Canadians hit with all-time record gas prices ahead of Thanksgiving long weekend

Federal government data shows the average national retail price for regular gasoline in Canada hit $1.45 per litre this week.

Gasoline prices shattered all-time records in many parts of the country this week, just in time for Canadians to hit the highway for the Thanksgiving long weekend.

Data from Natural Resources Canada, which tracks fuel prices across the country, shows the average weighted national retail price for regular gasoline in Canada hit $1.45 per litre this week. That’s up more than 40 cents year-over-year and the highest weekly average price on record, according to fuel price consultancy firm Kalibrate, which has data all the way back to 2007.

“This we haven’t seen in history, to be honest,” said Vijay Muralidharan, Calgary-based director of consulting with Kalibrate, formerly Kent Group Ltd. “As far as I can remember, we haven’t seen these prices.”

The price consumers pay at the pump varies by region, depending on local market conditions and regional taxes. In Vancouver, for example, gasoline prices were higher this summer than they are now, hitting an eye-watering $1.73 per litre on Canada Day.

But the price gains occurring now are unprecedented in their scope, with drivers in parts of Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland, and the Greater Toronto Area all seeing record-high prices this week, according to the fuel price tracking website GasBuddy.com.

Some markets have even seen double-digit week-over-week price increases. Drivers in the Manitoba cities of Brandon and Winnipeg, for example, saw the price at the pump go up by more than 11 cents per litre in the last week alone, according to Natural Resources Canada data.

In Edmonton on Wednesday, many drivers were shocked to wake up to prices as high as $1.41 per litre.

“Crazy. Ridiculous,” Edmontonian Ron Smith said.