According to Statistics Canada (StatCan) inflation is up and it is largely due to gas prices and other contributing factors.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is what calculates the rate of inflation across Canada by measuring the price changes of certain goods and services.
According to StatCan, the CPI has risen 4% in the last 12-months as of August. Year-over-year in July, this inflation rate was calculated to be only 3.3%, meaning the rate of inflation increased by nearly a whole percentile.
The drastic uptick in the rate of inflation is being attributed to the rise in gas prices across Canada.
On average gas prices have increased by 0.8% in August, when in July they were down by 12.9% comparatively.
According to Gas Buddy’s localized data, over the month of July in Victoria, the price of regular gas hovered around $1.93 per litre while in August they were close to $2 per litre.
Gas isn’t the only price on a steady rise though — according to StatsCan, rent and mortgages have also been becoming more costly at a steady rate.
On the whole, prices for rent across Canada were up by 6% this August as compared to last year.
The rise in rent was predicted to be only around 3% in Victoria year-over-year, but for other provinces, the rate of inflation was much more noticeable.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s average rent increased by 8.4%, Alberta went up by 6.5%, Nova Scotia was the highest increase going up by 9.5% and Manitoba’s average rent increased by 6.1%.
StatCan also says that mortgages are up by 30.9%, largely due to the Bank of Canada increasing the interest rate to slow down spending and drive the rate of inflation down.
Related:
- Federal government to remove GST on new build construction slated for rental
- Rental rates across Victoria show slight increase over last month
Groceries are also on the rise, although the price increases have reportedly slowed.
Prices are up an average of 6.9% as compared to last August across the board, but StatCan says that rate of inflation was at 8.5% in July, so the increases have slowed down.
Certain products have gone up more than others according to StatCan. Cereals are up by 0.2%, coffee and tea are up by 0.9%, chicken products are up by 8.9% and beef by 11.9%.
Recently, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the implementation of new measures to help the middle class which includes getting together with grocery store CEOs and strategizing ways to bring down the price of food.
Have you noticed anything else in particular getting increasingly more expensive? Let us know in the comments!
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