Ride-share drivers in Canada feel the sting at pump amid conflicts in Middle East

A gas station north of Newcastle, Ont. display it's gasoline per litre prices as a customer finishes pumping gas on Wednesday, April 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives

VANCOUVER — Riding-share drivers across Canada say the surging gas prices at the pump, tied to the escalating conflicts in the Middle East, are the final straw for them.

As the war in Iran, led by the U.S. and Israel, enters its second week, thousands of kilometres away from the tensions in Surrey, B.C., Kuljeet Singh is feeling the sting as he sees gas prices surge to $1.70 per litre, a huge increase compared to about $1.10 per litre six years ago.

Prices have risen sharply just over the past week, and that increase is making it even more difficult to make a living behind the wheel.

The GasBuddy website shows the average regular gas price in B.C. is about $1.72 per litre, while the price in Ontario is averaging just under $1.50 per litre.

Singh says the surging gas prices are putting more strain on Canadian gig economy workers, forcing them to work more to get by. He says he is working than 70 hours per week to make a living.

Singh says his earnings have already been stretched by ride-share platforms’ commissions, vehicle maintenance and insurance fees, and now the rising gas prices are leaving him stretched.

Singh says he has no idea how to cope with the rising prices, but one thing is certain — he has to work seven days behind the wheel to survive.

The conflict in the Middle East has left ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Gulf that is bordered on its north side by Iran.

The shipping disruption to key Middle East oil and gas facilities has interrupted supplies from some of the world’s largest oil producers. Kuwait said on Saturday that it would reduce its oil production as a “precautionary” measure due to the war, which could jolt global energy markets even further.

With files from The Associated Press