Canada’s annual inflation rate held steady at 6.9 per cent last month.
After declining for several months, Statistics Canada said the rate of inflation was unchanged in October from September as gas prices went up.
In its latest consumer price index report released Wednesday, the federal agency said higher mortgage interest costs also put upward pressure on inflation.
However, offsetting higher gas prices and rising interest rates was a slowdown in price growth for groceries and natural gas.
Grocery prices have been rising at the fastest pace in decades in recent months. In October, grocery prices were 11 per cent higher than they were a year ago. That’s down from 11.4 per cent in September.
Despite the slowdown, grocery prices continued to rise at a faster year-over-year pace than overall inflation for an eleventh consecutive month.
On a monthly basis, the consumer price index was up 0.7 per cent.
The latest inflation numbers come after several months of declines in headline inflation. After reaching a peak of 8.1 per cent in June, inflation has slowed, largely due to tumbling gas prices.
However, gas prices went up in October for the first time since June, climbing 9.2 per cent from September to October.
The cost of living is a top concern in the Canadian economy as inflation erodes purchasing power and pushes the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates rapidly.
However, the gap between inflation and growth in wages is narrowing as inflation slows and wages continue to rise.
In October, wages were up 5.6 per cent compared with a year ago.
The Bank of Canada has raised interest rates six consecutive times since March to clamp down on high inflation. After slashing rates to near-zero during the pandemic, the central bank has moved quickly this year to raise the cost of borrowing for Canadians and businesses.
Higher interest rates are expected to bring about an economic slowdown that the central bank hopes will bring inflation down.
The Bank of Canada will be paying close attention to the latest consumer price index report as it prepares for its next interest rate decision slated in December.
The central bank will have an eye on its preferred core measures of inflation, which tend to be less volatile than the headline rate.
Here’s what happened in the provinces (previous month in brackets):
Newfoundland and Labrador: 6.5 per cent (6.1)
Prince Edward Island: 8.7 per cent (8.4)
Nova Scotia: 7.7 per cent (7.3)
New Brunswick: 6.9 per cent (6.8)
Quebec: 6.4 per cent (6.5)
Ontario: 6.5 per cent (6.7)
Manitoba: 8.4 per cent (8.1)
Saskatchewan: 8.0 per cent (7.1)
Alberta: 6.8 per cent (6.2)
British Columbia: 7.8 per cent (7.7)
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.: 6.4 per cent (5.8)
Charlottetown-Summerside: 9.4 per cent (9.0)
Halifax: 7.7 per cent (7.3)
Saint John, N.B.: 7.3 per cent (6.8)
Quebec City: 6.7 per cent (6.7)
Montreal: 6.7 per cent (6.8)
Ottawa: 6.7 per cent (6.8)
Toronto: 6.4 per cent (6.6)
Thunder Bay, Ont.: 6.7 per cent (6.1)
Winnipeg: 8.3 per cent (8.0)
Regina: 7.8 per cent (7.0)
Saskatoon: 8.0 per cent (6.8)
Edmonton: 6.8 per cent (5.9)
Calgary: 7.4 per cent (6.8)
Vancouver: 7.3 per cent (7.7)
Victoria: 7.9 per cent (8.0)
Whitehorse: 7.6 per cent (7.5)
Yellowknife: 7.1 per cent (7.7)
Iqaluit: 4.3 per cent (5.0)
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2022
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
