Gas in the GTA is going to get cheaper. Here’s when it’s the best time to fill up your tank

Canadians For Affordable Energy President Dan McTeague says the time of day that drivers decide to fill up their tanks ‘very much’ dictates the price you pay.

Gas prices are set to drop 10 cents per litre Thursday morning in the Greater Toronto Area, as the winter blend will be reintroduced at the pumps.

“At midnight tonight, the highest price to be paying here in the GTA and right across a bunch of Ontario will be $1.33.9,” Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, told CP24 in an interview on Wednesday.

The summer gasoline blend contains more alkylate, while the winter blend uses more butane, which is cheaper, resulting in lowered prices over the cooler months.

McTeague says while gas prices will dip by 10 cents at midnight, if drivers can hold off on refueling until Thursday evening, they’ll see even more savings.

“Gas stations only have control over the last 10 cents on a litre of gasoline,” he explains. “The rest is all determined by markets, the Canadian dollar, and taxes.”

“The gas station often starts in the morning, and it will do so tomorrow morning at $1.33.9 pretty much everywhere here across the GTA. By the afternoon, that could drop to about $1.30, $1.29. By late, after supper... you’re going to see gas prices eight cents below $1.33, so $1.25 at many stations throughout the GTA—doesn’t matter if you’re in Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville, Pickering, Oshawa.”

McTeague says he expects prices to remain low until at least April 15, when he says the summer gas blend will make its return to the pumps.