British Columbians experienced the lowest gains in the consumer price index (CPI) across the country as Canada’s annual inflation rate of inflation eased to 2% in September.
Nationwide the CPI was down slightly from August when it was at 2.1%, according to Statistics Canada data released October 17.
But in B.C., consumer prices in September rose only 1.2% compared with the same month a year prior. That’s down from August, when consumer prices in B.C. rose at an annual rate of 1.4%.
Prince Edward Island was the only other province to experience an annual gain of 1.2% in consumer prices.
The CPI rose the highest in Alberta and Ontario, as both provinces experienced gains of 2.6% compared with the same month a year ago.
Statistics Canada said the higher price of meat, which rose 11.5% from the year before, pushed up the price of food purchased in stores to 3% in September. In August, the price of store-bought food had risen 2.3% compared with 12 months prior.
Food purchased in restaurants, meanwhile, went up 2.3% annually.
Perhaps no surprise to people who have been to the pumps to fuel their vehicles recently, the price of gasoline dropped 0.5% in September compared with the year prior.
