Sticker shock at the pumps forces Albertans to rethink summer road trips
Posted Jul 23, 2026 5:56 pm.
Rising tensions in the Middle East are pushing oil prices higher once again, and that’s hitting Alberta drivers – hard – with regular gas now around $1.85 a litre at many pumps across Calgary.
“I think it sucks. It’s hard to pay for gas and go places and travel,” said one Calgarian.
Another said, “Really disappointed. I think we could do something a little bit better to keep the prices lower.”
While a third said, “I can complain as much as I want, but what else can you do? You still got to go on with your life.”
Drivers are seeing a spike in recent days, up from between 10 and 15 cents — a similar scene playing out in Edmonton with several gas stations at almost $1.82.
This latest spike is being blamed on escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, along with disruptions to global oil supplies linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better any time soon.
“For the next week or two, we’ll likely continue to see gasoline prices and diesel going up. Diesel certainly rather noticeably. Diesel could jump 10 to 15 cents a liter over the next couple of weeks. Gasoline maybe 5 to 15 cents a liter. So you’re going to have to dig a little deeper, and it could get worse here in the next month as well,” said Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
De Haan says Calgary drivers are already paying nearly 28 cents more per litre than they were just one month ago, and with refineries running near capacity, there’s little room to absorb another shock to global supply.
But one Calgarian has a unique solution.
“Buy horses. Why? Because we don’t have to give them oil. We just have to clean up their poop,” they explained.
While the rising cost of fuel is putting a bigger dent in travel budgets, it doesn’t appear to be keeping Canadians home. A new Turo summer travel report finds 68 per cent of Canadians are adapting their travel plans, rather than cancelling them.
“Supposed to drive to Kelowna next month, and it’s going to definitely impact my budget for driving for sure,” said one Calgarian.
Another Calgarian said, “I can talk for myself. If you’re gonna do like three or four trips, you probably go down just one.”
While another said, “We might just kind of truncate our travel a little bit, or not go as far.”
That’s in line with the survey results, with many Canadians choosing to scale back their trips or stay closer to home, rather than cancel their summer travel altogether.
