This sounds counter-intuitive, but experts say if you need gas, wait until tomorrow when the price is expected to dip ahead of the long weekend.
It jumped 20 cents for a litre of regular gas in North Bay yesterday to reach around $2.20.
The cost of gas smashed the two dollar mark locally earlier this month.
See: Gas price breaks two bucks a litre barrier in North Bay
The average price of gas in Ontario is now at 206.3 cents per litre. That's up 12.2 cents from last week.
Prices are up almost 80 cents over last year's average price.
There is some hope, however. Experts say province-wide gas prices are expected to drop in the next 48 hours ahead of the long weekend, perhaps as much as 10 cents a litre.
In April, the Ford government announced legislation to temporarily reduce gas and fuel taxes in Ontario.
From July 1 to Dec. 31, the gas tax is being cut by 5.7 cents. During that six-month period, the gas tax will be 9 cents a litre.
In a news release today, the PC party said it will provide "significant relief at the pumps by cutting the gas tax by another 5.7 cents per litre for six months" beginning July 1.
"Anyone who understands northern Ontario knows that cars are not a luxury, they are a necessity to get around," said Vic Fedeli, Ontario PC candidate for Nipissing. "Andrea Horwath and the NDP want to make life even more expensive for northern drivers by hiking gas taxes. Only Doug Ford and the Ontario PCs have a real plan to keep costs down for northern drivers by reducing the cost of fuel and gas."
As part of the Ontario PCs plan to keep costs down for families and businesses, the gas tax will be temporarily reduced from 14.7 cents per litre to 9 cents per litre, representing a cut of 5.7 cents per litre. The fuel tax rate, which includes diesel, is being temporarily reduced from 14.3 cents per litre to 9 cents per litre, representing a cut of 5.3 cents per litre.
Combined with the 4.3 cent per litre cut from when the PC government scrapped the Wynne-Del Duca cap and trade carbon tax, a re-elected PC government is reducing taxes and charges on gas by 10 cents per litre," says the release.
"Andrea Horwath and the NDP want to continue jacking up the price of gasoline with even higher cap-and-trade carbon taxes that take money out of northerners’ pockets," added Fedeli. "Not only will the NDP’s policies make gas more expensive, high-ranking NDP members have campaigned on increasing gas prices by another 35 cents per litre on top of the current cost. When it comes to new taxes and increased gas costs, Andrea Horwath and the NDP can’t be trusted."
Meanwhile, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation hosted its 24th annual Gas Tax Honesty Day to shine a light on all the hidden taxes Canadians pay every time they fuel up.
“Politicians’ hidden taxes are making soaring gas prices even more painful,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the CTF. “Federal and provincial politicians could provide significant relief right now by cutting the big tax bill Canadians pay at the pumps.”
The CTF’s 2022 Gas Tax Honesty Report shows that taxes make up 38 per cent of the pump price. In Ontario, taxes cost 56 cents per litre of gasoline, on average. The provincial portion of the gas tax is set to temporarily go down on July 1 for a period of six months.
Had Ontario Premier Doug Ford reduced the gas tax immediately when he announced his intention to do so in early April, Ontario families would have saved, on average, $52.30 thus far, says a release.
“With gas prices soaring, taxpayers needed relief weeks ago,” said Jay Goldberg, Ontario Director with the CTF. “The Ford government’s delay in implementing its six-month gas tax cut until after the election is costing Ontario families at the pumps. Ford’s gas tax cut is good policy, but families are being hurt by political delays.”
While Ford is promising to honour his tax relief legislation set to kick in on July 1, opposition parties are divided. NDP leader Andrea Horwath is pledging to repeal the legislation and gas tax cut, while Liberal leader Steven Del Duca has been non-committal.
“Opposition party leaders need to be clear where they stand on the gas tax cut,” said Goldberg. “Ontarians deserve to know whether other parties will rob them of gas tax relief if they form government. With sky-high prices, Ontarians badly need a break at the pumps.”
The CTF’s Gas Tax Honesty Report can be found here.
