VICTORIA -- Greater Victoria is currently home to some of the highest gasoline prices in the country, edging out Vancouver by more than two cents per litre.
Residents on the South Island were paying an average of 142.8 cents per litre Monday, according to the latest figures from international gas-price aggregator GasBuddy.
In Powell River, gas prices reached as high as 145.9 cents per litre.
Nine fuel stations in the capital region were selling regular gasoline for 142.9 cents a litre Monday afternoon, while the Costco station in Langford was selling regular gasoline for 139.9 cents.
Elsewhere on Vancover Island, drivers were paying an average of 139 cents in Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley, 138.9 in the Alberni-Clayoquot region, and 132.2 in Comox-Strathcona and North Island regions.
Fuel price analyst Dan McTeague says gasoline retailers in Greater Victoria are currently paying about 131 cents per litre for their fuel, leaving a margin of about 11 cents to cover operational costs and profit.
"It's very frustrating," said driver Al Stephenson, who moved to the island a month ago from Powell River. His wife, Sylvia Stephenson, said the couple plan to buy a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle to replace their large sedan now that they're on the South Island.
"When you have kids you have to drive around and the only way they'll fall asleep is in the car, your gas bill goes way up," said Blake Tessier, who was filling up at a Victoria gas station Monday.
"Right now I feel this is way too high for what we're getting."
The B.C. government is expected to address high living exenses, including gas prices, in its budget Tuesday.
In November, the province announced measures to force fuel companies to make gas pricng data public, following an inquiry into B.C.'s inordinately high pries at the pump.
