As analysts expected, drivers in Ontario and Quebec woke up to higher gas prices Wednesday. 

“With the changeover from winter to summer gasoline in Canada, brace for some big increases at the pumps in Ontario and Quebec this week,” Dan McTeague, an analyst from GasBuddy.com, wrote in a tweet on Monday.

In a separate tweet, McTeague said some cities across Ontario could see a six-cent rise in prices overnight, putting average gas prices in the province at levels not seen since early October 2014.

“I think what we are also seeing here is a bit of anticipation by a lot of investors, speculators, oil companies, refineries – the demand picture in the United States is set to rise,”McTeague told CP24, noting the average gas price in the GTA will hit 121.9 cents/litre overnight and stay there for the next several days. Prices did hit that mark at many gas stations across Ontario and Quebec on Wednesday. 

“The stronger economy means more Americans are taking to the roads,” he added. “We price into that market […] of course it doesn’t help that we have a weak Canadian dollar and much higher taxes.”

However, Roger McKnight, a senior analyst at En-Pro International, told BNN the expected hike in gas prices has nothing to do with summer gas versus winter gas.

“What we have here is two market leaders in southern Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes deciding to boost up prices for whatever reason. That would be Esso and Shell who both went up over five cents.”

He said once Esso, which he called the “price Shepherd,” moves its prices others tend to follow.

“It seems to me this is just a price grab by primarily Esso with Shell following, and the rest will follow as well,” he said.