Motorists in the northern Manitoba town of Churchill are having to pay a whopping $2.17 a litre at the pumps today.

The price of gasoline at Churchill's only gas station soared by 21 cents a litre overnight.

The pump price was initially set at $2.30 a litre on Tuesday morning, but gas station owner Dale deMeulles told CBC News he had calibrated the pump incorrectly.

The gas station's owners posted this sign explaining the price increase on Tuesday morning. (Samantha Hampton)

The price was adjusted to $2.17 a litre later in the day. deMeulles said he will compensate the handful of drivers who had paid the higher price.

One of those motorists was Samantha Hampton, who said she was hit with sticker shock when she saw the $2.30 pump price that morning.

"Saw the price on the pump and it blew my mind. It was $103.13, and that's for 44 litres of gas," she said.

With the price changed to $2.17 a litre, Hampton would have paid just over $95 to fuel up her vehicle.

A sign outside the station states that the price increase was due to the shipping charges being levied by OmniTrax, the U.S.-based company that owns the port and railway line into town.

Not our fault, says company

DeMeulles said even after the pumps were adjusted, the gas price is still among the highest in Canada.

He added that he was surprised when he got his last shipping invoice from OmniTrax, and it forced him to raise his own prices to maintain his profit margin.

But OmniTrax said it has made only a "minimal change" to the shipping price of gas, with the last change made in September.

OmniTrax Canada president Brad Chase told CBC News the price of gas in Churchill is dependent on its rail line, which transports gasoline to town, so the retailer would be charged more if shipping costs rise.

But Chase said that has not happened in this case. The last time OmniTrax raised its shipping costs, it was a very minimal increase that took place in September.

Chase said there is no way the 21-cent increase could be attributed to the company, and there is no way the costs would have changed overnight.

Hampton said people in Churchill, a community of about 800 located along the Hudson Bay coast, have to drive these days because polar bears are often roaming through town at this time of year.

"It's horrible. I think I can speak on everybody's behalf — I think we're being taken advantage of," she said.

"We live in a remote community and there's no competition. They can up that price, they can decrease it, [it] doesn't matter. We have to pay that price."