Montreal taxi driver Asse Jihad says he now has to pay close to double what he was forking over two weeks ago every time he fills up at the pump.
“For sure, we make less money,” he said. “It used to cost around $50, $55. Now it’s about $75.”
The freelance driver said the rising prices are costing him roughly $400 a week. And with taxi fares set by the provincial government, he told CityNews that drivers like him can’t simply raise prices to offset the cost.
“It’s the same price for the rider (…) each day is a different thing but it’s way less money,” he said.
The taxi driver’s worries come as gas prices inched toward $2 per litre mark over the weekend as the war in the Middle East entered its fourth week.
According to the gas price tracking GasBuddy, the average price of a litre of petrol in Montreal was $1.90 as of Monday. Some Montrealers reported shelling out as high $2.34 Sunday for a litre of gas, on Essence Montreal.
Diesel prices were considerably higher at with drivers reporting spending up to $2.55 a litre.
The average price across Canada was at $1.72 Sunday, according to CAA national. The average for the previous week was eight cents cheaper at $1.31 and 40 cents cheaper last month at $1.31.
CAA-Québec says prices had actually been trending down before the conflict escalated.
“There was actually a decrease from 2025 to 2024 — and then the Iran war happened over the last month, and prices have been shooting up,” said Nicolas Ryan, director of public affairs at CAA-Québec.
The global price for oil and gas has been steadily climbing since the United States and Israel launched missile attacks against Iran.
In response, Iran has blocked and attacked some oil shipments along the Strait of Hormuz, a passageway that about 20 per cent of the world’s oil usually passes through.
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, has zigzagged from roughly $70 per barrel before the Iran war began to as high as $119.50 last week. Last Friday, the price for Brent crude closed at $112.19 per barrel while benchmark U.S. crude closed at $98.32 per barrel.
Experts say even if the conflict were to end soon, relief at the pump won’t come immediately.
“Even if the war stopped today, it would still take a long time to bring things back to normal,” said economist Moshe Lander. “You have to find a new equilibrium.”
A rise in prices won’t just be limited to a jump at the pump, Lander said, adding that rising oil prices will likely have spillover effects in all facets of the economy.
“Jet fuel is going to become more expensive,” Lander said. “If we’re importing food from foreign countries, then we’re also going to see fuel for ships is gonna become more expensive as well.”
