Quebec rolling out higher ethanol blend in gasoline starting this week

The province is gradually increasing ethanol content in fuel, with potential effects on prices and engine performance.

Drivers could see changes at the pump this week as the province started gradually increasing the ethanol content in gasoline.

The rollout is part of Quebec’s clean fuel regulations, which requires oil companies to ensure that regular gasoline contains at least 12 per cent of ethanol by the end of 2026.

The percentage will rise to 14 per cent in 2028 and reach 15 per cent by 2030.

The provincial government said the measure is aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but some industry experts note the impact for consumers will be mixed.

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, said drivers should expect higher prices — not necessarily right away, but in the long-run.

“Achieving a 15 per cent reduction means that the cost is passed on to you, the consumer,” he said.

While the impact is expected to be minimal for newer cars, McTeague said that some car owners, particularly those with older vehicles, could notice changes in how their engines perform over time. And it’s not only cars that are likely to be affected.

“The bigger consequence for a lot of people will be with the smaller machinery and equipment … all those things which run on gasoline,” explained McTeague.

He also warns problems could arise if ethanol-rich fuel sits in tanks too long.

“You’re going to want to make sure that at the end of the season, you get rid of the gasoline in them because it might not do great things for the machinery,” he said, pointing to ethanol’s ability to retain water.

While most provinces already have 15 per cent ethanol in their gasoline blends, Quebec’s production capacity is limited. According to Jesse Caron, an automobile expert with CAA-Quebec, that means much of the ethanol will need to be imported.

“The problem is that, aside from this facility in Varennes, the province doesn’t have the resources needed to supply the whole market,” Caron said. “So oil companies have to depend on buying ethanol in other provinces and, in large part, in the U.S.”

That raises questions about whether the environmental benefits are as strong as advertised by the province.

“Importing this means that we’re simply displacing our emissions from Canada to the United States, where most of the corn used for ethanol is grown and processed,” McTeague argued. “Maybe it is a win for Canada — for those of us purists who are focused strictly on CO2 — but for the rest of the world, it doesn’t change the global impact.”

Caron also stressed that not every car was built to handle the same level of ethanol.

“It’s not as clean cut as it seems to figure out which car model can do well with this percentage, so our advice is really to read the owner’s manual and respect what’s in there,” he said.