Canada’s inflation rate cooled in June, though the latest figures show household costs moving in different directions. Statistics Canada reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 2.8% from a year earlier, down from 3.2% in May.
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Prices at the pump were still 20.5% higher than a year earlier, but that was well below May’s 33.2% increase. Gasoline prices also dropped 10.2% from May, as diplomatic talks and an interim ceasefire in the Middle East helped ease global oil prices.
Overall, the Consumer Price Index fell 0.4% month over month, its largest decline since December 2024. Excluding gasoline, annual inflation held steady at 2.2%.
Travel, however, became more expensive as World Cup matches brought visitors to Toronto and Vancouver. Traveller accommodation prices jumped 10.1% nationally, including increases of 19.4% in Ontario and 20% in British Columbia.
Airfares rose 9.6%, the largest annual increase since February 2023, while travel tours and passenger vehicle rentals each climbed 6.8%.
Grocery inflation slowed slightly to 3.9% from 4.3%, but still exceeded the overall inflation rate for a 17th consecutive month. Fresh fruit prices increased 1.7%, helped by a 0.6% decline in grape prices. Chicken rose 5.7%, while bread, rolls and buns cost 6% more.
Vehicle prices increased 1.9%, the smallest gain since March 2025. Internet access services fell 3.8%.
Ontario recorded the country’s lowest provincial inflation rate at 2%, while Nova Scotia posted the highest at 4.7%, largely because of rising accommodation costs. Prince Edward Island was the only province where inflation did not slow, remaining at 3.8%.
The measures of core inflation, CPI-trim and CPI-median, which the Bank of Canada uses as one of the factors in determining the interest rate, fell to 1.8 and 1.9 from 2.0 and 2.1, respectively.
CPI-trim and CPI-median are core inflation measures that exclude extreme price changes. CPI-trim removes the outer 40% of the data, while CPI-median focuses on the median price change.
The next scheduled date for announcing the bank rate is September 2, 2026.
Consumer Price Index, June 2026