This will be the 'new normal' for gas prices in Ontario this summer

Ontario gas prices went up two cents per litre Saturday, and at least one industry analyst says that a new normal drivers won't like this summer.

The cost of gasoline has risen considerably since Russia invaded Ukraine back in February.

At one point in March drivers were paying a record $1.90.9 per litre to fuel up, however prices did drop as low as $1.64.9 per litre earlier this month.

The relief at the pumps was short-lived, however.

Gas prices across the GTA have now risen on back-to-back days and went up another two cents to $1.88.9 per litre at midnight.

• Lowest gas prices in Toronto

Speaking with CP24 on Friday, Canadians for Affordable Energy President Dan McTeague said that he anticipates prices will continue to rise before settling in at around $2 per litre for most of the summer.

“We've spent a lot of time this country saying no to pipelines and of course these proverbial chickens are coming home to roost and they're hurting consumers not just at the pumps but pretty much across the entire spectrum of the economy,” he said. “We have the third largest provable deposits of oil and gas in the world. We're not using it and that's going to continue to put upward pressure on prices. Two dollars a litre this summer is in fact the new normal.”

McTeague said that oil prices are being somewhat depressed by lockdowns in parts of China to limit the spread of COVID-19.

But he said that when those come to an end, the cost of crude oil will rise amid increased demand and average gas prices in the GTA will shoot up.

In fact drivers in some parts of Canada are already paying a lot more at the pumps, with the average cost of a litre of gas in Vancouver now at $2.06.9.

“I expect we will be towards $2 a litre at some point around the May 24 weekend,” McTeague said. “I take no pride in saying this is going to happen but we have been warning the circumstances are certainly pointing towards that.”

Russia is the world's third-biggest oil producer, accounting for about 11 per cent of the global supply.