Gas prices could hit $1.80 a litre in Ottawa this weekend
Gas prices topped $1.70 a litre in Ottawa for the first time ever, and experts warn they will hit $1.80 a litre by the end of the weekend.
The cost of gas jumped seven cents a litre on Friday, hitting $1.73 a litre at some stations across Ottawa. The increase followed a seven-cent-a-litre increase on Thursday.
Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, says prices will drop one cent a litre in Ottawa on Saturday, before increasing eight cents a litre on Sunday to $1.81 a litre.
"Eighty dollars for a tank this small is too much, too much," Aklilu Afowerk said while filling up half a tank on Friday.
"I'm a student so it sucks, but I need to travel so I don't have a choice," said a driver filling up at the Pioneer Gas Station on Industrial Avenue.
McTeague told Newstalk 580 CFRA this week the hike in prices is linked to both Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supply issues.
"Fifty per cent of what you're seeing here is war, the other 50 per cent is a shortage of supply," McTeague said. "We've had a global supply shortage and tightness in supply, which many have warned about."
McTeague expects prices to rise to at least $1.85 a litre in the coming weeks and months.
"With the war and sealing off, as we must, Vladimir Putin and his oil and gas and forcing Europeans and even Americans to stop importing gas, or in this case oil, it's likely to see oil pushing $120, maybe $130 a barrel – which means another 15 to 20 cents a litre for motorists in the capital."
Ottawa taxi driver Amrik Singh says each increase in gas prices hits his bottom line.
"It comes out of the driver's pocket," Singh said on Friday.
"The situation right now is, whatever you make all day, at the end of the day when you fill up your gas you pay all that money to the gas company."
Mr. Mozzarella owner Nishu Mangla says when gas prices go up, both the pizza parlour and the delivery drivers are hit.
"We have a shortage of drivers. So we have to go sometimes for the delivery ourselves," Mangla said. "But it’s the same thing, more money goes to the gas stations, less money into the driver's pocket."
Singh warns the cost of gas will drive more taxi drivers off the roads.
"Taxi business is a dying business," Singh said. "With the expenses so high, why would you spend 12 hours on the road and take $30 home. It has made it too costly to drive a cab."
CITY BUDGETS $58 MILLION FOR FUEL
The rising cost of fuel will affect the budgets for city of Ottawa services, including police, public health and transit.
The city budgeted $58 million for fuel this year.
"To better protect against the fluctuating price of fuel, the City has a long-standing policy to hedge diesel fuel to reduce market risk and provide stability within the budget," Deputy City Treasurer Cyril Rogers said in a statement.
"The City's total fuel budget for 2022, including the Ottawa Police Service, Ottawa Public Library and Ottawa Public Health is $58 million. Of that, OC Transpo accounts for $41 million."
Ontario's NDP reintroduced legislation on Wednesday that would regulate prices at the pumps by setting a weekly price or daily maximum.
According to the website ottawagasprices.com, the average price of gasoline in Ottawa was $1.22 a litre one year ago and 63 cents a litre in late March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.