What Canadians Are Spending More On, and Less On, Compared With Last Year

A customer browses at a Metro grocery store In Toronto on Feb. 2, 2024. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston

Canada’s consumer price index (CPI) rose just 2 percent from August 2023 to August 2024, the slowest increase in overall prices Canadians have seen in over three years, says Statistics Canada.

Lower gasoline prices are partly responsible for the deceleration in inflation, StatCan said in a Sept. 17 release.

Canadians are still facing high mortgage interest costs and rental prices, which keep the CPI high, the release said.

On a month-to-month basis, the CPI dropped by 0.2 percent in August after a 0.4 percent increase in July.

Consumers saw lower prices for items such as airfare, clothing, footwear, and travel tours, StatCan said.

Not including the rise in mortgage interest, the CPI increased 1.2 percent year-over-year, according to the release.

What Costs More

Housing costs continue to be among the biggest contributors to the rising CPI.

Mortgage Interest Rates

Mortgage interest costs saw an 18.8 percent year-over-year increase in August, the 12th consecutive month of slower growth after peaking at 30.9 percent in August 2023, according to StatCan.

While interest rates are not growing as quickly, they’re still the largest contributor to the increase in all items since December 2022, the organization said.

Groceries

Canadians paid 2.4 percent more for food in August 2024, StatCan said.

Products that saw the biggest increase were dairy items (up 3.3 percent) and fresh fruit (1.5 percent).

Other price increases at the grocery store include meat, up 1.94 percent, and bakery or cereal items increased 1.51 percent.

Other Increases

Consumers have seen a number of other increases, according to StatCan data, such as:

• Rental housing, 7.37 percent
• Property taxes, 2.43 percent
• Home and mortgage insurance, 1.5 percent
• Food at restaurants, 5.97 percent
• Alcohol, 2.69 percent
• Tuition fees, 1.54 percent
• Health care goods, 1.44 percent
• Passenger vehicles, 5.32 percent
• Public transportation, 1.62 percent
• Vehicle insurance, 2.38 percent
• Cellular services, 1.22 percent
• Internet access, 0.91 percent
• Child care, 0.75 percent
• Pet food and supplies, 0.53 percent

What Costs Less

The biggest item where consumers are seeing some savings is the price of gasoline.

Gasoline

Prices dropped by just over 5 percent year-over-year in August, according to StatCan data, after a 1.9 percent increase in July.

In August 2023, gas prices had increased by 4.6 percent on a month-over-month basis, while in August 2024, they'd fallen by 2.6 percent. It was the third drop in four months, StatCan said.

“The decline in August 2024 was mainly due to lower crude oil prices amid economic concerns in the United States and slowing demand in China,” StatCan said.

Electricity

The cost of electricity dropped at a faster year-over-year pace in August (1.7 percent) than in July (0.8 percent). The larger decline in August followed particularly high summer demand in August 2023.

Other items that saw lower costs, according to StatCan, include:

• Household furnishings, -0.8 percent
• Recreation, education and reading products, -0.2 percent