The price of gas continues to go up in Canada and, in some regions, is breaking records.
The two-day average price at the pump per litre has gone up in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and P.E.I., according to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA).
The average price in Canada is $1.478 per litre, as listed on gas price tracker website GasBuddy.
Experts say geopolitical tensions are behind the recent increases, and that 2022 will see even higher costs.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have “the market on its edge as gasoline and crude product stocks are quite low,” said Al Salazar, vice-president of intelligence at energy analytics firm Enverus.
“Any type of outage would really send prices soaring if the geopolitical tensions boil over, which obviously ripples to gasoline. I don’t think anyone is immune to these price rises in gasoline.”
Russia supplies much oil and gas to the rest of the world — a supply that could be cut off if tensions escalate.
Analysts say energy markets are already looking at the tensions as a very serious risk, “and therefore prices are moving higher,” said Dan McTeague president of the advocacy group Canadians for Affordable Energy.
He said gas prices in the Toronto area hit record highs this week — passing the record of $1.499 per litre set on Nov. 4 of last year to hit almost $1.52 per litre.
In Quebec, the average price per litre is up 2.9 cents from last week, now sitting at about $1.546. Gassing up in Nova Scotia has also gone up compared to last week, from $1.45 to $1.467 a litre, on average.
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“We’re into new territory,” McTeague said.
“I think we’re marching to $1.65 for an average price of gasoline in Canada.”
While there are many factors that determine the price of retail gasoline, the price of oil is the biggest.
Oil prices took a huge hit in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as travel slowed to a crawl, factories closed and the world economy effectively went into hibernation.
As demand crept back, so did prices. After dipping below zero barely a year ago, crude prices are now back to their highest level in seven years.
Salazar says one reason why the price is going up now — in addition to geopolitical issues — is because, last year, crude and product inventories in the U.S. in particular were depleted.
Depleted inventories mean there are few shock absorbers to deal with any unexpected interruptions in output or stronger than anticipated growth in consumption.
“The less buffer you have in terms of inventories, that means that prices are higher,” he said.
And those higher costs come when consumers are also dealing with other strains on their wallets like higher food prices and an increase in natural gas costs.
But there is some slightly good news. Salazar says there may be a slight reprieve in gas prices in the next few months.
“We think the prices will subside and the fact that a little bit of a reprieve from where we are because certainly what we’re seeing right now is quite extraordinary,” he said.
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
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.
