In April, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Canada rose by 2.7% year-over-year, down from a 2.9% increase in March, primarily due to a broad slowdown in the prices of food, services, and durable goods.
However, the moderation was countered by a faster rise in gasoline prices, which jumped by 6.1% compared to 4.5% in March. Excluding gasoline, the CPI increase was 2.5%, down from 2.8%.
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.5% in April, driven mainly by gasoline prices. Seasonally adjusted, the monthly CPI increase was 0.2%.
Per the news release, the deceleration in food prices played a significant role in this trend. The index for food purchased from stores rose by 1.4% in April, compared to 1.9% in March, with meat prices, particularly fresh or frozen beef, contributing notably due to a base-year effect. Other food categories like bakery products, non-alcoholic beverages, and seafood also showed slower price growth or declines. Despite these slowdowns, food prices from April 2021 to April 2024 increased by 21.4%.
Prices for food from restaurants also rose more slowly, increasing by 4.3% year-over-year in April, down from 5.1% in March. The index remained unchanged month-over-month.
Gasoline prices saw a significant rise, with consumers paying 6.1% more than the previous year. This surge was fueled by a 7.9% month-over-month increase, driven by the transition to summer blends, higher oil prices due to supply concerns, and an increased federal carbon levy.
Regionally, six provinces experienced slower year-over-year price increases in April compared to March.
Newfoundland and Labrador saw a significant decrease from 3.1% to 2.6%.
Quebec experienced a notable decline, from 3.6% to 3.0%. Prince Edward Island and Ontario had slight changes, maintaining or increasing their CPI. Manitoba had the lowest CPI, decreasing from 0.8% to 0.4%. British Columbia and New Brunswick were exceptions, with their CPIs rising to 2.9% in April.
In Alberta, inflation decelerated partly due to lower prices for electricity and natural gas, though rent prices rose significantly due to high net interprovincial migration, marking the highest increase in Canada at 16.2%.
The measures of core inflation, CPI-trim and CPI-median, which the Bank of Canada uses as one of the factors to determine the interest rate, reduced at a lower rate and hovers around 2.9% and 2.6%, respectively.
CPI-trim and CPI-median are core inflation measures that exclude extreme price changes. CPI-trim removes the outer 40%, while CPI-median focuses on the median price change.