Shell gas station. (Photo: The Canadian Press)

By David Opinko

Alberta asking Competition Bureau to investigate gas price fixing

Jul 22, 2022 | 4:52 PM

EDMONTON, AB – The Premier of Alberta wants to know why gas prices have continued to rise, despite actions taken by his government to lower them.

Jason Kenney says, when the province announced back in March 2022 that it would stop collecting the provincial gas tax, he made it clear to gas stations that the 13 cents per litre savings must be passed onto consumers.

When that took effect on April 1, 2022, he says it “resulted in immediate and significant savings for Albertans at the pump, with Alberta having by far the lowest gasoline prices in Canada thanks to the fuel tax cut.”

Over the last 10 days, however, Kenney explains that the gas price advantage has disappeared and Albertans are no longer benefitting from the tax cut.

“With Alberta no longer collecting fuel taxes at the pump, Albertans deserve to know why they are suddenly paying as much for gasoline as motorists in Toronto when as recently as two weeks ago they were paying far less,” says Kenney.

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The premier met with the Canadian Fuels Association on Friday, July 22, 2022, expressing his frustration with recent gas price trends and demanding an explanation for why prices have continued to increase.

“Second, I will ask the Competition Bureau of Canada to investigate potential gasoline price fixing in Alberta. Under the Competition Act, it is illegal for competitors to mutually agree to set prices. Albertans deserve to know if this is going on.”

Kenney has also directed Service Alberta to explore whether there are any tools under the Consumer Protection Act that could be utilized in regard to fuel prices.

According to GasBuddy.com, fuel prices in Alberta have trended in a positive direction recently.

The average price for regular unleaded gasoline as of July 22 is 175.8 c/L, down 13.2 cents from the same time one month ago.

A similar trend has been seen in Lethbridge, as gas prices dropped by 12 cents per litre over the last month to an average of 181.9 c/L. It is still close to the record-high 193.9 c/L that was seen in the city on June 12, 2022.

READ MORE: Alberta to provide relief from high fuel and utility prices