Gas prices have a larger tax component in Canada than in the US...therefore the percentage changes will be lower here than in the US relative to changes in crude prices. That much is just math.
Part of the reason the gasoline price goes down more slowly than it goes up is that margins (refiners margins, etc) get squeezed on the way up...by competition no less. And they try to recover some of that on the way down.
As for competition in Canada - it varies from city to city, and you will certainly see different prices from one place to the next. But typically within a given market the retailers will follow some price leader and basically match their price - if they have to they will drive around and see what everyone else is charging and make theirs the same. There is no law against that. The laws apply if there are phone calls, agreements to always do this...etc. And no doubt that happens too...but overall they will compete by at least matching whoever moves first.
The other factor in all of this is that refined products such as gas, diesel, heating oil, all have their own supply/demand/inventory figures, and sometimes there may be excess of one product and shortage of another...and refiners are more or less fixed in what they can produce from a barrel of crude. So prices will vary between the various products of crude oil.
The current melt down in crude prices will have an effect on gas prices at some time...moreso because demand is down a lot and refineries are not running at full capacity. Once hurricane season is less of an issue I expect gasoline may drop...hopefully crude prices do not drop a lot more or the TSX may go through the floor.
The all time high was like $4.35 a gallon I can recall over here-for 87-...thats when oil was $140+ now its almost $100....but theres no price fixing huh ?
