It has never cost more to gas up in Red Deer than now.
When gas prices leapt from 134.9 to 146.9 cents per litre at most stations earlier this week, the city blew past the previous record high of 138.8 set last October. Gas now is 83 cents per litre more than drivers were paying at one point in 2016 when oil prices were in free fall.
Analysts predict prices will continue to rise as world oil prices soar, demand increases as the pandemic begins to wane and taxes increase. This April, the carbon tax goes up again to 11 cents per litre from 8.84 cents per litre.
Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine are also driving up oil prices.
Jim Clement was gassing up his pickup in Red Deer on Thursday morning and could only shake his head as the total crept up.
“$150 to fill a truck. As a business owner, it’s difficult to get ahead when you’re constantly paying out.”
For Clement, who owns Sky High Exteriors, gasoline is a significant business expense.
On a recent job in Stettler he had two trucks going back and forth over seven days and racked up $1,000 in fuel bills — and that was before the last price increase.
What also frustrates Clement is that in a resource-rich country like Canada and province like Alberta, high oil prices should have more of a noticeable up side. Canada, led by the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is failing to take advantage of its resources to boost the economy.
“We produce so much fuel, so much energy, yet we can’t get it to our own people. We’re importing oil from Saudi Arabia.”
Canada needs to boost its own refining capacity so that all Canadians can benefit from good oil markets, he said.
Travis Roth is equally frustrated that Alberta does not seem to be reaping the rewards that should come from higher prices.
“The price of oil has gone up. If it has, why isn’t Alberta screaming busy?”
Roth owns a Red Deer-area property maintenance company and fuel is a significant expense. When prices leap 12 cents overnight, he can’t suddenly jack his prices in response because bids have already been accepted and contracts signed.
“You can’t pass (the increase) on to customers. Not that fast, no sir.”
In the current economy, many businesses have had to shave their profit margins to land contracts and keep their employees working. Owners do all they can to keep prices low and remain competitive but eventually those costs will have to be passed on if prices stay high.
“You hope the customers understand.”
Soaring fuel costs are not going to make it easier to turn around the economy and put more people back to work, he said.
He has 250 resumes on his desk from qualified applicants, an indication of how tight the job market is.
“A bump like this in fuel prices isn’t going to make it better.”
Elsewhere in Canada, gas prices are even higher. Regular gasoline was at 172.6 cents per litre in Vancouver on Friday 154.4 in the Toronto area and 172.9 in St. John’s, Nfld.