can do about (it),” said Kristina Bauch, who filled up her SUV at a Shell.

Manitoba was the third cheapest province for gasoline Tuesday. Saskatchewan and Alberta had lower prices, at $1.87.0 and $1.70.3 per litre, respectively.

The national average was $1.97.8 per litre, up 68.2 cents from last year’s average of $1.29.6, according to GasBuddy.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

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