Metro Vancouver gas prices climb, with potential relief expected within days

Drivers are being hit hard at the pump, with gas prices hitting $2.309 a litre in Metro Vancouver Wednesday.

Drivers across Metro Vancouver are feeling renewed pressure at the pump as gas prices climb again—though some relief could be on the horizon within days, according to industry experts.

Prices in the Lower Mainland have risen steadily over the past week, with many stations posting rates around 229.9 to 230.9 cents per litre, said Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.

“We’ve seen a steady increase over the past week of about seven or eight cents a litre,” McTeague said.

The rising costs are prompting some drivers to change their habits, including cutting back on travel or timing fill-ups strategically to avoid peak prices.

Experts say global factors—specifically the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the on-again, off-again closure of the Strait of Hormuz—are playing a major role in pushing prices higher. McTeague said a significant drop in global supply—combined with steady demand—is contributing to increased costs that are being felt across Canada.

“We’re looking at about a 20 per cent drop in global supplies. Demand has not dropped 20 per cent, so clearly the first shoe to drop is higher prices,” he said. “That’s why we’re seeing it here in Vancouver and right across the country.”

Metro Vancouver drivers may be especially vulnerable to those global fluctuations due to higher fuel taxes compared to other jurisdictions in North America, McTeague added.

Despite the recent spike, some relief may be imminent.

McTeague predicts prices could begin to fall as early as Thursday, with a projected drop of about six cents per litre, followed by a further seven-cent decrease on Friday.

“All in all, prices should taper off about 13 cents a litre by the stroke of midnight Thursday night into Friday morning,” he said.