Ontario Gas Price Trends in 2026: What Our Station Data Shows

Written by David Matrick, editor of CheapGasToronto.ca. Price figures come from the station reports published on this site; tax and policy facts link to their official sources. See our About page for editorial standards and our disclaimer for price accuracy notes.

Summary: Toronto's typical regular gas price rose from about 159¢/L in the first full week of July 2026 to about 177¢/L through September. There was a mid-summer peak (174¢ in the week of July 20) and a dip back to 160¢ in early August. Averaged by month, the median was 165.9¢ in July, 164.7¢ in August and 176.7¢ for September 1–22. On September 22, 2026, the average across 1,900+ Ontario stations with a current report was 178.9¢/L.

These figures come from the station reports this site collects, not from a national index. The method is explained at the end of the article.

Toronto, week by week (summer 2026)

Median regular price across Toronto stations, averaged for each week (the date is the Monday the week starts):

What stands out:

• Prices moved in waves, not a steady climb. Prices rose 15¢ over three weeks in July, gave most of it back by early August, then rose again from mid-August.
• September was the most expensive stretch of the summer, and the weekly median held at about 176–177¢ for three weeks.
• Single days can jump. On several September days the city-wide median moved 9–10¢ from one day to the next, such as September 11–12 and September 18. The weekly averages hide these swings.

The gap between stations is bigger than most month-to-month moves

Over the same period, the cheapest 10% of Toronto stations averaged 9.4¢/L below the median on a typical day, and the single cheapest station was about 16¢ below it. That gap is similar in size to the whole July-to-September rise. Where you fill up usually matters more than which week you fill up. You can see the current gap on today's cheapest list.

How Ontario cities compare (September 22, 2026)

The large southern Ontario cities were within about 2¢ of each other. A few smaller eastern Ontario markets were lower: Brockville and Peterborough averaged about 166¢. Thunder Bay was the clear outlier, about 13¢ above Toronto. The live version of this table, updated hourly, is on the Ontario gas prices page.

Policy changes behind 2025–2027 prices

• April 1, 2025: the federal fuel charge on gasoline went from 17.61¢/L to zero.
• July 1, 2025: Ontario made its 9¢/L gasoline tax permanent.
• April 20, 2026: the 10¢/L federal excise tax on gasoline was suspended.
• September 8, 2026: the suspension was extended through January 31, 2027.
• February 1, 2027: excise returns at 5¢/L, about +5.6¢/L at the pump including HST.
• April 1, 2027: excise returns to the full 10¢/L, about +11.3¢/L compared with today.

So the summer 2026 rise was not caused by taxes; the tax rates didn't change from April 20 to the end of September. Details and sources are in our Ontario gas tax guide.

What moves Ontario prices

Once taxes are fixed, the rest of the pump price follows the wholesale cost of gasoline in the Great Lakes region, which follows crude oil and refinery supply. Toronto is supplied by Ontario refineries in Sarnia and Nanticoke and by imported product. A weaker Canadian dollar makes that product more expensive. Refinery outages and the seasonal switch between summer and winter gasoline blends can move wholesale prices quickly. Retailers then pass those moves through at different speeds, which is why station prices spread out after a sharp change.

We don't forecast prices months ahead. For the next few days, the fill-up-or-wait forecast combines recent station prices with crude and wholesale inputs, and the tomorrow page shows the next-day estimate.

What to watch for the rest of 2026

• Whether September's level (about 177¢) holds into the fall, or eases the way the early-August dip did.
• The February 1, 2027 excise step. Unless Ottawa changes the schedule again, it adds about 5.6¢/L on its own.
• How wide the gap between stations stays. When it's wide, comparing stations saves the most.

How we measured

For each day, we took each Toronto station's lowest regular-gasoline report (community reports collected by this site; see About). We then took the median across stations, counting only days with at least 100 stations reporting, and averaged the daily medians by week or month. June 2026 is left out because too few stations were covered. City figures on September 22 are the average of reports from the previous 36 hours. These are observations of reported prices, not audited pump prices.

Related: Gas taxes in Ontario · Best times to fill up in Toronto