High gas prices hitting Atlantic Canada hard due to region's reliance on heating oil
People across Canada are feeling the financial pressure of surging gasoline prices, but residents of the Atlantic region are being particularly hard hit, in part, because of their heavy reliance on oil to heat their homes.
The four provinces with the highest percentages of fuel oil for residential heating in 2019 were all in Atlantic Canada, according to data from Nova Scotia's Finance and Treasury Board.
Fuel oil composed roughly four per cent of residential heating energy in 2019 across Canada, but that number jumped to almost 50 per cent in Prince Edward Island. About 36 per cent of residential heating energy in Nova Scotia was from fuel oil in 2019, while it was 22 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador and seven per cent in New Brunswick.
University of New Brunswick economics Prof. Constantine Passaris said he's concerned Atlantic Canadian energy consumers will have a difficult time adjusting to the high prices, which have risen sharply since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago.
"The whole economy of the Atlantic region is going to feel the bite of this because gasoline has become such an essential element and input into almost everything that we do and everything that we buy," he said in an interview Tuesday.
Those who will be hit hardest include people on fixed incomes and small business owners, he said, adding it may be some time before the region gets a reprieve from the "imported inflation" on fuel oil and gasoline. International market pressures outside of Canada's control, he said, mean consumers in the country are "at the mercy of those prices."
Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict in Ukraine and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a ban on Russian oil imports in retaliation for President Vladimir Putin's onslaught in Ukraine. Biden acknowledged that his decision would lead to even more expensive gasoline.
"Defending freedom is going to cost," he said.
Dave Hanhams, owner of Hanhams Gas & Convenience in Guysborough, N.S., said high gas prices have led to lineups outside his business over the past few weeks, but he said he thinks the worst is yet to come.
"People won't be able to go anywhere, or they won't be able to afford to go anywhere," Hanhams said in an interview Tuesday, adding that he hasn't seen such an extreme spike in prices in his 25 years as owner of the gas station.
In the Halifax area and across Prince Edward Island, prices for regular unleaded self-serve gas reached $1.88 per litre on Wednesday. In New Brunswick, prices hit $1.82 a litre and were at $1.91 a litre on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula.
Those prices are worrying Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, who said on Tuesday he hadn't decided yet what the government would do to help consumers. When asked whether he would consider temporarily cutting the provincial taxes on gasoline, he said his government was "looking at every option that's on the table."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2022.
With files from The Associated Press.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Israel presses forward on two fronts as fears of a wider war mount
Israel pressed forward on two fronts Wednesday, pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah and conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children.
B.C. man ordered to pay damages for defamatory Google review
A B.C. man has been ordered to pay a total of $4,000 to a Coquitlam company and its two owners because of a negative review he posted on Google.
Albertan first Canadian veteran to compete in Mrs. Universe pageant
In less than a year, an Alberta woman has gone from gracing the stage at her first pageant to competing at the Mrs. Universe pageant in South Korea. She's making history by becoming the first Canadian veteran to compete internationally.
Bloc leader says ultimatum stands after Liberals vote against motion seeking boost to seniors' benefits
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet says his ultimatum to the government stands, after the Liberals voted against a motion seeking money to boost seniors' benefits on Wednesday.
Northern Ont. trial begins with shocking details about murder scene
The jury at the trial of a second-degree murder suspect in Sudbury on Wednesday heard graphic details of the crime scene discovered in a Kathleen Street apartment on Boxing Day 2020.
Cop in hospital after being shot in midtown Toronto; shooter in custody
Three suspects are now in custody, including the person who police say shot and injured an officer during a robbery investigation in midtown Toronto on Wednesday afternoon.
Japan airport shut after likely Second World War-era bomb explodes near runway, 87 flights cancelled
A regional airport in southwest Japan was closed on Wednesday after a U.S. bombshell, likely dropped during the Second World War to stem "kamikaze" attacks, exploded near its runway, causing nearly 90 flight cancellations.
Scientists discover large cold-water soft coral garden in Newfoundland
A project team from Newfoundland's Marine Institute has uncovered a nearly 10,000-square-metre cold-water soft coral garden, hidden just underneath the surface of the province's Funk Island Deep.
Canadian figure skater suspended at least 6 years for 'sexual maltreatment'
Canadian figure skater Nikolaj Sorensen has been suspended for at least six years for 'sexual maltreatment,' the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner announced Wednesday.