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Gas prices in Metro Vancouver are now the highest in North America.

Prices in the Lower Mainland have been creeping up for the past week, and many stations are now charging around $1.42 a litre.

Vancouver gas prices versus the U.S. and Canadian average over the last 18 months. Gasbuddy.com

Petroleum analyst Dan McTeague with GasBuddy.com said there are several reasons for the high prices, including the fact that Metro residents pay among the highest gas taxes in Canada: 49 cents on every litre.

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LISTEN: Metro Vancouver now has the highest gas prices in North America

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McTeague added that Chevron’s Burnaby refinery just isn’t able to produce enough to keep up with demand.

“It looks like we’ve painted ourselves into a corner. We simply don’t produce enough gasoline, even if there was an adequate supply to meet our domestic needs,” McTeague said.

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That refinery, which is being sold to Parkland Industries, is able to produce about 45,000 barrels of fuel a day, McTeague said.

“Certainly in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island, including Victoria, there is no way of calculating whether the price we are paying is justified.”

McTeague said motorists gassing up in Blaine or Bellingham are saving about $25 dollars a tank, even with the Canadian Dollar worth just US$0.78.

Soaring gas prices in Metro Vancouver will only add to the high cost of living in the region according to Kris Sims with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

“Our warning to folks is, regardless of your political stripe or how you vote, this is money coming out of your wallet and your bank account and you need to stand up and be heard about it if you think this is costing you too much. And right now it is just costing a ghastly amount to fill up your vehicle.”

Sims said once mobility pricing comes in, that will be another added tax.

At midday on Monday, the cheapest gas in Metro Vancouver was selling for $1.29 at the Costco at 20499 64 Avenue in Langley.