Ontario takes rap for high pump prices

Blame Ontario for the latest spike in gasoline prices, say industry analysts.

Ontario’s recent gas shortage – sparked by a fire two weeks ago at the Imperial Oil refinery in Nanticoke – appears to be having a ripple effect across the country, said Andre Plourde, department of economics chair at the University of Alberta.

In Edmonton late yesterday afternoon the average price of unleaded gas peaked at 96.9 cents a litre, according to EdmontonGasPrices.com. That’s a 13-cent spike since mid-January.

“It (the shortage in Ontario) is cutting gasoline supply. It’s affecting market fundamentals for gasoline,” Plourde told the Sun.

Edmonton Sun