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The bad news is gas prices are expected to rise dramatically in time for the Easter weekend.

The worse news is that, as Canadians and Americans get their boats, lawnmowers and ATVs out of storage, those prices are going to continue climbing right through the summer.

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According to Dan McTeague, a gas price analyst with Gasbuddy.com, motorists should brace for prices to climb as high at $1.30 this summer.

“Aggravating this is the U.S. demand for gasoline, which continues to escalate and break records. The American economy is back on its feet,” he said. “We’ve got the makings a much more expensive year, that is not helped by the increases in taxes by the provincial government here in Ontario.”

On January 1, the Ontario government introduced its new cap-and-trade program, or carbon tax, which is aimed at helping to control carbon dioxide emissions by taxing emissions and creating incentive for people and corporations to cut back on the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. The province announced that the initiative would add as much as 4.3 cents per litre to the price of fuel.