Canada Posted the Sixth Largest Increase in Gas Prices in 2022

Gas prices fluctuated quite a bit and by far reached all-time highs in 2022, and Canada was among the hardest-hit countries.

If it were not for long delivery times with electric vehicles, a lot more drivers would probably have opted to ditch internal combustion engines and stop making visits at the gas station.

According to a new study by British website DriveElectric, which looked at the average price of filling a gas tank and the cost of driving 100 miles (160 km), Canada posted an increase of 10.9% in 2022 compared with the previous year.

It’s the sixth largest increase globally, right after Chile (21.3%), the United States (18.3%), the United Arab Emirates (14%), China (13.6%) and Turkey (13.5%). Hong Kong (8%) and Norway (3.8%) are the only other countries where the cost was higher in 2022. Everywhere else, the cost was down.

Photo: istock

By the way, out of all the countries looked at, Saudi Arabia remains the cheapest place to fill a tank with gas. 

Now, what makes the DriveElectric study even more interesting is the cost difference between filling and driving a gas-powered vehicle and charging and driving a comparable electric vehicle.

In Canada, where electricity is still relatively cheap, the gas option is 496.5% more expensive, which puts us in eighth place globally. Hong Kong (817%) has the largest cost difference between gas and electric, followed by Hungary (758.6%), Norway (727.4%), China (700.4%), Turkey (649.4%), South Korea (572.5%) and Saudi Arabia (540.2%).

Photo: Marc Lachapelle

Not sure whether you should go electric or not? The CAA Driving Costs Calculator will help you build a better understanding of all the ongoing costs of owning a vehicle. You can even use the calculator to compare gas, hybrid and electric vehicles.

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