On April 1st gas prices will go up and stay when the 5 cent Federal carbon tax is implemented. From there, Ontario drivers are going to experience a surge in pricing as we head into the summer driving season.

Ontario, along with Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick are the only provinces receiving the tax because they didn’t already have their own in place.

A petroleum analyst for gasbuddy.com says the tax couldn’t come at a worse time. First, in mid-April we’ll change over from cheaper winter gas to a more pricey summer gas that will stack another 5 cents a litre.

Secondly, the price of oil is starting to rise thanks to several international factors including OPEC, a group of 14 countries that control a chunk of the world’s oil cutting production by just over 1 million barrels a day.

Ottawa has offered a prebate in anticipation of the carbon tax. You can claim the credit when completing your taxes this year and depending on income you can qualified for around $150 per person.