The “deceleration” was led by meat, dairy products, coffee and tea, the report published Oct. 17 noted.
Overall headline inflation was 3.8 per cent in September, a slower growth than the four per cent gain in August.
“September’s inflation number is solid evidence that the monster August print was an outlier, not the start of a new trend,” Jules Boudreau, Senior Economist at Mackenzie Investments, told CTVNews.ca in an interview Tuesday. “We should expect inflation to trend around three per cent over the next few months, not the four per cent trend suggested by August’s print.”
Gasoline prices rose faster in September compared to August, but excluding that commodity, StatCan said overall inflation would have dropped by 0.1 per cent.
Fresh vegetables had the highest year-over-year inflation rate of any food, according to StatCan.
The products, which include carrots, onions, cucumbers and others, had an 18.4 per cent year-over-year inflation rate in September. This is up 1.9 per cent from August.
Edible oils and fats continued to be costly for Canadians, with a 14.8 per cent inflation rate in September. Costs rose 0.4 per cent from August to September.
Fruit juice rose 2.2 per cent month-to-month landing at an inflation rate of 12.6 per cent in September, year-over-year.
Ice-cream-related products saw one of the largest price increases from August to September. The item rose 4.9 per cent month-to-month which resulted in a 10.8 per cent year-over-year price in September.
Another product on a costly rise is canned and other preserved fish. In September the inflation rate was at 8.9 per cent, a 3.5 per cent increase from August.
Fresh and frozen chicken increased in price month-to-month by 3.5 per cent, landing at a 6.2 year-over-year price.
PRODUCTS WITH SLOWING INFLATION RATE
Although grocery prices remain inflated, there are some foods that dropped in price in September.
Ham and bacon saw the most significant drop in rate of inflation year-over-year, decreasing 7.5 per cent. The product did have a 2.2 per cent increase from August to September.
There were large decreases in the prices of oranges and potatoes which saw a five and 5.1 per cent drop in price from August.
Year-over-year oranges remained at a 6.1 per cent inflation rate, whereas potatoes were pegged at a rate of 5.2 per cent.
Dairy products did have a small dip in price for September, the report notes.
Butter decreased 3.8 per cent in August, but still remained at a 6.3 per cent year-over-year rate.
Eggs saw a small dip of 0.7 per cent. From September 2022 to September 2023 the inflation rate for eggs was 3.1 per cent.
Coffee, tea, flour and flour-based mixes also saw decreases in inflation month-to-month, with a 2.6 and 3.1 per cent drop respectively.
TORONTO – Ontario is pushing through several bills with little or no debate, which the government house leader says is due to a short legislative sitting.
The government has significantly reduced debate and committee time on the proposed law that would force municipalities to seek permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a car lane.
It also passed the fall economic statement that contains legislation to send out $200 cheques to taxpayers with reduced debating time.
The province tabled a bill Wednesday afternoon that would extend the per-vote subsidy program, which funnels money to political parties, until 2027.
That bill passed third reading Thursday morning with no debate and is awaiting royal assent.
Government House Leader Steve Clark did not answer a question about whether the province is speeding up passage of the bills in order to have an election in the spring, which Premier Doug Ford has not ruled out.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
