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CALGARY - Motorists who headed out of town for the first long weekend of the summer are probably still feeling scorched as gasoline prices in Canada averaged close to $1.30 a litre.

And the pain at the pump looks likely to get worse, with crude oil hitting another record near US$130 a barrel on Tuesday.

Garey Aitken, an energy analyst with Bissett Income Fund, says there's no question that the crude price is linked to the cost of gasoline, but there's a lag between the two.

Additionally, there are numerous other factors that go into gasoline prices, notably taxes and also including the oil companies' refining, distribution and marketing expenses.

The price-tracking website Gasbuddy.com says Canadians on average paid a little less than $1.30 a litre for gasoline on Victoria Day.

On Tuesday that price was just slightly lower.

A year ago, gasoline was a dozen cents a litre cheaper.

Aitken said demand for fuel is not retreating as much as some would expect, with prices as high as they are.

"People need energy and there's no avoiding it in a lot of aspects of people's lives and the way business is operated," he said.

Some consumers can drive less or try to drive more slowly and economically, Aitken said: "There's certainly an incentive for people to be creative in terms of finding ways to do the same activity, but do it in a more energy-efficient manner."

But the real key, he added, is making vehicles more efficient in the long term.