Gas prices have seen a significant drop in the Foothills, as they have across the country.
This is in the wake of the removal of the carbon tax, which has brought fuel prices down to levels Canadians haven't seen in years.
"Provincially, we're down about 137.8. That's 20 cents a litre lower than where we were a year ago. The Canadian national average is also down significantly, down another penny and a half a litre today to 143.1," says Patrick De Haan, head petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. "We are now starting to get to some of the lowest prices that we've seen in the last four years. We do have to go just a little bit lower, about a nickel lower, and we will tie the lowest prices since 2021."
Locally, prices in Okotoks averaged 137.9 on Wednesday, April 2, down from 155.9 on Tuesday.
De Haan does expect prices to trend upward in the next couple of weeks, though he doesn't believe it will be due to companies clawing back the carbon tax.
Instead, prices may start to drift upward due to typical seasonal factors.
"Refinery workers are doing maintenance to make sure that their facilities are ready for the summer driving season when demand is higher. We're also in the midst of the transition from cheaper winter gasoline to summer gasoline, which is more expensive. And demand for gasoline is going up. Temperatures are going up, Canadians are getting back out after a long winter, so demand going up also pushes prices higher. So I would say that the trend may be a little bit higher after the carbon tax pause has been passed along. Gas prices may drift up, but that's also very normal for this time of year," explains De Haan.
If that is the case, it should come as somewhat of a relief to drivers, as, according to De Haan, gas prices tend to peak in April or May.
"To see prices now at 137.9 and possibly be just a few weeks away from seeing a peak, I'm expecting gas prices this summer to be quite a bit lower than last year."
With that said, there are many factors still up in the air which could drive prices up.
Those include the potential for more U.S. tariffs and further reciprocal tariffs, talk of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, and potential sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil.
"I don't think in my 20 years of analyzing markets, I've seen so many headlines that could be so impactful to the price of oil, so keep that in mind."
Alberta's lowest gas prices on April 2 are in Vegreville, averaging 99.9 cents per litre.