Statistics Canada today released the Consumer Price Index report for April 2022, and the annual rate of inflation has now hit 6.8 per cent.
This is slightly higher than March’s inflation rate of 6.7%, leading to inflation remaining at a three-decade high.
Though gasoline prices remained relatively stable compared to March of this year, Statistics Canada says the high rate is due to the continued increase in food and shelter prices.
As per the report, inflation is higher than in March (5.5 %) at 5.8% even after excluding the price of gasoline. Gasoline prices decreased slightly by -0.7% on a month-over-month basis due to a decrease in the global crude oil prices in April.
Among the provinces, PEI’s month-over-month inflation rate remained stable at 8.9%. Inflation increased to 7.6% in New Brunswick followed by Manitoba (+7.5%) and Nova Scotia (+7.1%). The rate of inflation decreased to 6.3 % in Alberta and Ontario (6.9 %) from the rate in March.
Statistics Canada says compared to the month of March, inflation decreased in Alberta by 0.2 per cent, partly due to the temporary removal of the fuel tax on gasoline by the Kenney government.
April 2022 Consumer Price Index Report in a nutshell:
- Food prices increased by 9.7% compared with April 2021. This increase was the largest increase since September 1981.
- Prices for foods such as bread (+12.2%), pasta (+19.6%), rice (+7.4%), cereal products (+13.9%), and a cup of coffee (+13.7%) cost more in April 2022 than in April 2021.
- Costs for shelter costs rose at the fastest pace since June 1983 at 7.4% year over year caused by higher prices for energy sources used to heat homes, such as natural gas (+22.2%) and fuel oil and other fuels (+64.4%).
- Homeowners’ replacement cost – which is related to the price of new homes – increased by +13.0%. Other owned accommodation expenses which include commissions on the sale of real estate increased to +17.2%.
- Rent prices increased in April (+4.5%) compared with the same month in 2021 led by an increase in rent prices Ontario (+5.3%), Quebec (+4.3%) and British Columbia (+6.4%).
The Bank of Canada increased interest rates to 1 per cent to control inflation in April and said, “CPI inflation is now expected to average almost 6% in the first half of 2022 and remain well above the control range throughout this year.”
Money, Goods and Prices, , provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Personal Inflation Calculator
Statistics Canada has an online Personal Inflation Calculator which you can use to see what your personal inflation was in 2022 depending on the amount you spent monthly on groceries, rent, mortgage etc.