Gas price hike expected in Manitoba
Come the weekend, Manitobans will be paying more for gas and the price could climb even higher in the coming weeks and months according to a gas expert.
Dan McTeague, who is the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy and also runs the gas prediction website GasWizard.ca, said the updated carbon tax will kick into effect on April 1, which will impact the price at the pump.
"One thing we cannot escape is the 3.26 cent plus GST increase that comes on April Fool's Day, that is the federal government carbon tax. That's for gasoline," said McTeague. "Diesel will go up by 4.01 cents, so with GST, about 4.2 cents a litre."
With the carbon tax jump, McTeague said Manitobans can expect to pay around 155.9 cents per litre starting Saturday and unfortunately, that number could jump more in the near future.
McTeague said by the middle of April, gas could climb by another four or five cents as a new blend of gas gets used.
"We switch from winter blends of gasoline to summer blends of gasoline. That's a thing," said McTeague. "In the winter, we are using butane as one of the elements within gasoline. Works great when it's cold, it ignites very quickly, but you don't want that happening (in the summer) for environmental reasons and, of course, sensitivities to the emissions systems on most vehicles."
He said in the summer, the blend uses alkylates, which he says cost around four to five cents more than butane.
McTeague said this will mean the price of gas will be around the 160 cents per litre mark by mid-April.
When looking ahead to summer, he said people shouldn't anticipate the price coming down at all, as he thinks prices will hover between the 160 to 175 cents per litre range.
"It won't be like last year where we were testing the $2 a litre range, 190. But we will be within 15 to 20 cents of that and that still means it's going to be a very expensive summer for many. So take advantage of these prices, they may seem high right now, but they're likely to get permanently, at least until September, much higher."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Tesla recalling nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks because accelerator pedal can get stuck
Tesla is recalling 3,878 of its 2024 Cybertrucks after it discovered that the accelerator pedal can become stuck, potentially causing the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally and increase the risk of a crash.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
A couple lost their wedding rings during the ceremony. Two strangers found a fitting solution
Every good wedding has to have one teensy, tiny crisis.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.