Drivers in Toronto saw a four-cent jump at the pumps Thursday morning as the conflict in Iran shows no signs of ending anytime soon—and one energy analyst says prices will be even higher on Friday.
Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, predicts that the price of gas in Toronto will climb another eight cents per litre before the weekend, pushing it to an average of 190 cents per litre.
“Supply gaps can only be resolved by higher prices until this matter is resolved. It’s going to take a long time for us to get through this, even after the peace deal is hopefully reached someday,” he told Newstalk 1010’s Moore in the Morning Thursday.
Now in its third month, Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which once was used to ship 20 per cent of the global oil supply, and the U.S. has responded with its own blockade in the region as precarious peace talks continue between the two nations.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump urged Tehran to “get smart” and sign a deal to end the conflict while Iran threatened of “unprecedented military action” against the U.S.
“Both sides have got each other in a standoff position, and it’s got the global economy now at significant risk,” McTeague said, referencing Wednesday’s Bank of Canada decision to hold the key policy interest rate at 2.25 per cent as it warned of higher inflation.
“I think we have to be prepared for 2026 to be an extraordinarily expensive year in which this energy crisis has to be borne out in terms of higher prices, not just for fuel, but for just about everything,” McTeague said.
“We’ll see shortages on a scale that, as I mentioned earlier, our generation has never witnessed.”
