Gas prices in Metro Vancouver could hit $2.30/L by mid-April

Filling the tank is already putting a major squeeze on drivers’ finances in Metro Vancouver, and now experts are warning that gas prices could climb as high as $2.30 per litre by mid-April.

Economist and professor Werner Antweiler with the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business believes prices could move within the $2.20 to $2.30 per litre range within a couple of weeks.

“On the demand side, we see the driving season arriving and that means in the summer we see somewhat higher prices than we see in other seasons of the year,” Antweiler said Friday. “And on the supply side, the cost of crude oil has been inching up ever so slightly over the last couple of weeks.”

While a lot of the factors that go into gas prices are beyond government control, the carbon tax is an exception. That tax just increased on April 1, sparking calls for both the province and Ottawa to offer some kind of break.

“Taxpayers need relief right now,” said Carson Binda with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Especially when it comes to the costs of essentials like gasoline and diesel fuel. Where we are in Metro Vancouver, folks are paying 81 cents per litre in taxes for gasoline. That’s a huge chunk of change for normal families who are just scraping by.”

Binda arrives at his 81-cent-per-litre figure by tallying up the various taxes imposed by governments on consumers, then adding the charge fuel suppliers must pay to government.

If there is one bit of good news to hang on to, it’s Burnaby’s Parkland Refinery coming back online – which experts say should help re-stock inventories.