Montreal motorists are grappling with some of the steepest fuel costs in the province, with prices on Sunday climbing toward 187.9 cents a litre, well above levels reported earlier in the week.
According to Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy (CAE), gas prices in Montreal were hovering between $1.75 and $1.77 per litre earlier in the week — higher than in many smaller Quebec cities, where lower provincial taxes and local competition help keep prices below Montreal levels.
Experts point to a combination of global market pressures, local taxes, and operational costs at gas stations as the reason Montreal residents are paying more.
“Unfortunately for people, gas prices are not really decided in Quebec,” said Nicolas Ryan, director of public affairs at CAA‑Québec. “We’re currently seeing a situation where we have a geopolitical situation, and the impact is felt everywhere in the world.”
Ryan emphasized that while gas stations are making a profit, current margins are not unusually high. “Stations, whether it’s in Montreal or elsewhere in Quebec, they’re not taking a huge margin out of the pocket of people. The costs they’re paying currently themselves to buy that litre of a gas before selling it to a consumer, they’re not taking a huge margin out of the pocket,” he said.
McTeague said that part of the reason Montreal’s gas prices tend to be higher is due to local levies not applied in other regions. He pointed out that Montreal drivers pay an additional roughly three cents per litre for public transit, a charge not seen in many smaller cities and towns across Quebec.
He also cited higher operating costs at urban gas stations — including staff wages, electricity and fees associated with credit card transactions — as factors that can help push regional prices upward.
McTeague highlighted that recent increases in wholesale and diesel prices are being passed through to consumers, and that higher energy costs extend well beyond motorists.
“The price of diesel has risen, well, by Sunday, almost 57 cents a litre,” McTeague said. “That kind of a 20 to 25 per cent increase in the price of a commodity that’s used for jet fuel, that’s used for our transport system, that is used for home heating fuel — it makes its way throughout the economy.”
“Our farmers use it, our miners use it, our forestry industry uses it… Most major trucks that transport goods and process what we take for granted in this country use diesel,” he added. “It is truly the global workhorse.”
McTeague said that even stations trying to keep prices low are likely to raise them, because selling fuel below cost is not sustainable.
“I would expect you’re going to see a pretty significant jump at all stations,” he said, “including the ones that pretend that they can remain competitive when their cost, their base cost, is rising so dramatically in such a sharp period of time.”
Montreal drivers say the rising gas prices are hitting their wallets hard, and frustration is clear at the pumps. Many point to global tensions as a key factor behind the spike.
“I think the gas prices here are so high. I think it’s because of what’s been going on with the US and Iran… And I think that’s affecting what’s been going on here and it’s having kind of like a worldwide effect,” said one man.
He added the the sharp increases are already forcing adjustments in his daily routine and budget.
“As a student at McGill, it’s going to make it hard to be able to budget towards having to go pump gas for my car because my car is a lot bigger. So it’s going to be a lot more difficult trying to go and make the time to go and pump gas. Making it that the prices is 187 now. So who knows, next week it might go up.”
Other drivers said the surge in prices is making even small errands more expensive.
“It is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. And I’m putting in less so get less gas, pay more. Sucks, like a lot,” said one Montrealer.
Another Montrealer commented on the increase in price.
“I actually saw a big increase. I’m just feeling for my stepmom and yeah, the 91 is like 30 cents over. So I guess there’s some geopolitical relations,” said another man.
“I don’t have a car. So I just use a car like a few times a month. But I imagine it can be pretty bad for some people,” he added.
With fuel costs continuing to bite, Nicolas Ryan of CAA‑Québec offered practical tips for drivers looking to reduce consumption. He noted that on highways, keeping speeds at the legal limit of 100 km/h rather than driving 20 km/h faster can cut fuel use by roughly 20 per cent. In the city, he said avoiding the use of air conditioning and rolling down windows at low speeds can also reduce fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent.
While Montreal’s prices are high compared with many parts of Quebec, McTeague noted they remain slightly lower than in some parts of western Canada.
“They’re paying in Vancouver where the price there ranges from $1.85 to $1.90,” he said.
Despite that, McTeague said drivers across the country are watching fuel costs closely.
“As a result of this, people have good reason to be concerned,” he said, “because it’s how much money is going to be coming out of their wallet next month.”
