Gasoline prices fell across Quebec in 2025, but Montreal motorists still paid among the highest prices in the province despite strong sales volumes that would normally help lower costs, according to a new report from CAA-Quebec.
The automobile association’s annual gasoline price report, released Tuesday, shows the average price of gasoline in Quebec declined 5.8 per cent compared with 2024, largely due to lower crude oil and refined gasoline prices.
In Montreal, however, retail markups declined by only 1.2 per cent last year, far less than in other major centres, raising questions about price-setting practices.
Excluding the remote Nord-du-Québec region, Montreal recorded the province’s highest average price at the pump in 2025 at 158.3 cents per litre, narrowly ahead of neighbouring Laval at 158.1 cents.
Those prices persisted despite Montreal, Laval and Montérégie having the highest gasoline sales volumes per service station in Quebec, a factor that typically helps keep prices lower.
CAA-Quebec says the situation is difficult to explain
The report also notes Montreal drivers face the highest fuel tax burden among major Canadian cities. Taxes represented 33.4 per cent of the price of a litre of regular gasoline in 2025, partly because several other provinces eliminated the federal carbon tax last April.
Over 52 weeks, gasoline prices rose on Fridays only 12 times in the city, and none of those increases involved unusually high retail markups.
Prices fluctuated widely during the year. The highest price recorded in Montreal was 169.9 cents per litre on Sept. 4, while the lowest price, 136.9 cents, was observed on Dec. 29 and 30.
CAA-Quebec public affairs director Nicolas Ryan said fuel costs remain a sensitive issue as households continue to face financial pressure.
“At a time when the rising cost of living is putting more and more pressure on household budgets, motorists are naturally more sensitive to gasoline prices,” Ryan said in a statement.
The organization says it will continue tracking pricing trends in Montreal and other regions.
