The prices of food, rent, cell phone plans and travel increased inflation in the country in May, according to Statistics Canada data released Tuesday.
The inflation rate rose to 2.9% year-on-year in May, up from the 2.7% increase recorded a month earlier.
According to the federal agency, this increase is partly due to the increase in prices of services, which increased by 4.6% in May, compared to an increase of 4.2% in April. The largest increase in service prices was attributable to growth in prices for cell phone services, tour packages, rents and air transportation.
The prices of food purchased in stores increased by 1.5% year over year in May after increasing by 1.4% in April. “Although slight, this acceleration in growth is the first observed since June 2023,” notes Statistics Canada, specifying that “prices in grocery stores remained high and increased by 22.5% compared to May 2020.”
Between April and May, the most marked price increases were observed for fresh vegetables (+3.5%), meat (+1.3%), and fresh fruit ( +2.2%) and non-alcoholic drinks (+2.4%). The monthly increase in meat prices is notably attributable to the increase in prices of fresh or frozen beef, due to high demand and limited supply, according to Statistics Canada.
On the rent side, prices increased by 8.4% year over year in May in Ontario, which helped accelerate the growth of the national rent index (8.9%).
In Quebec, the inflation rate increased by 0.8% between April 2024 and May 2024, and by 3.1% from one year to the next.
