Expert says record high gas prices in Winnipeg may be here to stay

Gas prices have jumped nearly 10 cents in the past few days to an all-time high of 149.9 a litre, and these record prices at the pump may be here to stay.

Petroleum prices are up right across the country impacting everyone from residents to business owners. Winnipegger Sean Cunanan was caught off guard by the uptick in cost.

“I said to myself as I was pumping ‘this is crazy that they’re this high right now.’”

Cunanan said he works in home care, and he drives a lot for his job, and the price of gas is just one more thing adding to the high cost of living.

“You see everything (going up) in the grocery stores, and gas, and with COVID it’s difficult.”

The price of filling up the tank is impacting the bottom line of a local courier business as well. Ronnie Krebs, the CEO of Top Dog Courier, said the cost of fuelling his diesel trucks has almost doubled.

“Your fuel usually runs about $600 to $900 a month. Now I’m paying $1,700 to $1,800 a month, so it’s getting to the point where it’s really ridiculous.”

Krebs said his company doesn’t apply a fuel surcharge to his customers, but he’s considering increasing his rates at the end of the year.

“We do have a lot of volume so thankfully we’re able to keep our heads above water, but the fuel prices are horrible.”

Dan McTeague is President of Canadians for Affordable Energy, and he also runs the Gaswizzard.ca website. He said gas prices have reached record highs across the country.

He said contributing factors are oil going up $17 a barrel in the span of five weeks, and the Canadian dollar not being as strong as it was in 2014, the last time the price of oil was this high, at $90 a barrel.

“Back at that time it took 105, 106 Canadian pennies to buy one U.S. dollar, today it takes 127.That difference or that weakness represents an additional hidden 14 cents a litre for most drivers in Canada."

McTeague said carbon taxes in Canada are impacting the production of fossil fuels, creating a supply shortage, and pushing up prices.

He said geopolitical issues in Eastern Europe between Ukraine and Russia is also impacting the cost of fuel, and he doesn’t think it’ll go down anytime soon.

“Generally, I think we’re going to see high record prices in 2022,” said McTeague.

He said we could see some relief later this month, but come Spring time it’s likely prices at the pump will hit a new record high.

Back at the pump, Cunanan is hoping for a bit of a break down the road.

“The 1.20’s would be nice, but 1.50, or close to it is a little absurd.”