CALGARY — The Canadian average gasoline price has risen above $1.16 per litre ahead of the Labour Day long weekend amid reports of shortages due to extensive flooding in Texas and other states along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Gasbuddy.com says that's up eight cents since hurricane Harvey hit last Friday and nine cents compared to the average price per litre last month.
The site's sources say prices in Quebec and British Columbia jumped by several cents per litre since Thursday, when their provincial averages were just below $1.20 per litre.
The site reports drivers in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, northeastern Ontario, Newfoundland and in the Montreal area are paying upwards of that amount.
Canadian gasoline prices vary substantially by region and city, with Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and most of the Atlantic provinces below the national average.
But most Canadian markets have seen gasoline prices rise several cents per litre over the past week, which has seen refinery and pipeline shutdowns in the U.S. Gulf Coast region due to storm-related flooding.
At least two major pipelines — one that ships gasoline across the southern United States to New York, and another that flows north to Chicago — have been slowed or stopped since hurricane Harvey struck the Gulf region.
