Some U.S. gas stations along the border are noticing a growing amount of a foreign substance in their tills: multicoloured Canadian dollars. While many cost-conscious Canadians in border communities have long filled up their tanks with American gas to save money, some say recent record-high prices at the pumps north of the 49th parallel could be setting off a new wave of cross-border shopping. It is something they are so used to in Point Roberts, Wash., — a tiny chunk of the United States cut off from the rest of the country by Canadian territory about a half-hour from Vancouver — that they post gas prices in loonies and litres, as well as greenbacks and gallons. Faced with pump prices in Vancouver that spiked to an average of 98.5 cents for a litre of regular in the past week, it is no surprise that Canadians — especially those from the nearby suburb of Tsawwassen just minutes away — are crossing the border for prices as low as 83.9 cents. And if things stay that way, Point Roberts, population 1,500, could see its already considerable petro-tourism business go through the roof.
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