CBJ — The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, recorded a 3.6% increase compared with a year ago, making it the biggest annual increase since May, 2011.

The uptick should come as no surprise, given how much certain commodities such as gasoline and food products have increased significantly since the pandemic first began to take hold in March, 2020. Housing prices continue to skyrocket, with still no end in sight, despite lobbying efforts from various corners.

Excluding gasoline, which was up nearly 45% compared with the same month one year ago, the CPI in May would have increased by 2.5% compared with 2020’s figures.

The Bank of Canada has projected that the rate of inflation will likely settle in at about 3% for the duration of the summer and perhaps into the fall before scaling back. The Bank’s target inflation rate is in the vicinity of 2%.

Bucking the trend, Saskatchewan’s inflation actually deceased by a full percentage point from 3.7% to 2.7%. Alberta and B.C. also came in with lower rates, albeit much smaller. Inflation was up in the other seven provinces.

Inflation rate by province (previous month in parenthesis)

• Newfoundland and Labrador: 4.4% (4.3)
• Prince Edward Island: 6.0 (5.3)
• Nova Scotia: 4.8 (4.2)
• New Brunswick: 4.3 (4.2)
• Quebec: 4.1 (3.4)
• Ontario: 3.7 (3.3)
• Manitoba: 3.4 (3.2)
• Saskatchewan: 2.7 (3.7)
• Alberta: 3.1 (3.3)
• British Columbia: 2.7 (3.0)

Source: Statistics Canada

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