Metro Vancouver gas prices rise – again

Just in time for the weekend, Metro Vancouver gas prices have spiked once again. They jumped as much as eight cents at many stations, bringing the price up to $2.06 per litre Friday.

The war in Ukraine continues to get part of the blame for the surge in price. Drivers in Metro Vancouver also pay some of the highest taxes on fuel in the country.

Earlier in April, people across Metro Vancouver were in sticker shock when they tipped over the $2-per-litre mark. Analysis from GasBuddy showed prices in Vancouver on April 17 were almost 50 cents per litre higher than the same day one year before.

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Inflation and supply and demand have also been factors in high gas prices in recent weeks. Lindsay Meredith with SFU’s Beedie School of Business has said fuel production is a big problem.

“Until you get either a major, major break in increase in the amount of oil produced, you’re not going to see any decrease in the pressure to keep moving those prices up and that means those Vancouver drivers, regrettably, are probably going to continue to suffer,” he said on April 18.

Meredith also said he believed prices could go even higher this summer.

“What we will very likely see would be spikes that would go up to $2.10 or maybe, God forbid, up to $2.15, but that would be right over the very peak driving times, long holiday weekends in the summer — things of that sort.”

B.C. Premier John Horgan announced in March a one-time rebate of $110 to help provide some relief, though the move has been criticized by many who have questioned why the B.C. government didn’t opt to tackle taxes instead like some other provinces have done.