Long weekend gas prices: What to expect at the pumps after summer dip
Canadians filling up their tanks ahead of the long weekend can expect to see reduced gas prices — a trend that has continued for much of the summer, experts say.
Nationally, the average price for regular unleaded gas stood at $1.56 per litre on Thursday, according to fuel price tracking website GasBuddy.com.
As of 1 p.m. eastern Thursday, prices were down by two cents a litre from last week, 8.4 cents compared with last month’s average and 13 cents lower from a year ago.
National gas prices will likely continue to decline through the Labour Day weekend, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“We’ve seen a lot of downward pressure on prices as we approach the Labour Day long weekend. And that’s a trend that could continue through much of the fall,” he said in an interview with Global News.
Fewer oil refinery snags have contributed to relatively lower prices for gas and oil this summer, De Haan explained. The economic slowdown has also caused gasoline demand to become softer, pulling prices down.
Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy and a former Liberal MP, said after the summer dip, he’s not expecting much change this long weekend.
“That’s been the story this summer,” he said in an email to Global News.
“Prices remained depressed relative to previous summers as energy markets are more interested in global economic sentiment and emotion rather than fundamentals which continue to show robust demand and dwindling supply.”
Diesel prices in Canada have also decreased to the lowest national level since early 2022, currently averaging $1.67 per litre, De Haan said.
For those filling up their tanks, here is where prices stood in different parts of the country, as of 1 p.m. eastern on
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