#gas

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – The mayor of Gaspé says he cannot explain the eight-cent-per-litre difference in gasoline prices between his town and nearby Chandler following a drop in prices at the pump on July 17 in the area between Chandler and Cap-d’Espoir.

In that region, a litre of regular gasoline was selling for $1.47, while in Gaspé, no change had been observed, with the price still at $1.57 as of July 23.

“It’s inexplicable to have an eight-cent difference between Gaspé and Chandler, and it’s just as inexplicable that everyone changed their prices at practically the same time,” said the mayor of Gaspé Daniel Côté.

The price drop spread quickly through the Rocher-Percé MRC on July 17.

According to data from the Régie de l’énergie, as of July 21, retailers in that MRC were earning an average profit margin of 11.3 cents per litre—similar to last year’s average.

In contrast, retailers in Gaspé were charging a 19-cent margin, compared to an average of around 12 cents last year.

“This is a sign that there is a lack of competition. That’s why we’ve been calling on the Competition Bureau for years. We are asking them once again to do their job and demonstrate that there is a lack of competition, which is causing all sorts of abnormal, even absurd things to happen, and it is ordinary people who are paying the price,” commented the mayor.

Last September, the Competition Bureau concluded that there was no collusion in the Gaspé Peninsula to fix gasoline prices.

At the time, the bureau stated that “combating anti-competitive behaviour in the gasoline sector is a priority for the Bureau. It is for this reason that our investigators visited several regions of Quebec to better understand how gasoline prices are determined. These visits took place in eastern Quebec, including the Gaspé Peninsula, on July 18, 2024.”

“To date, the information obtained has not allowed us to demonstrate the presence of anti-competitive activities in the retail gasoline sector,” the Bureau added, reiterating that its role is to investigate price-fixing and other anti-competitive practices.

As an enforcement agency, the Bureau does not have the authority to regulate gasoline prices. This falls under provincial jurisdiction, the federal agency emphasized.

Since the Quebec government abolished the minimum price floor, no price adjustment has been observed in Gaspé, which continues to rank among the most expensive sectors in the province for gasoline.

Only the regions of Northern Quebec and the Magdalen Islands have higher prices than Gaspé.
Some gas stations in Gaspé have adopted similar lower prices, but the trend is far from widespread.