How the conflict in Iran is impacting gas prices in Winnipeg, Canada

A man pumps gas on March 4, 2022. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Conflict in the Middle East is leading to Canadians spending more at the pumps, according to an industry expert.

The United States and Israel began missile strikes on Iran Saturday, which led to the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Since then, tensions have escalated with retaliatory action.

As a byproduct of this conflict, world oil prices are expected to climb and people will be paying more to fill up their vehicles.

Matt McClain with Gasbuddy.com said prices have already climbed five to 15 cents per litre across Canada.

“If it hasn’t already started, it will be starting later today, and most stations will have already wrapped up raising their prices by no later than Wednesday midday,” said McClain.

He said one of the main issues right now is Iran has indicated it is closing the Strait of Hormuz. It connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is the only way to get to the ocean from the Persian Gulf.

“We’re also receiving reports that maybe a triple-digit amount of tankers have dropped anchor on either end of the Strait of Hormuz,” said McClain. “That’s 20 per cent of the world oil supply that goes through the Strait. And that comes at a price. It becomes a problem if the oil isn’t still moving through there and getting to the necessary locations that oil was supposed to be going toward.”

While that is a large portion of the world’s oil supply, McClain notes North America isn’t going to face any kind of shortage.

“We’re not going to run into supply issues here, gasoline or oil, but we are going to be impacted because of the global oil price.”

When asked how high prices could climb, McClain said that isn’t something he is able to predict because there are so many variables to this conflict.

From the number of days this fight lasts to what decisions are made in the White House, this could unfold in a number of ways, he noted.

“So I’m saying this because there are too many scenarios out there that could potentially rattle and impact oil prices, even from an infrastructure standpoint from neighbouring countries around Iran that obviously also produce a gargantuan amount of oil for the globe. So we don’t know, until basically the smoke clears, exactly what could transpire in the coming days.”

- With files from CTV News’ Maralee Caruso and Spencer Van Dyk