Price increases at grocery stores continued to decline in November from a year earlier, as did prices for cell phone service and heating oil, allowing inflation to stabilize in November, according to Statistics Canada data released Tuesday.
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The consumer price index (CPI) in Canada increased by 3.1% in November compared to the previous year, showing the same growth as in October.
Food prices continued to rise in November (+4.7%), although less significantly than in October (+5.4%). “This is the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year slowdown in grocery store price growth,” the federal agency noted.
The biggest contributors to the slowdown were prices for non-alcoholic drinks (-0.6%), fresh vegetables (+2.5%) and other food preparations (+6.4%).
However, prices for meat (+5%), canned vegetables and vegetable preparations (+5.8%), and sugar and confectionery (+8.3%) recorded more significant increases.
Prices for services remained high in November, rising 4.6% year-on-year. This rate is also the same as in October (+4.6%). The price increase for organized trips was higher in November (+26.1%) than in October (+11.3%).
The drop in wireless service prices offset this increase, as consumers who signed up for a wireless plan in November paid 22.6% less than those who got one in November 2022. Statistics Canada explains this decline “due to various promotions offered across the industry in advance of Black Friday and offering discounted packages or additional dates.”
The fall in energy prices increased in November year-on-year (-5.7%), compared to October (-5.4%), due to the fall in heating oil prices (-23.6%).
Canadians continued to feel the increase in mortgage interest costs (+29.8%) and rent (+7.4%).
According to Statistics Canada, price increases in November increased year-over-year in all provinces. In Quebec, the inflation rate increased by 3.6% between November 2022 and November 2023. It is also the province with the highest inflation rate in Canada.
Originally posted 2023-12-19 23:28:21.