'It's stressful': Cost of diesel rises by 10 cents a litre in Nova Scotia

The price of diesel shot up again in Nova Scotia on Wednesday, rising almost 10 cents a litre after the province’s Utility and Review Board invoked its interrupter clause.

In Halifax, the minimum price for diesel was $1.93 per litre.

“I’m trying to drive as little as possible,” said carpenter Josh Drexler.

It cost nearly $100 to fill up Drexler’s Volkswagen. He says he’s considering other options for commuting to jobs.

“I’m actually trying to come up with a business plan that would allow me to use an electric bicycle,” said Drexler. “That’s how far it’s kind of driven me.”

No matter the industry, everyone seems to be keeping their eye on oil prices.

“We’re watching it every day,” said Dennis Campbell, the CEO of Ambassatours Gray Line. “It’s obviously a concern. Especially after everything else we’ve all been through with COVID and then this is just one more thing.”

All Ambassatours vehicles – from Halifax's iconic Tall Ship Silva to the amphibious Harbour Hopper – run on diesel.

At this time, Campbell said they won’t be increasing fees for customers but they’ll monitor the situation.

“If fuel continues to rise we may have to incorporate a fuel surcharge,” he said.

Many in the trucking industry are also concerned, as the price of diesel is one of the biggest costs to carriers. When the price fluctuates multiple times a week, it can be an added stress for business owners.

“You can’t just turn around and recover those costs because you just don’t have time and our margins are so low,” said Jean-March Picard, the executive director of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is creating a lot of volatility in the global oil market and there’s concern there will soon be a shortage of diesel fuel in Europe unless something changes.

“Things are changing for customers and consumers and everybody else and we’re all going to feel it,” said Picard. “Everybody is going to have to absorb something at some point.”

Drexler says something has to change and it might have to be the way we depend on fossil fuels.

“I don’t know how people are doing it,” said Drexler. “It’s stressful.”