Editor: As a local business owner, I like to support other local businesses, but the inflated price of gasoline in Canmore is making it difficult for me to do that.
Today, (Jan. 22), the average price of regular gas at an Esso in Calgary is 70.4 cents per litre. Esso in Dead Man’s Flats is 79.9 cents per litre, but Esso in Canmore is charging 89.9 cents per litre.
I cannot think of a reason why we are paying 28 per cent more for a commodity in Canmore than it costs in Calgary and I challenge the owners of local gas stations to explain why gas prices are so much higher in Canmore than in Calgary.
This isn’t just a blip. For two weeks over the Christmas holidays, gas in Canmore was constant at 99.9 cents, however, during the same period I paid as little as 80.4 cents at an Esso on Country Hills Boulevard. In addition, gas in Dead Man’s Flats has consistently been lower than in Canmore.
It doesn’t seem too long ago when gas cost a few cents more in Canmore than it did in Calgary. When that was the case I was happy to fill up at home and support local gas stations.
However, the differential is currently so large that I feel that I’m getting ripped off. On average, I am saving $15 when I fill up in Calgary; at 70 cents per litre, that covers my gas costs to the city.
Now I am happy to have business meetings in Calgary. Whilst I am there I may as well have lunch or dinner, buy groceries or buy any other shopping that my family needs.
I hope that the owners of the local gas stations return to having a realistic price differential with gas stations in Calgary or explain to us why we are paying 20 cents per litre more.
Richard Berry,
Canmore
