Calgary drivers woke up to an expensive surprise at the pumps on Wednesday, as gas prices spiked by about 35 cents per litre overnight at some stations, with many raising prices to more than $1.85 per litre by midday.
An Esso station near the corner of 26th Avenue and 14th Street S.W. was among the few still selling gas below $1.50 per litre early in the day. But shortly before noon, the station’s price surged to more than $1.85.
Israel Hadush, 24, arrived when the sign still read $1.49 per litre and paid a set amount inside at the lower rate. But as he began pumping, the price changed and the pump shut off.
“Immediately when I started pumping, it just stopped,” he said.
Hadush said staff told him the price had increased as he returned to his car to begin fuelling and he would have to pay the higher rate.
“Even though I already paid, they told me the gas already went up, so (I) can’t pay what it was,” he said.
He opted not to fill up, requesting a refund before heading off in search of a lower price.
Hadush said higher fuel costs mean cutting back elsewhere, as he relies on his vehicle for transportation and has little choice but to absorb the increase.
“I’ve never seen gas prices like this,” he said. “It makes it really hard.”
Oriala Gonzalez, 72, fills up her tank at a Chevron gas station near 12th Avenue and 14th Street S.W. on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
A short drive north, Oriala Gonzalez was filling up at a Chevron station along 14th Street S.W., where prices had already climbed to $1.85 per litre.
Gonzalez, 72, said she has lived in Calgary her entire life and described the increase as the steepest she has ever seen.
“To (fill) up is about $125 to $130, and (the cost) just used to be $80,” she said. “This is the worst I’ve ever seen it.”
“It’s been getting more and more expensive,” she added. “I have to be careful now where I go and how far I go.”
Latest price rise might not be the last: expert
Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, tied the overnight spike in prices to refinery disruptions in the United States, and warned Calgary could be approaching historic highs at the pump, alongside other Prairie regions tied to the U.S. Great Lakes market.
“We rarely have seen spikes of this amount before,” said de Haan. “This is pretty extraordinary — to see a jump of that much all at once.”
He said the largest refinery in the U.S. Midwest, in northwest Indiana, experienced an uncontrolled power loss Sunday night, at a time when other refineries were undergoing maintenance. He estimates the facility produces as much as 10 million litres of gasoline per day.
“That drop in supply has caused wholesale gas prices to skyrocket, and now you’re seeing the effects,” he said.
A line of cars waits at the pumps of a Costco gas station still offering regular fuel for $1.58 per litre in Calgary on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
According to de Haan, it’s normal for refineries to undergo maintenance in the leadup to summer when demand ramps up, but that timing is now amplifying the current price surge.
“There’s very little margin for error in the spring,” he said. “That’s why this issue is causing such a squeeze right now.”
De Haan added that rising global oil prices, driven largely by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, are adding to the pressure.
“We’re seeing a massive jolt in prices the last couple of days,” he said. “Some of it is still the continued push to higher oil prices, but a lot of it is because of some of these refining snags.”
North American oil prices continue to climb amid the war in Iran. The conflict has pushed fuel prices higher, largely due to blockades at the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping corridor for about 20 per cent of the world’s oil.
While it typically takes about one to two weeks for prices to start notably falling after such a massive spike, de Haan said prolonged trade disruptions could delay relief for drivers at the pump.
“I can’t guarantee that prices will go down in a week or two because it’s impossible to know if there’s gonna be other escalations that further push prices higher.”
He warned the massive rise in the price of gas may just be the beginning for Calgary drivers.
“This may not be the end of it,” de Haan said. “It could go up another 10 to 20 cents a litre here in the next couple of days, if the situation continues to worsen.”
The overnight price jolt reflects a similar surge south of the border, where the national average hit its highest level since 2022 on Wednesday, reaching US$4.23 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association motor club.
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