This is how much gas costs right now in different parts of Ontario

Following days of record-breaking gas prices across Ontario, one energy expert says that drivers should buckle up as the cost to fill up the tank could climb even higher in the coming weeks.

“This is just really the calm before the storm,” Canadians for Affordable Energy President Dan McTeague told CP24 Monday morning. “I think we’re heading for US$150 for a barrel of oil, and that would mean gasoline prices will easily surge to $2 a litre probably in the next few weeks.”

McTeague credited the spike to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which reached its 12th day on Monday, and saw the price at the pumps jump 11 cents to a record $1.85/litre overnight.

Since last Wednesday, the cost of gas in Ontario has jumped 24 cents per litre.

So how much will it cost you to fill up your vehicle right now in different parts of Ontario?

According to Gasbuddy.com, in Toronto and much of the GTA, a litre will cost you anywhere from $1.79 on the low end to $1.84 on the high end.

In Ottawa, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything cheaper than $1.80 per litre, while other gas stations are charging as much as $1.92/litre at time of writing.

In some parts of Windsor, a litre is going for $1.71, while other areas in the city are charging closer to $1.83 a litre.

The same can be said of London, where gas prices are hovering in the range of $1.79 to $1.83 a litre.

In Barrie, you’ll find most gas stations charging an average of $1.84 a litre.

Farther north, that price climbs to $1.86 a litre in Sudbury and $1.84 a litre in North Bay.

At the same time, the federal government’s carbon tax is set to increase on April 1, which will push the current cost even higher.

According to McTeague, the feds should hold off on that increase to ease the strain on Canadian wallets and sit down with provincial leaders to discuss a possible rebate.

“Gasoline in Toronto, the GTA, and across the country was about $1.24 this time last year. Now it’s about $1.84. That additional 60 cents is now being taxed at 13 per cent, east of us it’s 15 per cent, maybe they should be rebating some of that GST -- especially to people who are having a tough time,” he said.

Beyond drivers looking to fill up their cars, McTeague said that the cost of gas could have a cascading effect on the price of food and other goods, a fact he said is “inevitable” without more government intervention.