Inflation in Quebec remains high. In fact, the consumer price index rose 4.8% last year, the highest in Canada.
Even worse. In three years, from September 2020 to September 2023, inflation in Quebec increased by 17.3%, exceeding the increase recorded in the entire country (+15.8%) by 1.5 percentage points. Canada.
Gasoline is winning over inflation in Quebec with a majestic 70% increase in price when we go to the pump.
EAT
Are households right to complain about the rising cost of shopping baskets? Yes.
As evidence of this, the price of all food in Quebec has exploded by 23.3% in these three years, 2 percentage points more than the increase in Canada.
For the period September 2020 to September 2023, here is a skewer of hearty gains we received in the food basket:
- Fresh meat: +27.8%
- Beef: +35.8%
- Butter: +23.0%
- Cheese: +25.9%
- Bakery: +25.7%
- Grain: +29.0%
- Fresh fruit: +24.4%
- Fresh vegetables: +22.0%
HOUSING
When it comes to housing, here too the cost of living cost us our wallets.
Overall, we saw an increase of 18.3% in Quebec between September 2020 and September 2023, the same as the country as a whole.
Pay particular attention to the following inflation fluctuations:
- Rent: +15.2%
- Own accommodation: +20.1%
- Costs for change of ownership: +28.6%
- Home insurance: +19.1%
- Maintenance and repair: +20.0%
- Heating oil and other fuels: +116%
Among the biggest victims of inflation are households forced to renew their mortgages. The cost of mortgage interest has increased by 41.5% in the last 24 months!
DELAYED SALARIES
Have wages increased as much as the consumer price index over the same three-year period? NO.
According to Statistics Canada and the Institute of Statistics of Quebec, average weekly earnings in Quebec increased by 12.9% during the three-year period.
This means that Quebec workers have generally become “impoverished” over the past three years. The wage increase shows a downward deviation of 4.4 percentage points compared to the 17.3% increase in the consumption basket.
From January to September 2023, average compensation in Quebec was $1,148.67 per week, compared to $1,017.65 in the period from January to September 2020, an increase of $131 per week.
If wages had kept pace with inflation, average weekly earnings would have increased by $176 instead of $131. People would have had an additional income of $2,340 per year before taxes.
