Annual rate of inflation hits 3.1 per cent in June, down from May high

OTTAWA —
Statistics Canada says the annual rate of inflation hit 3.1 per cent in June.

The reading for the consumer price index is down from the 3.6 per cent recorded in May, which was the largest yearly increase in a decade.

Statistics Canada says part of the reading for June has to do with comparing prices to the lows recorded in the same month last year.

Gasoline prices, for instance, saw a year-over-year rise of 32 per cent in June compared with 43.4 per cent in May because gasoline prices had partially recovered in June 2020 after plummeting at the start of the pandemic.

The agency says that excluding gasoline prices, the annual rate of inflation would have been 2.2 per cent.

The agency says the headline inflation figure also grew at a slower pace in June compared with May in part due to a slowdown in price growth for goods, including for women’s clothing.

Here’s what happened in the provinces (previous month in brackets):

• Newfoundland and Labrador: 3.5 per cent (4.4)
• Prince Edward Island: 5.3 per cent (6.0)
• Nova Scotia: 4.1 per cent (4.8)
• New Brunswick: 3.6 per cent (4.3)
• Quebec: 3.7 per cent (4.1)
• Ontario: 3.2 per cent (3.7)
• Manitoba: 2.9 per cent (3.4)
• Saskatchewan: 1.8 per cent (2.7)
• Alberta: 2.7 per cent (3.1)
• British Columbia: 2.4 per cent (2.7)

The agency also released rates for major cities, but cautioned that figures may have fluctuated widely because they are based on small statistical samples (previous month in brackets):

• St. John’s, N.L.: 3.3 per cent (4.2)
• Charlottetown-Summerside: 5.3 per cent (6.0)
• Halifax: 3.7 per cent (4.6)
• Saint John, N.B.: 3.3 per cent (3.7)
• Quebec City: 3.4 per cent (3.8)
• Montreal: 3.8 per cent (4.1)
• Ottawa: 4.1 per cent (4.7)
• Toronto: 2.5 per cent (2.9)
• Thunder Bay, Ont.: 3.0 per cent (4.7)
• Winnipeg: 2.8 per cent (3.4)
• Regina: 1.4 per cent (2.5)
• Saskatoon: 1.9 per cent (2.4)
• Edmonton: 2.5 per cent (2.9)
• Calgary: 2.6 per cent (2.9)
• Vancouver: 2.2 per cent (2.4)
• Victoria: 2.0 per cent (2.9)
• Whitehorse: 3.1 per cent (3.7)
• Yellowknife: 1.3 per cent (2.5)
• Iqaluit: 1.5 per cent (1.4)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2021