Six charts that tell the story of Canada’s soaring inflation

Since January 1991, Canada’s inflation has not been as high.

Statistics Canada’s consumer price Index (CPI), which measures the cost of 700 items and services that Canadians typically purchase each month, captures Canadians’ shopping experience.

CPI figures from March reveal how widespread inflationary pressures were, with prices rising in major categories such as food, housing, transportation, and gasoline.

Canadian housing markets, supply chains pressures and geopolitical conflict all have an impact on prices and contribute to rising inflation.

CTVNews.ca created several charts using Statistics Canada data to show the sharp rise of prices in major sectors.

Gas and energy prices are rising

The March price of gasoline rose 38% year-over-year from $181.3 in March 2021 to $25.3 this year. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global oil prices surged in March due to supply uncertainty, according to Statistics Canada.

The increase in energy prices was 27.8% compared to last year. Prices rose from $167.4 to $213.9 in 2021 in March to $213.9 in the 2022.

Continued increases in food, shelter and transportation are a sign of the times

Food inflation rose to 7.7 per cent in March this year— the highest it’s been since January 2011.

Shoppers paid 8.7 per cent more for food purchased in stores over a yearly basis in March than they did in February—largely due to high input prices and rising transportation costs.

Statistics Canada did a more thorough analysis and found that dining out costs more. Canadians spent more on dining out in March than they did in February (4.7%), as the prices of food at restaurants rose faster (5.4%) year-over-year.

Both shelter and transportation saw an increase of 6.8% and 11.2 percent, respectively, from last month. Due to increased demand for domestic travel and trips into the U.S., air transport prices also rose in March.

It was revealed that furniture and passenger vehicles drove the high price of durable goods. Canadians are paying higher prices for furniture because of supply chain issues and higher shipping costs. From 2.7% in February, March saw a 4.5 percent increase in household operations, furniture and equipment.

All provinces see an increase in inflation

March saw an increase in inflation at a faster pace than February. The highest price growth was observed in Prince Edward Island (8.9%), New Brunswick (7.4%), Manitoba (7.4%) and Ontario (7.7%).

Although fuel oil and other fuels drove price growth in Atlantic provinces, Ontario and Manitoba saw a rise in gasoline prices.