Canada’s inflation rate fell to 7.6 per cent in July, according to a report Tuesday from Statistics Canada, marking the first time in 12 months that the rate has decreased from the previous month.
In June, inflation hit a 39-year high of 8.1 per cent, with gasoline prices the single biggest contributor to the overall rate increase.
By contrast, gasoline prices declined on a monthly basis in July, according to the agency’s consumer price index. Consumers paid 9.2 per cent less for gasoline in July than they did in June, a monthly decline not seen since April 2020.
Ontario saw a 12.2 per cent monthly decline in gas prices — the largest of any province — after the provincial government implemented a gas and fuel tax cut on July 1. But some consumers have already made significant lifestyle changes to balance out the high costs.
“I had to sell my truck and buy a smaller car,” said Cameron Benn, a small business owner based in Brampton, Ont. He said at one point this year, he was paying $1,200 monthly for gas.
“I got to the point where it just … didn’t make sense to have [the truck] anymore,” he said, adding that the situation “sucks” because he loved the truck.
The overall downward trend, which was expected by economists, indicates that skyrocketing inflation is starting to ease up. But it’s still a long way from the Bank of Canada’s 2.2 per cent target.
WATCH | When will ‘normal’ inflation rates return?
‘Normal’ inflation likely 18 months away, personal finance writer says
9 hours ago
Duration 6:34
Canada’s annual inflation rate declined slightly in July to 7.6 per cent, but a return to normal inflation rates of two to three per cent is still about 18 months away, says personal finance writer Rubina Ahmed-Haq.
While inflation went up by 0.1 per cent compared to June, measures of core inflation increased, said Tu Nguyen, an economist with consulting firm RSM Canada.
That means “inflation remains pervasive across all aspects of life and not just concentrated in a few categories such as gasoline and food,” she said, adding that it will “be a while” until households can breathe a sigh of relief.
“Wage growth continues to lag inflation, resulting in households losing purchasing power. Grocery prices are still climbing due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting global food shortages.”
Groceries rise at fastest pace since Aug. 1981
Groceries are pictured in a Vaughn, Ont., supermarket on Aug. 16, 2022. The war in Ukraine is affecting the price of flour globally. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Even as the cost of gas declined, prices at grocery stores rose at 9.9 per cent year-over-year, their fastest pace since Aug. 1981.
Bakery products, non-alcoholic beverages, eggs and fresh fruit are among the items seeing faster price growth. Baked goods in particular are up 13.6 per cent as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has contributed to surging wheat prices.
Higher prices for services like flights (up by 25.5 per cent), natural gas (12.4 per cent) and hotel stays (10.1 per cent) were notable contributing factors to the month-over-month increase due to a busier travel season.
Monthly rent is going up, too, according to the StatsCan report. With high interest rates sidelining buyers who can’t afford to take out mortgages, the rental market has expanded and rent prices are accelerating at a faster pace than in June.
Bank of Canada must continue to act: economist
Royce Mendes, an economist with Desjardins, told CBC News it’s clear that “the Bank of Canada has to continue to act.”
Last month, the Bank of Canada hiked rates a full percentage point to 2.5 per cent — the most recent in an ongoing and aggressive campaign to cool runaway inflation.
WATCH | Bank of Canada issues largest interest rate hike in nearly 25 years:
Bank of Canada hikes rates massively to fight inflation
1 month ago
Duration 2:19
An increase in lending rates was expected amid runaway inflation, but experts are still surprised at the size of the boost — it’s the largest in almost 25 years.
While it is widely expected that more rate hikes are to come, the question is whether the bank will issue a 50 basis point hike or a 75 basis point hike.
Even with today’s downward trending annual inflation rate, it remains to be seen how much that number will decrease without further action. As such, Mendes says he is cautious in declaring that inflation has peaked.
“There’s still a lot of inflation to come down and show up in the official statistics. And there’s still a lot of uncertainty with regards to the global economy, particularly with what’s going on in the Ukraine and what could happen this fall,” he said.
“So while I am cautiously optimistic that inflation has peaked, I’m not sure that it’s completely a done deal.”
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
