Gas prices are once again creeping up in Metro Vancouver, now sitting at $192.9 cents per litre.
It’s yet another blow to British Columbians' cost of living, and the situation could get worse with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats still looming.
Prices are traditionally cheaper at this time of year but have spiked due to the weak Canadian dollar, and a fire at a refinery in California.
“Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, has a very unique situation where gas goes from and to the United States, both in terms of what’s refined and what’s produced. So we’re extraordinarily vulnerable to any shifts in or weakness in the Canadian dollar,” said Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
McTeague runs the price prediction website gaswizard.com.
He expects prices will come back toward the $1.85 range over the next few weeks.
However, he says diesel will continue to remain high as long as the weather remains cold.
Metro Vancouverites pay some of the highest gas prices in North America - largely due to our high taxes - at about 80 cents per litre, according to McTeague.
“Not that that should be a surprise. The government’s been very clear they want to raise taxes so you stop driving, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen with these high prices,” said the gas expert.
Higher fuel costs are expected to make the price of food rise, too.
“Nothing moves without transportation, so getting products made, whether it’s farming or whether it has to do with transportation or processing, all of these things involve a high degree of energy input,” said McTeague.
He believes the carbon tax has a significant impact on our supply chain.
“This makes us uncompetitive, and it makes, generally speaking, life less affordable for most. Something is going to give, and it looks like the consumer is really throwing the towel. Has raised the white flag,” said McTeague.
To make matters worse, the looming trade war with the U.S. makes forecasting what gas prices will look like going forward difficult.
McTeague says the disparity will only get worse if we have such a situation, because the value of the Canadian dollar would be the one to suffer.
“You could see the Canadian dollar drop to $1.55, maybe $1.60 in other words, adding another 10 to 15 cents a litre. The price of gasoline for what it is today, definitely pushing us up well over $2 a litre,” said McTeague.
Many British Columbians are trying to shop Canadian to send a message to Trump.
However, they may be soon tempted to fill up across the border, where prices worked out to be about $1.50 a litre as of Wednesday.
Grocery prices affected
Higher energy prices make transporting groceries more expensive.
Those higher costs are then passed on to the consumer, so not only are Metro Vancouverites paying more at the pumps, but also at the grocery store.
“Consumers are being hit by higher energy costs at the pump, so giving them less money to spend and when they show up at the grocery store,” said Sylvain Charlebois, a food policy professor at Dalhousie University.
Unlike Canada, the U.S. does not have a carbon tax, which Charlebois says impacts Canada’s supply chain competitiveness.
“It’s much more attractive for grocers to look south and right now we’re talking about interprovincial trade barriers. We’re trying to encourage provinces to do business. The carbon tax is actually doing the opposite,” Charlebois told CTV News.
There’s a major push to buy local in response to Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Canada.
However, buying local can be significantly more expensive, creating a dilemma for consumers.
“When it comes to produce in particular, where transportation costs are much higher, especially this time of year until April, we’re really at the mercy of this dilemma between wanting to buy local and being able to afford to buy local,” said Charlebois.
He’d like to see the carbon tax axed, he said.
“To become greener, more environmentally responsible, while remaining competitive, I actually think that the cap-and-trade system is much better,” said the professor.
He says it’s already being used in California and Quebec successfully by incentivizing companies to work with the carbon market.
“They can actually pay if they pollute, or they can actually make money if they reduce their emissions. So they’re incentivized to actually reduce less instead of just using the stick. You can actually use the carrots,” said Charlebois.
CTV News has reached out to the B.C. minister for energy and climate solutions for comment. This story will be updated if and when a response is received.
