Enjoy it while it lasts — London has the lowest gas prices in all of Canada this week.

A national survey of 68 cities by London-based M.J. Ervin & Associates shows London’s average price at 93 cents/litre, 14 cents below the national average.

“I can’t remember us ever having the lowest price in Canada,” said Jason Parent, vice-president of M.J. Ervin, adding the company has been doing the weekly price survey for more than 20 years.

He said the Prairie provinces, especially Alberta, have traditionally had Canada’s cheapest gas because of lower provincial taxes. But the only Prairie city less than $1/litre this week is Edmonton, at 99.7 cents.

Parent said there’s no mystery about why gas is going for such a low price in London: It all started early in August, when the Costco gas bar opened on Wonderland Road, kicking off a price war.

Since then, London has come in with the second-lowest price in Canada in two weekly surveys, but this is first time the city has finished on top of the bargain pile.

“Costco comes in like gangbusters and drops the price below wholesale cost to drive their membership sales, and it had an impact throughout the market,” said Parent.

Price-tracking website GasBuddy.com showed the Costco gas bar at 86.8 cents Tuesday, with other stations close behind.

Parent said the London gas war has wiped out profits for local gas stations.

“The margins at gas stations are pretty well non-existent.”

But Sarnia drivers are faring at least as well, if not better. Sarnia isn’t one of the cities surveyed by M. J. Ervin, but GasBuddy showed many stations pumping in the 86- to 87-cent range Tuesday.

hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca

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