Gas prices across Manitoba have gone up significantly, and they may see an even higher price in the near future, according to experts.
Patrick De Haan is Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy. He says the average price of regular gasoline in southern Manitoba on Thursday morning was 177.9 cents per litre. He notes that is up seven cents per litre in the last week, and up 17 cents in the last month.
World events triggering spikes
According to De Haan, there are several international factors pushing gas prices higher. First of all, he says continued escalations over the last 10 days between the United States and Iran have pushed the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil up to $92 per barrel. He notes Brent Crude Oil is back above $100.
“It’s not just the Strait of Hormuz now that is a difficulty in the escalations between the U.S. and Iran, but the Houthis starting to apparently go after vessels sailing through the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait as well,” shares De Haan.
He says not only are these two straits now being impacted by attacks and threats of attacks, but Ukraine also continues to attack major Russian oil refineries. De Haan says this too is disrupting the global supply of refined products like diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel.
“Just a lot going wrong right now from the price of oil going up because of new escalations, but also because of refining capacity being attacked in Russia, all of this putting upward pressure on gas prices across Canada, and Steinbach is no exception,” he says.
Diesel could feel the greatest impact
With respect to diesel, De Haan says diesel will likely feel an even greater impact than gasoline. He notes that southern Manitoba has seen quite a jump in diesel prices over the last couple of weeks. With diesel prices hovering just under $2 per litre in Winnipeg, De Haan says diesel could eclipse the $2 mark in the next couple of days.
De Haan says it is also extremely likely that gasoline prices will jump more in the coming days.
“It’s very unlikely that this situation would suddenly just improve overnight,” he says. “Absolutely I do believe that gas prices will continue to trend higher in the weeks ahead and really it’s impossible to tell how all of these situations will continue to unfold and really to what degree.”
Manitoba gas among the cheapest in Canada
The price of gasoline in Winnipeg is still lower than the Canadian average, which sits at 180.2 cents per litre as of Thursday morning. According to GasBuddy, the average price in Manitoba is 173.6 cents per litre, which is the second lowest in Canada, behind only Saskatchewan at 170.4 cents per litre. The most expensive province is Newfoundland at 205.4 cents per litre.
The city with the most expensive gasoline in Canada on Thursday is in White Rock, B.C., where the average price is 208.9 cents per litre. The most affordable gasoline is in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, at 147.9 cents per litre.
Winnipeg’s average of 177.9 cents per litre is still well short of the record high 207.5 cents per litre, experienced in June of 2022. The highest average for 2026 is 186.4 cents per litre back in May, while the lowest average was in January at 111.0 cents per litre. One year ago today, the average price in Winnipeg was 133.9 cents per litre.
Gas prices do not typically go up in July
Meanwhile, De Haan says in a normal year, gas prices slowly decline in late July, subject to hurricane season. However, he says 2026 has been anything but normal.
“So I would expect that unlike normal years where gas prices slowly ease into the fall, we could continue to see prices rising in the weeks ahead, subject to developments between both of these geopolitical issues, both between what happens with the U.S. and Iran, and what also continues to unfold as Russia continues to see Ukrainian attacks on its refineries,” he explains.
De Haan says there is also the uncertainty of hurricane season, and very little way to accurately predict how all of these situations will unfold.