Metro Vancouver broke a record it didn’t want Saturday: gas prices reached an all-time high.
Many gas stations in the area were charging 163.9 cents per litre, which is nearly 40 cents higher than the national average, according to the Canadian Automobile Association.
“No major city across Canada has ever seen 163.9. So Vancouver, again, breaks yet another record,” Dan McTeague, a GasBuddy.com analyst, told CTV News.
The dramatic jump at the pump was impacted by a pipeline explosion near Price George on Oct. 9 that caused two Enbridge natural gas lines to go out of service.
McTeague said oil refineries in Canada and the U.S. use natural gas to produce gasoline and have had to cut down production.
He added drivers may see some relief once Enbridge gets the green light to re-pressurize the gas lines again.
“We could be back to $1.54 by this time next week if Enbridge gets the all clear,” he said.
He said the prices in Metro Vancouver are the highest in all of North America.
"It speaks to the volatile nature of production and supply and demand in the Pacific Northwest market."
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Michele Brunoro
