Save on Ontario Gas
Ontario Drivers: Discover the Best Day to Purchase Cheap Gas Before Christmas Eve
Ontario drivers should wait until after midnight tonight to fill up. A drop of 3 to 6 cents per litre is forecast for Saturday, June 13, bringing the average price in the Greater Toronto Area to roughly 168.9 cents per litre, according to En-Pro International. That is the lowest price of the week — and the best window to buy cheap gas this weekend.
The drop follows a brutal week of swings at the pump. Prices in the GTA spiked 8 cents on Wednesday, partly corrected Thursday, then rose again Friday. CTV News reports that drivers in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario will see an even bigger cut — up to 6 cents — at 12:01 AM Saturday.
Why Saturday Morning Is the Sweet Spot
Roger McKnight, chief analyst at En-Pro International, pinpointed the 3-cent Saturday drop for the GTA. He noted that Canadian pump prices are tracking U.S. wholesale "rack" prices in Rochester and Buffalo. That cross-border link is why Ontario prices can shift overnight — sometimes by several cents — without warning.
Fuel price tracker Gas Wizard advises drivers to fill up Saturday evening between 6 PM and 10 PM. Stations often raise prices again on Sunday morning ahead of the Monday market reset. Waiting until Sunday could cost you the savings entirely.
A Brutal Week Driven by Middle East Tensions
The week's volatility traces back to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that normally carries 21% of the world's oil supply, according to FuelWise. Military actions in the region roughly 93 days ago pushed benchmark crude above $120 USD per barrel, sending prices at Canadian pumps sharply upward.
Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, told CP24 that markets are "amused" by peace talk headlines — but warned that "nothing has happened" to actually reopen the strait. He called the current relief a "head fake," not a real trend.
Federal Tax Cut Is the Only Thing Keeping Prices Below $2
Without government help, Ontario drivers would likely be paying over $2.20 per litre right now. The federal government suspended its fuel excise tax on April 23, 2026, cutting roughly 10 cents per litre off the price of gasoline. The suspension runs until September 7, 2026, according to NRCan.
Even with that buffer, prices are up 46% since January, according to data cited by CityNews. Diesel remains near $1.90 per litre, which is pushing up food costs across the province. The cheapest option at the pump remains Costco, where the national average sat at 160.8 cents per litre as of June 10.
Longer Term, the Pain Is Not Going Away Soon
Analysts at Ground News and CTV News warn that any price below $1.70 per litre is an anomaly, not a new normal. As long as the Hormuz blockade holds, global supply stays tight. Alberta will review its own fuel tax on July 1, which could affect trucking costs across the country.
Some residents are already changing how they live. CTV Windsor reports that local tourism in Essex County is rising as families cancel long road trips to the U.S. due to fuel costs. Meanwhile, Environmental Defence says battery storage just beat gas in Ontario's latest energy auction — a sign the province may be slowly moving away from pump dependency altogether.
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