Motorists got a rude shock this morning when they pulled into gas stations to fill 'er up: a massive overnight hike sent the average price at GTA pumps to $1.36.6.

The increase – 12.9 cents a litre, and more outside the GTA – is one of the highest single-step price hikes in recent memory, blamed by oil refiners on supply uncertainties posed by Hurricane Ike as it rampages across the Gulf of Mexico.

"Canadians are going to get a sock in the chin," said Liberal MP Dan McTeague, who has built up a reputation for forecasting gas price hikes.

McTeague said he expected an average price of around $1.36.6 in the GTA today - adding that's much better than Vancouver, where prices are expected to soar above $1.46. Montreal prices jumped about a dime to $1.38 a litre. Halifax prices were up to about $1.33 a litre.

McTeague issued a warning of the huge increase late yesterday afternoon and motorists flocked to filling stations last night, when the prices were around $1.23 for a litre.

In Mississauga, drivers lining up for gas backed up major roadways, including the intersection at Mavis and Burnhamthorpe Rds., where there are two stations.

Whitby resident Don Dutton said the situation was "just crazy" east of Toronto.

"It was probably eight to 10 minutes getting into the pump," he said. "Getting in and out, people were sort of pushing and jockeying."

Mearey Russell waited 15 minutes to get into an Esso at Yonge St. and Steeles Ave. W. only to find her pump had run out of gas.

And there were stations that didn't wait until midnight.

At 8:10 p.m., a TorontoGasPrices.com user reported seeing regular gas at $1.37.0, at Woodbine and 14th Aves. in Markham. GasBuddy.com, which monitors North American fuel prices, said the average price Friday in Canada was nearly $1.33 a litre, compared with $1.05 a litre a year ago.

The effect of the overnight price hikes wasn't expected to be uniform across the country, primarily due to provincial taxes. McTeague said he expected Ottawa would likely be the least hit, predicting pump prices there of about $1.32 a litre.

The jump in price is being blamed on Hurricane Ike, which is expected to make landfall somewhere along the U.S. Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane later this evening or early tomorrow morning.

McTeague said that crude jumped to $147 a barrel on July 11, resulting in the average price of gas going up to $1.36.4 in the GTA.

But in this case, he said, there's no correlation between the price of crude and the jump in prices.

Yesterday, OPEC reported that the price per barrel of oil had dropped to $96.80 (U.S.), he said, yet motorists were still paying more than the $1 a litre they should have been paying.

After Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, prices went up about 16 cents per litre, he said.

But that increase came after Katrina hit, while this hike came in anticipation of Ike, "without evidence of any damage."

But if Ike leaves behind a trail of chaos, McTeague said, worse may be in store.

"They've already been ramping up the price," he said. "If this hurricane does the devastation anywhere similar to Katrina as far as the refineries and gas production is concerned, it'll be a lot worse."

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McTeague attributed the hike to market manipulation, not future woes. "It has nothing to do with weather," he said.

Representatives from the major oil companies were not available for comment last night.

With files from The Canadian Press

