All items on the Consumer Price Index increased last month except for gas, according to Statistics Canada’s latest report.
The government agency released its CPI report on Tuesday, which revealed an increase of 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in November, down from a 2.0% increase the month before.
“Excluding gasoline, the all-items CPI rose 2.0% in November, following a 2.2% gain in October,” reads the report.
The “all-items” documented in the CPI are eight major components which contribute to the costs of living, including, “shelter; household operations, furnishings and equipment; clothing and footwear; transportation; health and personal care; recreation, education and reading; and alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and recreational cannabis.”
Grocery prices in Canada have skyrocketed in recent years, up 19.6% when compared to November 2021.
The latest report revealed that “prices for food purchased from stores rose 2.6% year over year in November, down slightly from 2.7% in October. Despite the slowdown, grocery prices have remained elevated.”
The cost of shelter shares a similar trajectory, with prices increasing 18.9% over the same period.
“On a monthly basis, the CPI was unchanged in November, following a 0.4% increase in October. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1%,” the report continued.”
“Year over year, gasoline prices fell to a lesser extent in November (-0.5%) compared with October (-4.0%). The smaller year-over-year decline was a result of a base-year effect as prices fell 3.5% month over month in November 2023.”
Gasoline prices remained relatively unchanged in November every month, with shelter costs continuing to rise, but at a slower pace year-over-year.
Shelter costs increased 4.6% year over year last month, following an increase of 4.8% in October.
However, renters in particular saw a jump in costs last month, up 7.7% compared with October’s 7.3% increase.
Provincially, Ontario saw the largest rent price acceleration (+7.4%), followed by Manitoba (+7.9%), and Nova Scotia (+6.4%).
“Conversely, the mortgage interest cost index decelerated for the 15th consecutive month in November (+13.2%) after rising 14.7% in October,” reads the report. “The mortgage interest cost and rent indices contributed the most to the 12-month all-items CPI increase in November.”
The report noted that Black Friday and other related sales are common in November, helping to alleviate the prices across several major components, including household appliances, furnishing, clothing and footwear.
“On a monthly basis, the household operations, furnishings and equipment index declined 0.9% in November, driven by lower prices for cellular services (-6.1%) and furniture (-2.1%),” it said.
“The clothing and footwear index declined 0.8% on a monthly basis, driven by prices for women’s clothing (-0.8%) and children’s clothing (-4.9%). The monthly decline for children’s clothing was the largest on record for the month of November.”
Travel services also saw a mild decline last month, dropping 6.7%, compared to the 7.1% decrease seen in October. The decline in costs was primarily slowed by an increase in accommodation prices, up 8.7%.
Hotel prices in Ontario saw an upward acceleration of 23.7% in November, following a gain of only 1.3% the month before.
According to Statistics Canada, “on a monthly basis, prices for traveller accommodation in Ontario were up 11.0%, the swiftest monthly increase ever recorded for the month of November, coinciding with a series of high-profile concerts.”
Overall, Atlantic Canada saw the largest acceleration in prices last month, as the rest of the country experienced relatively flat price growth.
“The regional disparity was mainly attributed to fuel oil and other fuels. Fuel oil is more commonly used to heat homes in Atlantic Canada, and as such, contributed more to price growth in these provinces compared with others,” concluded the report.