Gas prices set to jump 12 cents/litre in Ottawa and eastern Ontario this weekend

Gas prices could hit record highs in Ottawa this weekend, as stations switch to the summer gasoline blend.

President of Canadians for Affordable Energy Dan McTeague said Friday that after rising 11 cents since Wednesday, gas prices would rise another 12 cents a litre in Ottawa and eastern Ontario on Saturday.

Gas prices are expected to hit 185.9 cents a litre in Ottawa.

Gas jumped four cents a litre at some stations in the city on Saturday. McTeague told CTV News Ottawa that it appears stations are putting off the larger increase until Sunday due to the holiday weekend. 

McTeague told Toronto’s CP24 on Friday the increase in gas prices this week is something he has never seen before.

“23 cents a litre increase in the past 72 hours...It’s unprecedented and it does not bode very well for the summer,” McTeague said.

Refineries switch to the pricier summer-blend gasoline in April, which is more expensive.

“In other words, the kind of gasoline you get tends to change from April 15 until September 15. That’s a thing, it’s been around for the past 30 years,” McTeague said.

The price jump follows a six cent a litre increase on Thursday and a five cent hike on Good Friday.

Regular gasoline is selling for $1.73 a litre in Ottawa and Kingston on Friday.

In Kingston on Friday, the high price of gasoline didn’t stop people from taking a road trip over the Easter weekend.

“I’m paying extra, extra for gas. It’s not a fun time,” said Colton Jung, filling up the gas tank with supreme gas.

Jung says supreme gas costs $2 a litre.

“Terrible! My pockets are a lot lighter. To be paying double what I normally pay. I might as well be dumping this down the drain,” Jung said.

Other motorists say while they’re not happy with the rising cost of gasoline, they have no choice.

“Doesn’t matter, guess you got to pay what you got to pay. There’s no way around it,” said one motorist in Kingston.

“I’ve given up trying to budget for gasoline,” said another driver.

With McTeague predicting regular gas will hit 185.9 cents a litre on Saturday, gas prices will hit a new record high in Ottawa.

Gas prices hit 185.8 cents a litre in Ottawa in early March, according to ottawagasprices.com.

With files from CTV News Toronto's Phil Tsekouras