I'm old enough to remember Dan McTeague as the Liberal MP who helped get a former Vancouver-area resident, Bill Sampson, released in 2003 after being tortured for two years and seven months in a Saudi prison.

Back then, McTeague was the parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs.

McTeague faced the daunting task of coming up with a plan to convince a murderous regime that it was in its best interest to free Sampson, a former member of the Seaforth Highlanders in Vancouver.

Sampson had been framed as a member of a liquor-smuggling ring to cover up a bombing by Saudis who hated their own government.

Before becoming a politician, McTeague was a public relations employee at Toyota Canada, so it was a natural fit that after his political career ended, he would become a senior petroleum analyst at Gasbuddy.com.

He became known to TV viewers and radio listeners across the country as Gas Buddy Dan because of his frequent media commentaries about the ups and downs of prices at the pumps.

But today, Gas Buddy Dan announced that he's left Gasbuddy.com after five years.

His new Twitter feed has the handle @GasPriceWizard.

"Please use this twitter account for gasprice updates along with my new site to be unveiled soon, for all those important gas price predictions," he tweeted.

https://twitter.com/GasPriceWizard/status/1144270896682741760

Not everyone agreed with McTeague's arguments that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion could lead to lower gas prices in Metro Vancouver.

But there's no disputing that he's had a tremendous impact on the perceptions of the media about fuel prices—and he has educated the public about the impact of refinery shutdowns in B.C. and Washington state on the prices people pay to fill up their tanks.