Canadian pump prices creep higher as Mideast fighting escalates

CALGARY — Fuel prices tend to ease off around this time of year, but one industry expert says drivers should expect no such relief this time.

The high-demand summer driving season winds down after Labour Day and refineries will soon switch to producing cheaper winter fuels.

But international crude oil prices have surged above US$100 a barrel as fighting once again escalates in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route out of the Persian Gulf.

Price-tracking website Gasbuddy.com says the national average for a litre of regular unleaded gasoline in Canada is almost $1.80, a more than three-cent jump from a day earlier.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gasbuddy, says pump prices could further creep up as high as $1.85 a litre in the next week or two.

He says diesel prices are also seeing a surge at a particularly bad time for farmers who are in the middle of their fall harvest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2026.