Nearly 7 in 10 drivers worry they can’t afford gas as prices soar, poll finds

Surging gas prices have some 69 per cent of Canadians worried they won't be able to afford the cost of filling up, pushing some to drive less or consider a more efficient option.

A vast majority of drivers say they’re worried they won’t be able to afford the cost to fill up at the pumps this summer as record gas prices continue to climb, according to the results of a recent survey.

As the average price for regular gasoline topped the $2-per-litre mark earlier this month, 69 per cent of Canadian respondents to an Ipsos Poll conducted exclusively for Global News said they were concerned they might not be able to afford gas.

Those fears were even more widespread among households with kids (80 per cent) and younger generations aged 18-34 (77 per cent) and 35-54 (74 per cent).

“There’s a great deal of concern about the affordability of gas,” said Gregory Jack, Ipsos Canada’s vice-president of public affairs, in an interview with Global News.

“The worry is especially true across the country and especially with people who have kids.”

Some 75 per cent of Canadians say they’re driving less in order to save on costs at the pump. Half of Canadians surveyed also said that when they do pull into the pumps, they can’t afford to fill their entire tank.

Most market watchers have pointed to the war in Ukraine and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic as disrupting gas supply and driving up prices for months.

While those pains persist, GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan says the beginning of the summer travel season — the first without pandemic restrictions inhibiting travel for many — is putting renewed demand on the barrels of oil that are making it to market.