With gas prices reaching record highs, some Canadians say they are adjusting their budgets and cutting spending elsewhere, such as on groceries or travel plans, to offset rising costs at the pumps.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has pushed gas prices to record levels as countries impose sanctions on Russian oil. The average gas price in Canada climbed to $1.87 per litre on Thursday, up from $1.66 per litre last week, according to the gas price tracking website GasBuddy.com.
While prices dropped Friday by up to 15 cents per litre in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal and Vancouver, some experts warn it could be a while before Canadians see any sustained relief at the pumps.
With these rising costs, Canadians are looking to cut corners in order to save a buck, whether it be taking a walk or bike ride instead of a drive for errands, or keeping trips to a minimum altogether.
CTVNews.ca asked Canadians to share how increased gas prices are impacting them and their wallets. The responses were emailed to CTVNews.ca and have not all been independently verified.
Among the responses from people across the country, many expressed concerns about being able to afford groceries or be able to get to work amid rising gas costs.
James Sabean, who works as information technology technician, said he commutes 45 minutes to his job in Windsor, Ont., but started driving at a speed of 90 km/h on the highway when gas prices spiked to save on fuel consumption.
In addition, Sabean said he will walk more to get his groceries and run errands, rather than taking his car.
“When I get home from work, I try not to go out in my car unless it’s necessary,” he said.
Thomas Bateman, of Penobsquis, N.B., said he can no longer afford to drive to work and has been staying at his brother’s house which is closer to his job, while Frank Berard, who is in Alberta, said his family now crams all their errands into one weekly trip so they are not taking the car out multiple times a week.
Stephanie D’Aloisio, who lives in Toronto, said the rise in gas prices has her looking into selling her large SUV and buying a smaller vehicle, which would help her family save approximately $1,000 to $1,500 a year, she says. While she would like to switch to an electric or hybrid vehicle, she said they aren’t affordable for her family at this time.
“As much as we cut in other areas and limit our driving, it’s not enough to keep up with the rise in the cost of living,” D’Aloisio.
According to data from Statistics Canada, the price of gas in Toronto cost about $1.24 per litre in March 2021, which is roughly 50 cents less per litre than average prices in the city during the same month this year.
Kent Brown, who lives in Winnipeg, said he and his fiancée have had to add an extra $50 each to their monthly budget for gas to accommodate the rising prices.
Brown said they have three children, all in different schools, so limiting their driving is not an option.
“The amount of driving each day for our family just cannot be reduced and therefore, our cost can only go up with the prices which is now cutting in to our already extremely tight budget,” Brown said.
For Winnipeg, StatCan data shows the price of gas has increased between 50 and 60 cents per litre since this time last year.
LIMITING SOCIAL OUTINGS
Ian Howard, who lives in southern Ontario, said he walks to work now instead of driving when he can, to help alleviate the pain he’s feeling at the pumps.
If gas prices remain high for an extended period of time, Howard said his family will likely have to start limiting social outings in their vehicle.
“While some of us have the luxury of public transit, not every community does and having a car then becomes essential,” Howard said.
While he acknowledges that his current financial situation will help him “weather the storm,” Howard said not all other Canadians are in the same position.
“There are lots of Canadians in the low to middle class that will feel this hit each time,” he said.
As a senior on fixed income, Louise Allison says she has no means to gain extra income to cover the elevated prices of gas, and other expenses.
Allison, who lives in Okotoks, Alta., said one of the few activities seniors in the province could safely do during the pandemic was “go for a drive out into countryside and enjoy the beautiful scenery in our part of Alberta.”
Now, she says, rising gas prices have taken that away.
“We do not have the option of walking or biking,” Allison said. “The inflated prices at the gas pumps are hitting everyone and greatly restricting our mobility.”
She urged governments to step in and help those drivers and consumers facing high energy prices before the rising cost of living takes a mental toll on Canadians.
“The effects of this increase in the price of gas will have a huge impact on our social lives, not to mention our emotional and mental health, which in turn then will affect our physical health,” she said.
Brian Thiffault, who lives outside the northern city limits of Calgary, told CTVNews.ca his family stays home during most of their free time now due to rising gas prices.
“We live by Cross Iron Mills Mall and almost any trip is at least an hour round trip. So we can’t really go anywhere for the foreseeable future together as a family,” Thiffault said.
Thiffault said the pinch at the pumps comes as families are already struggling to deal with rising food costs and unaffordable housing. He added that the expenses have started taking a toll on his family’s well-being.
“[It’s] not only affecting us financially, but mentally and emotionally as well,” Thiffault said. “We work so hard just to get by. But now, everything is weighing on us and with this last financial knockout with gas, I really don’t know what we are going to do in the near future.”
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
