If you’ve noticed prices on the rise, it’s not just you– inflation rates have gone up in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, this is up from July’s steady 1.7%.
INCREASING COSTS
Canada’s Consumer Price Index rose by 1.9% on a year over year basis in August. The Consumer Price Index is a system that represents Canadian consumers’ changing prices; “it measures price change by comparing, through time, the cost of a fixed basket of goods and servicers,” says the Government of Canada.
Statistics Canada notes that “prices at the pump contribute the most to the acceleration in the all-items Consumer Price Index.” Due to gas prices falling to a lesser extent, this has led to a “faster growth in headline inflation.” Gasoline prices fell 12.7% in August when compared with July’s 16.1% decrease. Higher refining margins resulted in a monthly price rise of 1.4% in August, “offsetting lower crude oil costs.”
Photo: Statistics Canada
Other rising goods include meat and clothing. Meat prices rose 7.2% year over year in August, with higher prices for fresh or frozen beef at an increase of 12.7%. Opposingly, fresh fruit prices have fallen by 1.1% last month. Prices for fresh fruit are often prone to seasonal factors, including where the fruit was grown and the weather in those regions.
As for clothing (and footwear), prices rose 1.7% year over year compared against a 0.8% increase in July.
DECREASING COSTS
Aside from the falling price of fresh fruit, Canadians will be pleased to know that cellular service prices are falling, albeit at a slower pace. They fell to a lesser extent year over year in August compared with July, at -1.2% and -6.6% respectively.
Photo: Statistics Canada
Travel service costs have also lowered by 3.8% last month. Travel tours have been similarly on the decline at 9.3% annually in August. One contributor is a far lower demand for destinations in the United States. That being said, prices rose nationally for travel in August with hotel costs increasing the most in Nova Scotia (+16.1%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+30.9%).
Inflation rates in Canada were generally expected to rise in August. Numerous factors, especially gasoline costs, have contributed to this overall increase.
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