TORONTO — An unwelcome update has reared its ugly head once again this week: the price of oil is on the rise. Since the United States and Israel began their military operation in Iran, the price of oil across the globe has been volatile. This week, the price for a barrel of brent crude was trading at more than US$100 for the first time in more than a month. This comes after Iran and the U.S. have each attacked oil facilities and ships near the Strait of Hormuz and across parts of the Middle East, threatening to further destabilize an already weakened supply chain. Though, according to En-Pro’s chief petroleum analyst Roger McKnight, the price of oil isn’t the only worry drivers and consumers should be concerned about — a global shortage of refined gas and diesel is the main culprit, driving up the price for Canadians at the pumps. “Prices of diesel are well north of two dollars a litre right now which is nuts, and the price of diesel is going to keep going up because of a lack of supply,” says McKnight. The supply shortfall is also, in part, being blamed on the bottleneck of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries in Russia, following President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion more than four years ago. “You can’t fix or build (oil refineries) overnight. They can take five to ten years to build,” says McKnight. While speaking to CTV National News, McKnight also highlighted the fact that the global shortage of refined gas and diesel is here to stay for the foreseeable future, as are painful prices at the pumps. “You can end the war in Iran tomorrow and open up the Strait of Hormuz, that’s the easy work. Ending the worldwide shortage of refined jet fuel, gas and diesel will be much more difficult to solve in short order,” he says. Changing consumer behaviour The latest rise in oil prices comes as Statistics Canada released its latest data on hybrid and electric vehicle registrations in Canada. The report reveals an eye-opening trend: new registrations of hybrid electric vehicles saw the largest increase in the second quarter of 2026 at 39.5 per cent compared with one year earlier, followed by battery electric vehicles (37.4 per cent) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (eight per cent). New registrations of gasoline and diesel vehicles, meanwhile, decreased by 7.3 per cent and 12.6 per cent, respectively, compared to a year ago. And while the market share of zero emission cars and trucks remains largely unchanged, automotive sales leaders say EVs are leading the charge towards a growing market trend. “We’ve always experienced some volatility at the pumps. This latest variation is obviously shocking to consumers in terms of the cost and that’s what drives consumers to change their behaviour,” Canadian Automobile Dealers Association spokesperson Huw Williams says. “The market drives their decisions as to how much is it going to cost my family for transportation. Many are looking at hybrid electric vehicles right now and figure they can make it work for their family.” However, even electric vehicle owners aren’t immune to the inflation that is expected to follow due to the refined diesel and gas shortage. “Imagine the cost to ship a cantaloupe from California right now,” says McKnight, who quickly checks his notes to share another sobering reality check. In January of this year, before the war in Iran began, it cost $630 to fill a transport truck at the pumps. Today, it now costs roughly $920, according to McKnight, who points out that consumers will be the ones footing the bill for the increased costs. “That’s one expensive cantaloupe,” says McKnight.
