Gas prices expected to jump across Canada

Many Canadians can expect to see rising prices at pump starting Thursday night.

According to Dan McTeague, gas price expert and founder of the website Tomorrow's Gas Price Today, the cost of filling up is set to rise across the country, starting in Ontario.

McTeague told CTV News Channel that prices will increase in Ontario first, before the hike makes its way next week to Quebec.

He expects that drivers in the Maritimes will also get hit in the wallet when gasoline prices bump up there by Thursday or Friday.

Western Canada will not escape the increases either, as prices are expected to go up across the region on Sunday. McTeague also said that gasoline wholesale prices should jump by two to 2.5 cents.

While the news appears glum for drivers, McTeague says that, because of "volatility" in the market, prices likely won’t stay high.

"Everyone's going to get a bit of an increase, that’s the bad news, the good news might be … we might actually see a bit of a drawback (and) we might see a two-cents-a -litre decrease," McTeague said.

McTeague said that the shift from summer to winter, which affects the type of gasoline sold at the pumps, is a factor in the fluctuating prices.

"This … is due to the fact that’s there's conversion in North America, especially in Canada, from cheaper-to-make winter blended gasoline to more-expensive-to make summer blender gasoline,"McTeague said.

Overall, he added, prices have been high in comparison to slumping crude oil, because the gasoline market is more dependent on events in North America.

"Gasoline and oil are not the same markets -- they trade very differently," McTeague said.

"Gasoline tends to respond to things more domestically … we've seen a cold winter and a lot of shutdowns (and) labour disruptions in the United States," he added.