Rising food prices and the cost of mortgage interest again helped push inflation higher on the same day between June 2022 and 2023, albeit at a slower pace, according to the latest Statistics Canada data released on Tuesday.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.8% yoy in June after rising 3.4% in May.
The slowdown in growth was largely due to lower gasoline prices (-21.6%) year-on-year.
Groceries are still expensive
Data shows that Canadians paid more on mortgage rates in June (+30.1%, compared to 29.9% in May) than in June 2022.
As for the food basket, prices rose by 9.1% yoy in June, an increase almost identical to that of May (9%).
Foods that saw the largest year-on-year increases included meat (+6.9%), baked goods (+12.9%), dairy (+7.4%) and other food preparations (+10.2%).
Fresh fruit price increases also accelerated in June (+10.4%) compared to May (+5.7%), partly due to month-on-month higher grape prices (+30%).
According to Statistics Canada, price growth slowed in eight provinces in June compared to May. Prince Edward Island recorded the largest decrease (+0.2%) in the country.
In Quebec, inflation reached 3.6% yoy in May and rose 0.4% between May and June.