The lowdown on fueling up this summer

News
Published on July 30, 2021

The media has reported gas shortages in some parts of Quebec in recent weeks. What’s going on?

First of all, you can rest assured that there is no lack of gas in Quebec right now. Yes, some gas service stations have had some difficulties with their supply chains recently. Why? Gas stations had spaced out their gas deliveries during the long months of lockdown, since less people driving meant less demand.

But now that things are opening back up and the North American travel season is underway (from late May to early September), it’s a whole different situation—and the industry is still adjusting. Some cited a shortage of truck drivers to explain the supply chain challenges, but more than anything what we’re seeing is a resurgence of demand.

It’s a fact: the vast majority of Quebecers are vacationing within the province this summer and interregional travel is very popular. Planning to get out of town yourself? Don’t wait until you’re on empty to stop for gas, just in case the first station you stop at is out. You can use a tool like the TripTik Travel Planner to locate service stations along your route.

Why the price of gas is higher this summer

The price at the pump is definitely higher this year compared to the beginning of summer 2020 (a little more than 24% higher, to be precise). While the average price of a litre of regular in Quebec was 106.7 cents/litre in late June 2020, this year it was 132.7 cents/litre at the same time.

The price of crude oil and the price of refined gas this year are worlds away from what they were in June 2020. Remember, in addition to taxes, those are the two main factors in the price you see at the pump. Crude oil and refined gas are traded on exchanges and their market price is heavily influenced by supply and demand.

It’s no surprise, then, that the price of gas is higher today than at the same time last year, when people were driving a lot less due to lockdown and supply was high.

To find out more about the price of gas, check out our Gasoline Watch tool.