A gas price analyst with a long history of advocating against climate action has been given a platform to spread his message on major Canadian media outlets.
Dan McTeague, better known to many Canadians as “the Gas Wizard”, has made numerous appearances in Canadian news media in recent weeks in relation to the Trump administration’s war against Iran.
On March 13, McTeague was quoted by the Toronto Star saying “Today is the best day to buy fuel, so don’t think about it. Do it.”
The following day, McTeague told CBC Montreal that the Quebec government should provide gas rebates since it’s collecting higher taxes from higher gas prices due to the conflict, claiming that taxes are “ill-gotten gains.”
Though McTeague has cultivated a public image of someone advocating for consumers when gas prices are high, he is also the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy (CAE), a fossil fuel advocacy group that runs campaigns opposing climate action.
Experts contacted by DeSmog argue that by featuring McTeague as a gas price expert, media are also giving a big platform to an organization that fights climate policy and questions climate science.
“Canadians for Affordable Energy have developed a clever business model by translating very specific knowledge about the price of gas at the pump into false expertise on broader energy and climate policy,” said Keith Stewart, Senior Energy Strategist with Greenpeace Canada, in a statement to DeSmog. “They regularly share misinformation, yet are given a pass by the mainstream media.”
Stewart points to a recent article written by McTeague in his capacity as president of CAE for the conservative website Juno News as evidence of this false expertise. McTeague argued building more pipelines would insulate Canada from price shocks related to geopolitical conflicts, such as the Trump administration’s war against Iran. Stewart described this as incoherent, noting Canada is already a net exporter of oil and that production costs haven’t increased.
Concerning misinformation, Stewart pointed to CAE petitions and blog posts, authored by McTeague, that deny certain human activities are the root cause of climate change; that claim net zero regulations are an “assault on an affordable way of life”; and that argue incorrectly that climate science is “in dispute.” .
DeSmog reached out to McTeague for comment, but did not receive a reply.
Who is the “Gas Wizard”?
In a recent appearance on CBC’s Information Morning radio program, McTeague was identified as “the petroleum analyst behind GasWizard.ca.” The Toronto Star identified McTeague as a former Member of Parliament (MP) and the founder of GasWizard. The Hamilton Spectatorsimilarly identified McTeague in an article about how the war against Iran would impact gas prices.
Yet McTeague has no professional or academic experience related to the oil and gas sector or the economics of fossil fuels. Prior to being appointed president of CAE in 2019, he served as an MP representing an Ontario riding for the Liberal Party, from 1993 to 2011. During that time, he briefly served as the chair of a committee on gasoline prices. Prior to that, he worked in public relations for Toyota Canada. He has an undergraduate degree in political science.
Donovan Vincent, public editor for the Toronto Star, declined to respond to DeSmog’s questions but said the information provided was “duly noted.”
Chuck Thompson, Head of Public Affairs for CBC, responded to DeSmog’s request for comment stating: “CBC News uses Dan McTeague to discuss fluctuating gas prices; we don’t book him as an energy analyst or feature him on topics like pipelines or energy policy.”
Contrasting with his mainstream media persona, McTeague’s social media posts often rail against any effort to deal with climate change, including referring to emissions-reducing efforts as “arrogance and stupidity”. The Canadians for Affordable Energy’s website has posted videos and articles stating that Chinese EVs are a “Trojanhorse” “that will be used to “spy on Canadians;” that “Iran shock exposes the cost of our net-zero zealotry;” and that Canada must “Focus on energy, not impossible net-zero goals.”
CAE’s site also encourages Canadians to sign up for campaigns opposing carbon pricing and promoting new oil pipelines.
“It’s concerning McTeague is given this position of legitimacy [in mainstream media], because he is using it to mobilize people against climate policy on his website,” said Emilia Belliveau, Energy Transition Program Manager with the non-profit Environmental Defence Canada. “He rails against all types of climate action and has a clear pro-fossil fuel ideology.”
CAE’s YouTube channel has over 95,000 subscribers, while McTeague’s Gas Wizard Twitter account has over 67,000 followers. But through his appearances in Canadian mainstream media, he regularly reaches millions of people.
Two Different Personas
As previously reported by DeSmog, McTeague’s social media posts are frequently combative and political. He has called Liberal Party voters “gullible” and has reposted AI-generated images of Prime Ministers Mark Carney and Justin Trudeau with a caption that reads “weak men make hard times.” McTeague has also shared AI-generated images of Prime Minister Mark Carney with Ghislaine Maxwell. Though McTeague softens his public image for mainstream media appearances, he remains focused on attacking political efforts to fight climate change, even those which are no longer government policy. On a recent March 9 segment on CTV News , McTeague blamed past high gas prices on the carbon tax, despite the consumer carbon tax having been repealed last year by Carney in his first official act as prime minister.
Reports from organizations like the International Institute for Sustainable Development cast doubt on the argument consumer carbon taxes were responsible for gas price spikes.
A 2025 report from the Centre for Future Work revealed that speculation in global oil markets—not carbon pricing or supply shortages—was the primary driver of the inflation surge that hit Canada beginning in 2022. According to the report, that speculation cost Canadian households on average about $12,000 over three years.
CAE solicits donations on its website, but it is not a registered charity. The fossil fuel advocacy group was founded by former New Brunswick MP John Williamson. Williamson was formerly director of communications for former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Williamson was also formerly the national director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), a former fellow at the Manning Centre for Building Democracy (today known as the Canada Strong & Free Network), and a Fraser Institute senior fellow. All three of these organizations have been listed as members of the Atlas Network, a global coalition of free market groups and organization that are generally anti-regulation and pro-fossil fuels.
Though McTeague presents himself as a consumer advocate trying to help Canadians anticipate spikes in gasoline prices, CAE’s incorporation records list its primary purpose as challenging “governments in Canada to prioritize affordable energy when legislating and regulating environmental and energy policies,” and educating “Canadians about the environmental implications of wasteful and expensive environmental and energy policies.”
“If Canadians for Affordable Energy was true to its name it would be promoting domestic renewable energy because wind and solar are the cheapest form of electricity in history,” Belliveau said in a statement to DeSmog.
This, she argued, would “allow us to stop playing the roulette wheel of expensive and volatile oil markets.”
