They’ve been increasing since late last year, Statistics Canada data shows, and a significant drop might not come for a while, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.com.
“We are at all-time record highs across Canada in many areas,” he told Global News.
2:01 Fuel costs may keep summer plans close to home
Fuel costs may keep summer plans close to home
“Unfortunately, we continue to set new records almost every day as we make the transition to summer gasoline across Canada, and as we see oil prices continue to go up as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and escalations in that situation.”
At this time last year, the average price in Canada for regular fuel was $1.31 a litre, Statistics Canada data shows. The average price of regular gas in Canada on Friday was $1.86 a litre, De Haan said.
Statistics Canada data from December 2021 to March of this year show the average rise in regular gasoline prices in Canada.
Global News graphic
Gas prices began to increase in Canada starting in December, when the average price for regular fuel was $1.40 a litre, according to Statistics Canada. In March, one month into Russia’s Ukraine war, the average price for regular gas was $1.75 a litre, up from $1.56 a litre in February. Average prices for April are not yet available.
Of course, the price for regular gas varies across the country. In British Columbia on Friday, the average price of regular gas was $2.02 per litre, Gasbuddy.com said. On Wednesday in Metro Vancouver, the price at the pumps read $2.11 a litre.
Newfoundland saw the highest prices at the pumps on Friday with the average being $2.06 a litre, Gasbuddy.com said. Alberta had the cheapest fuel at $1.60 per litre.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed driving habits when lockdowns forced residents to stay home and commute less, De Haan said. Oil producers cut production early on in the pandemic to meet low demand, but have had trouble keeping up as demand increased, he added.
That, on top of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the West’s economic response to it, has driven gas prices sky high, De Haan said.
“The challenge is that there’s been a growing imbalance between supply and demand, and that imbalance widened even more substantially after Russia’s war in Ukraine,” he said.
1:55 GTA gas prices hit just under $1.95 per litre
GTA gas prices hit just under $1.95 per litre
Russia, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, launched a military invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 that has rocked global economies.
On Feb. 28, Canada said it would block all imports of Russian oil despite not having purchased any since 2019, the government said.
On March 8, the United States banned all imports of Russia’s oil, but announced it would help release millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves. The move was aimed to help lower the prices at the pumps, they said, but also help nations dependent on Russian oil to move away from their products.
2:11 Biden authorizes release of 1M barrels of oil per day from US strategic reserve to tame gas prices
Biden authorizes release of 1M barrels of oil per day from US strategic reserve to tame gas prices – Mar 31, 2022
Many of those nations are in the European Union, which until now has resisted introducing a ban on Russian oil. But with the war showing no signs of slowing down, and the brutality reportedly getting worse, the EU proposed a ban on Russian oil this week with incentives for member nations who can’t dump the product straight away.
“As long as those sanctions are in place that can impair Russia’s ability to sell oil, we’re going to have an imbalance in supply and demand in the global market,” De Haan said.
“I really don’t think we’re going to see improvement for quite some time, and I would tie it to a resolution between Russia and Ukraine.”
Motorists fuel up vehicles at a Shell gas station in Vancouver, on March 8.
Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press file photo
With oil being a global commodity, Canada is at the mercy of world events, said Ian Jack, vice president of public affairs at CAA.
Oil producers are also set to switch to summer blends of gas, which costs more to produce than the winter blends currently on the market, Jack said.
For immediate relief, governments can likely reduce taxes on gas products, but the savings may not be much, given prices are so high, he added.
“There’s no way governments can magically return the price to where it was,” Jack told Global News.
“If you think about the price of gas being well under a dollar a litre … the government take (on taxes) could be reduced, could help a bit, but you’re not you’re not going to return those prices.”
Cutting taxes could also backfire and lead to more demand, De Haan said.
“Really, the only improvement is going to touch on one of those, either increasing supply, which appears impossible given the constraints of refineries and given the global market for oil, or reduce demand or reduce taxes,” he said.
“Reducing demand is very difficult. … You can’t ask people to stay home, so there’s not a whole lot government can do to decrease demand other than to allow the high prices to start causing demand destruction. So that and like I said, they can alleviate taxes temporarily, but that could make the problem worse as well by driving demand up.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
