Canadians paid a lot of money for groceries, travel, and housing in November, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) update from Statistics Canada.
The federal data agency released its report on Tuesday, marking a 3.1% increase in the CPI year-over-year.
Although higher prices for travel tours applied upward pressure on the CPI, prices grew slower in other sectors year over year. This includes food, cell services, and oil.
“Excluding food and energy, the CPI increased 3.5% in November, following a 3.4% gain in October,” added Statistics Canada.
Statistics Canada
As far as housing goes, mortgage interest costs were up by a staggering 29.8%, and rent increased by 7.4%.
Food bought from stores was 4.7% costlier, too.
Statistics Canada called housing and food cost changes “the largest contributors to the year-over-year increase” in November.
“This marked the fifth consecutive month that grocery price growth slowed year over year, with prices for non-alcoholic beverages (-0.6%), fresh vegetables (+2.5%), and other food preparations (+6.4%) contributing the most to the slowdown. Food prices continue to be driven by a variety of international and domestic factors,” the report reads.
Statistics Canada
Meat prices increased by 5%; preserved vegetables and vegetable preparations became a bit more expensive (5.8%).
You’re right if you’ve seen candy getting pricier at stores. Sugar and confectionery items increased in price by 8.3% year over year.
Things looked a bit less jarring on a month-by-month basis.
The CPI rose by 0.1% compared to October. Though gas prices fell by 3.5%, which is a good sign, it must be noted that they fell almost doubly in October with a 6.4% drop.
Just like in October, the cost of services increased by 4.6% in November on a year-over-year basis.
Statistics Canada
“Prices for travel tours accelerated on a year-over-year basis in November (+26.1%) compared with October (+11.3%), mainly attributable to events held in destination cities in the United States during November,” said Statistics Canada.
Cellular service prices witnessed a decline due to seasonal promotions, Black Friday sales, and bonus data offers.
“Consumers who signed on to a cell phone plan in November paid 22.6% less than those who did so in November 2022,” the federal agency noted.
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