Party leaders didn't let an unexpected drop in the cost of gas derail their plans to hammer away at prices being too damn high.

Prices usually rise ahead of a long weekend, but the last two days have seen a slight drop, according to the Canadian Automobile Association's price tracker. Dan McTeague, a former MP and head of Canadians for Affordable Energy, predicts a slight jump on Saturday.

The average Ontario price is 202.3 cents/L, CAA reports, which is down from 206 cents/L on Thursday. It's still 10 cents more per litre than this time last week.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath spent her Friday morning virtual presser talking up the NDP's plan to have the Ontario Energy Board set a weekly price cap, while chirping both the Liberal and PC plan to temporarily lower the gas and fuel taxes. She made a similar promise during the 2018 campaign.

"I'm really proud that my team is really the only team in Ontario that's prepared to take on big oil," Horwath said. Lowering the gas and fuel tax "could put five more cents right into the pockets of the gas companies because there's nothing preventing the gas companies from just jacking up the price with this scheme that Doug Ford and Steven Del Duca proposed."

"By regulating the wholesale and retail price, we will make sure that what you pay is fair and nothing more. And we're going to have the Ontario Energy Board set the maximum price each week, not greedy gas companies," she added.

The NDP's proposed regulations would "truly tie retail gasoline prices to the price of crude," according to a backgrounder provided by the party. NDP MPP Gilles Bisson introduced a private member's bill in the last session on the same topic.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca took his pimped-out Ford Transit to Ottawa last night and unveiled his party's commitments to the people of Ontario's second-largest city, but fielded questions on gas prices and the NDP's promise.

"We know in parts of Canada like, for example, on the east coast, they have tried efforts to regulate gas prices. It doesn't actually work," he said. Instead, Del Duca boosted his (and PC Leader Doug Ford's) promise to lower the gas tax by 7.3 cents/L and the fuel tax by 5.3 cents/L for six months, starting on July 1.

Del Duca's team continued on the offensive after his morning press conference. They sent an email to reporters pointing to comments Horwath made in 2018, when she said the NDP wouldn't look to cap gas prices.

All four Atlantic provinces regulate gas prices through a commission or utility board. P.E.I. has done it for over 30 years, while the other provinces got into the game in the mid-2000s, according to the Canada Energy Regulator.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador all set prices every Thursday. In NL and NB, the boards only set a max price. In P.E.I and NS, however, the boards set both a minimum and maximum price.

Del Duca didn't cite his source, but one 2009 study from the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies made a similar claim. Energy Minister Todd Smith has referred to an OEB study that says the same thing.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives published a response to the AIMS study, arguing it was fundamentally flawed and that regulation does help lower prices.

Ford was also asked about gas prices today, but he stuck to common talking points.

Gas prices take centre stage as long weekend begins

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