There is a kind of hard-working, steel-toe energy to it: pickup trucks, SUVs, work vans, hulking campers, none of which are safe from the smell of diesel fumes, breakfast sandwiches and black coffee. It is a place where lottery tickets, chopped wood, windshield fluid, chicken tenders, energy drinks, propane and motor oil somehow all belong together. And this gas station in southern Alberta is also where hundreds of customers every day are forced to reevaluate how much they can spend on other parts of their lives after filling up.
Amid sky-high fuel prices, the Financial Post, in partnership with the Calgary Herald, spent a day staking out one of Lethbridge, Alta.’s busiest gas stations — with permission, of course — to get a sense of how the resulting high fuel prices are affecting Canadians. In speaking with dozens of people, one thing became clear: sticker shock from high prices is hitting everyone differently. Some have the means to pay, while others are cutting back or simply doing their best to feed their families.
Customer Struggles at the Pump
“It sucks,” Melaney Lietz, a mother of two, said while loading up her minivan with a fresh tank of regular at a station run by Gas King Oil Co. Ltd., an independent chain with a handful of locations in Southern Alberta. Like many other Canadians, Lietz is feeling the pinch as fueling up grows more costly during a global energy crisis. For Lietz, filling her slick, sliding-door cruiser used to cost no more than $50. Recently, her eyes watered as the price trickled above $70, and she did not even leave with a full tank.
“(We’re) paying the price at the pumps just to get to work to pay the taxes on everything else,” she said.
Impact on Summer Plans
Rising fuel prices have meant many airlines, trucking companies, railways and others have tacked on fuel surcharges, which can raise the cost of just about everything. And, for many, the sticker shock might mean cutting back on summer road trips or axing air travel plans. Lietz said that while her family has booked a vacation over the summer months, it may well be a staycation. “We’re not going camping this year, because our truck, it usually costs us a good $500 at least,” Lietz said. “I can’t even imagine what’s going to cost us to pull the trailer this year.”
Last year, Lietz’s family traveled to Nanaimo, B.C., the province that has seen some of the highest gas prices since the crisis began, with major cities like Vancouver surpassing $2 per liter. Diesel has fared poorly too, with monthly prices climbing to an average of $2.18 per liter countrywide in May, according to data from Kalibrate. Lethbridge is no exception, with prices in the city averaging over $1.80 per liter for regular gas so far in May, almost a 45 percent increase compared to May last year.
The Global Energy Crisis
We are over 12 weeks into the biggest energy supply shock the world has ever seen, created by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping corridor for one-fifth of the world’s oil. This crisis has led to unprecedented fuel prices, affecting not only individual consumers but also businesses and the broader economy. The Gas King station in Lethbridge serves as a microcosm of the challenges faced across Canada and beyond.
As customers fill up for the day ahead, the reality of the energy crisis is palpable. From truck drivers to families on road trips, everyone is feeling the strain. The question remains: how long can Canadians cope with these soaring costs?
