Everyone loves to break a record. But this is one even Guinness wouldn't want to list. GTA drivers woke up Tuesday to the highest gas prices ever seen in this city. A litre of regular was going for about $1.29 at most stations, above the $1.28.6 that shattered the previous mark during the dark and stormy days after Hurricane Katrina in September 2005.
But this time, the only storm is one of controversy, as many accuse the oil companies and OPEC producers of keeping prices artificially high. Ironically, the higher prices may eventually result in lower ones. Oil closed at $129 a barrel on Tuesday, still high but down from the $133 heights it reached last week. Analysts blame the downturn on motorists using less fuel, dropping demand.
"If present trends continue, we could be heading for the first annual drop in gasoline consumption in some 17 years," predicts analyst Edward Meir.
But so far, it still hasn't translated to the pumps, where GTA drivers are fed up but forced to fill up, anyway. Although many are trying to drive less. "I have a pickup truck," notes office worker Ashley Williamson. "I've been parking it to save fuel. This takes $70 to fill up!" And as all drivers know, it's a bottomless pit.
Still, some think it could wind up being a good thing. "I think it will force people to commute and take public transit and carpool and walk and take your bike," agrees Lisa Hickey, who pointedly is at a gas station doing none of those things.
Junior Ebagua is a paralegal who can't make a case for the prices. "If it goes up higher than this, I'd say two, three months, I would decide to be using the public transit rather than pay more money."
But many are bracing for what they see as the inevitable $1.50 a litre. "Well, if it does hit $1.50, it will probably be sometime during the summer," surmises TD economist Dina Cover. "It is peak demand driving season, so if we do see it go that high, it will be in the next couple of months."
There is some good news in all this. Gas demand in the U.S., which drives costs up, generally peaks up until Memorial Day down south and then slowly starts to fall. The Americans celebrated the holiday on Monday.
Still, there are some people who are thumbing their noses at all the pump jumps. Anita Adams uses a scooter to motor around town. She can't resist rubbing it in. "I pay $5 a week," she laughs as she guns the small engine. "I also get free parking."
Toronto hasn't seen gas under a loonie a litre since February 5th. That's nearly a 23 per cent increase in three months. There are few things that go up quite that fast - except perhaps the ire of people forced to continually pay through the nose - and the hose - for a product many admit they can't do without.
Gas prices affecting every aspect of your life
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You're Not Alone
We all know misery loves company. If that's the case, you'll feel a lot better - or worse as the case may be - when you learn what everyone else around the country is being forced to fork over to keep their tanks filled and their cars running.
The absolute worst places to stop for gas are in Labrador City, where it's going for a whopping $1.46.6 cents a litre, up 4.4 cents, and Yellowknife, where the average price is $1.44.7 a litre, up 3.7 cents.
But third place may surprise you. It's not some far flung spot in the north or way out east, where the price of transporting fuel adds to its cost. It's actually Montreal, where drivers are groaning under per litre charges that are a painful $1.43.4, an increase of 14.7 cents, the biggest pump jump in all of Canada.
The average price of gas across the country is $1.32.6, meaning Toronto is actually getting a bit of price break. Just try convincing drivers here of that. And the next time a politician suggests cutting taxes won't help, consider this. If all the levies were eliminated, gas here would cost us just 98 cents.
Here's the latest cross Canada pump survey, taken on Tuesday May 27, 2008. (Number in parenthesis is the cost excluding taxes.)
Calgary: $1.26.8 ($101.8)
Charlottetown: $1.30.6 (98.6 cents)
Edmonton: $1.26.3 ($1.01.3)
Frederiction: $1.29.5 (93.9 cents)
Halifax: $1.35.6 (94.5 cents)
London: $1.28.7 (97.9 cents)
Montreal: $1.43.4 ($1.00.3)
Ottawa: $1.28.1 (97.3 cents)
Regina: $1.31.9 ($1.00.6)
Saint John, N.B.: $1.28.1 (92.7 cents)
St. John's, NL.: $1.38.3 (95.9 cents)
Saskatoon: $1.29.8 (98.6 cents)
Thunder Bay: $1.32.8 ($101.8)
Toronto: $1.28.8 (97.9 cents)
Vancouver: $1.34
.1 (97.2 cents)
Victoria: $1.36.7 ($1.02.2)
Whitehorse: $1.37.9 ($1.15.1)
Winnipeg: $1.26.7 (99.2 cents)
Yellowknife: $144.7 ($1.17.1)
Canada Average: $1.32.6
(98.9 cents)
Source: MJ Ervin And Associates