Gasoline retailers need to justify their generous profit margins in the Quebec region, where prices at the pump are unusually high, says Pierre Fitzgibbon, who is calling on the Federal Competition Bureau to launch an investigation.
• Also read: Gasoline prices: Pierre Fitzgibbon points out retailers
• Also read: According to CAA-Quebec, gasoline is still too expensive in Quebec
“There needs to be an investigation, then I am far from saying that there was collusion. But the competition office needs to look and carry out analysis at the skill level to determine whether there has been consultation between the players,” the economy minister said at a press conference in parliament on Wednesday.
He then presented a statement from the Régie de l’énergie in which he stated what everyone already knew: drivers pay more for their fuel in the Capitale-Nationale than anywhere else in Quebec.
Remember that the Régie prepared this document at the request of Pierre Fitzgibbon after our parliamentary office questioned the Minister of the State Capital, Jonatan Julien, last September on the sidelines of a CAQ faction in Saguenay.
At that time, there was a 22 cent difference between pump prices in both regions. On Wednesday, that gap was more than 16 cents.
gluttony
As CAA-Quebec suggested back in March last year, this phenomenon can be explained by the greed of retailers in the region, who reserve unusually high profit margins compared to provincial standards.
Estimated retail margins in the Quebec region have been above average since 2021, increasing by 10.6 cents per liter from 4.37 to 14.97 cents between 2018 and 2023. “In 2023, only three regions had higher detail margins, namely Nord-du-Québec, Côte-Nord and Bas-Saint-Laurent,” the statement said.
Concerned about the situation, Mr. Fitzgibbon called in the heads of the five largest gasoline retailers in the Quebec region, namely Couche-Tard, Pétroles Cadeko, Harnois Énergie, Costco Wholesale Canada and Sobeys, to find out “what would justify this additional margin.” “.
Collectively, these retailers control almost 85% of the market in the region, while in the rest of Quebec they only account for 70% of sales volume, the minister stressed.
No maximum price
When asked about ways to resolve this situation, which is costly for drivers in Quebec, Pierre Fitzgibbon emphasized the importance of competition. In his opinion, the government has no interest in intervening, for example by setting a cap on trade margins.
“This has many disadvantages […]. Setting a ceiling price, technically everyone goes to the ceiling, so I’m not going to play with the price every day, that’s not my job,” he said.
“But the government must be considerate of the angry population,” he added, specifying that he wants the Energy Authority to make it easier to find information on the edges of gas stations.
The average price of a liter of gasoline in each region today
Capitale Nationale: 174.4 cents
Centre-du-Québec: 172.9 cents
North Shore: 171.1 cents
Estrie: 170 cents
Mauricie: 169.9 cents
Lower Saint-Laurent: 169.8 cents
Gaspésie: 169.4 cents
Chaudière-Appalaches: 169.4 cents
Montreal: 168.3 cents
Laval: 168.1 cents
Lanaudière: 167.2 cents
Laurentians: 166.4 cents
Montérégie: 166.3 cents
Outaouais: 165.7 cents
Abitibi-Téminscamingue: 164 cents
Saguenay Lac-Saint-Jean: 157.7 cents
Source: CAA-Quebec