This is Dan McTeague, gasoline market analyst, who correctly and graphically describes the current situation of approaching $2.50/litre gas within the SW BC market.
 Audio Vault, punch in Sept 30th, punch in 4pm, and run the time slider to 37 minutes, 12 seconds.

https://globalnews.ca/pages/audio-vault-cknw/

I paid $1.92 yesterday in Chase.  A week ago it was $1.69.

I understand that price will rise when demand exceeds supply, but in that case I would expect to see some stations run out.  Are there any in that situation in the LM?

The whole reasoning behind low supply causing price increases, in my view, is total BS. There aren’t, and haven’t been, any stations running low on gas.  It’s absolute, total BS.  Cashgrab by oil companies and government(s). 

I wholehearted agree Ross.

  

  There have been distinct specific gas shortages here in SW BC for at least 1/2 a year, specifically, lower octane 87 , because of shortages in ethyl alcohol supply on the North American west coast supply chain. The result has been well followed Facebook pages advertising higher octane pumps , usually 91 octane, at 87 prices, usually at Shell, Chevron, Esso.
  Currently during this ramped up pricing, gas stations east of Lefevere Road (border road between Langley and Abbotsford municipalities) are the same price as west of Lefevere, which traditionally is $.10 litre higher to the west because of metro Van city transit tax fees at the pump.

  Throwing Cdn based oil companies under the bus is an easy path to take during this time. Nobody was offering any sympathy to those companies when they were getting -$14 a barrel 1.5 yrs ago, while selling it for $.77 litre here. We should be aware that the vast % of Federal govt. income is from royalties and tax on profits of big oil companies. Wishing oil companies ill will would turn this country into second world status quickly.

  If there is any gouging at this moment, it would be the gas stations east of Lefevere, outside of "metro", where the pump price is virtually the same as in metro. This, I "think", is because alot of people still cannot get into the USA, as the USA still has a bat flu vaccine mandate at the border, and many still do not have a passport.

  Currently, gas stations in US border towns Blaine and Sumas WA are running $4.89us gallon, which converted is $1.80cdn litre, about $.51-59cdn litre difference, much less than the $.74cdn litre difference placed on fuel here, including the various carbon taxes, transit taxes, and unique in the world BC "clean fuel standard" placed on refineries delivering fuel here, which costs $.17cdn litre more. This indicates that metro Van City gas stations are not 'gouging', but maybe border town stations in WA state are.

LM being close to the US border brings up the question of whether the increase in price is the same on both sides?  If not, then the conclusion would be gouging, but if the rise is the same then one can assume it's the refinery taking extra profit.  One thing I'm fairly certain of is that the retailer isn't the big beneficiary of increased price.

  A quick study of GasBuddy’s website , particularly their Heatmap, both on the USA and Canada Heatmap on regional gas prices innnorth America. This shows hard evidence of permanent supply shortages west of the Rockies, from decades of environmental groups pressure to shut down refineries  here and pipelines here. Increased population predicted here in metro Van mean the highest prices in the Western Hemisphere will for next generations in the future, will be SW BC.

  I stand corrected, tax per litre in metro is $.80 litre.
 Meanwhile gas in Lethbridge is currently $1.36 Cdn.

Regular gas in greater Victoria is 239.9. Paid $20.00 for 7.5L of Chevron 94 this afternoon to top-up my RF600R..... thankfully the 17L tank wasn't empty! Pity the ADV rider with a 30+L tank...   :P

   Further to the gasoline pump prices in SWBC, witnessed a $.09 litre drop just before thanksgiving weekend, this as a result of a very strategic last minute change of direction and delivery of 300,000 barrels of refined gasoline originating from Italian refinery, delivered to the BP Ferndale refinery, laughingly, at a huge profit for Russian crude oil based refinery.
 Further , the BP refinery is now starting up after an extra 10 day maintenance delay and a seasonal change up to winter blends, $.35cdn  drop Thursday, and another $.02 Cdn drop Friday.
 Welcome to the new normal, we have painted ourselves into a corner of stretched supply chain and minimal refinery capacity, and continued population.

Gas in Ashcroft this morning at $1.98.9 for regular.

Saw both 219.9 and 229.9 around Victoria today.

   Yup. Ashcroft is on a different delivery system, uses crude oil direct from Edmonton, and sourced from small Prince George refinery.

   Updated this morning, $.08 further reduction instead of $.02 reduction.