High B.C. gas prices bring motorists south of border

Blaine gas stations had a busy weekend, as the Easter holiday and high B.C. gas prices brought more drivers south of the border to fill up their tanks.

For the second weekend in a row, gas prices in B.C. reached another record-breaking high. Many B.C. drivers interviewed by The Northern Light on Sunday reported seeing prices of $1.72 Canadian dollars per liter in B.C. over the long Easter weekend.

“I’ve seen a huge increase in the number of B.C. drivers crossing the border to fill up,” said Cameron Branco, clerk at the Mobil station at 371 3rd Street in Blaine. “Many of them are also bringing gas cans to fill up, in addition to their cars.”

The math shows that B.C. drivers can indeed save big bucks by crossing the border to fill up. $1.72 Canadian dollars per liter translates to $6.51 Canadian dollars per gallon, since there are 3.785 liters in a gallon. At Sunday’s exchange rates, that meant B.C. drivers would be paying the equivalent of $4.88 U.S. dollars per gallon north of the border.

South of the border, however, prices were considerably lower on Sunday. At the Mobil station, for example, regular fuel was $3.69 U.S. dollars per gallon. That’s a savings of almost 25 percent compared to the price of B.C. gas.

The price of gas was somewhat higher at other Blaine stations. At the Shell station near Peace Portal Drive and Bell Road, regular fuel was advertised at $3.79, while it was $3.99 at the Chevron on Peace Portal Drive in downtown Blaine.

Elsewhere the price of gas was even lower. At the Market Fuel at 8839 Blaine Road, it cost just $3.55 when paying with cash or debit.

B.C. driver Brian Gomes estimates that he saves 30 percent by filling up south of the border. Gomes, who was at the Shell station in Blaine, went to Seattle over the long weekend for a show. “I thought I would fill up here in Blaine before returning back to B.C.,” he said.

Other B.C. drivers said they come to Blaine on a regular basis to fill up. “I come here twice a week,” said Andrea Robbie of White Rock, who was at the Mobil station in Blaine. “My husband was down here this morning to fill up. We pretty much got our Nexus cards just for this.”

Keith Rivet of Surrey was in town on Sunday at the Mobil station. He said gas costs him $100 Canadian dollars or more per tank in B.C., and that he crosses the border about four times per month just to fill up. “Do the math,” he said. “By coming here, for every four tanks, it’s like I get the fifth tank for free.”

There are many factors that go into the price of gas, but taxes are one reason why the cost of B.C. gas is so high. According to Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, residents of metro Vancouver pay about 53 cents per liter in taxes. That includes provincial motor fuel tax (7.75 cents), B.C.’s carbon tax (8.89 cents), the B.C. Transportation Finance Authority tax (6.75 cents), the TransLink tax (17 cents, increasing to 18.5 cents on July 1), federal excise tax (10 cents) and the five percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on top of the total price.

McTeague said that limited supply is also another factor. Metro Vancouver, he said, gets about one third of its gasoline from Washington state, and another third of its gasoline from Alberta, where the newly elected premier Jason Kenney has threatened to “turn off the taps” to B.C. in retaliation for B.C.’s opposition to the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. “It’s probably the only community in Canada that relies so heavily on external sources,” McTeague said of metro Vancouver. “But the same B.C. government that is increasing taxes is also opposing expansion of [the Trans Mountain pipeline], which delivers about a third of the gasoline needs for the lower mainland.”

“With these being the highest recorded prices by any North American city historically, if you happen to be in White Rock and you happen to have a Nexus card, you’re definitely going to be traveling south to fill up on fuel,” said McTeague.