With gas prices hovering around $2 a liter or more across most of the country, seven in ten Canadians (69 per cent) expressed concern that they would no longer be able to pay for their gas, according to a survey Ipsos made public on Tuesday.
This fear is even more pronounced among households with children (80%) and among 18-34 year olds (77%). Across the country, people in the Atlantic provinces (57%), British Columbia (53%) and Alberta (53%) say they can’t fill their car completely with the prices current. This reality is a little less present in Quebec (48%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (42%).
“There are a lot of concerns about the affordability of gasoline,” Gregory Jack, vice president of public affairs at Ipsos Canada, said in an interview with Global News.
Gasoline price analyst Patrick De Hann told Global that he thinks gas prices could continue to climb to $2.50, given the right circumstances. In particular, a disruption in oil production following a major hurricane like Harvey or Ida, which swept through the Gulf of Mexico in 2017 and 2021, would pose a major risk to gasoline prices this summer.
“Having said that, I would expect some relief, if we could escape hurricane season without a major storm,” he said.
The analyst mentioned that prices often peak in July, only to decline starting in August.