Canada's Consumer Price Index in May rose 0.6% month-over-month, up 2.9% annually following a 2.7% gain in April; acceleration largely due to higher prices for services led by cellular services, travel tours, rent and air transportation: Statistics Canada

OTTAWA , June 25, 2024 (press release) –

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% on a year-over-year basis in May, up from a 2.7% gain in April.

Acceleration in the headline CPI was largely due to higher prices for services, which rose 4.6% in May following a 4.2% increase in April. Faster price growth for services was led by cellular services, travel tours, rent and air transportation. Prices for goods (+1.0%) grew at the same rate as in April.

On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.6% in May, largely stemming from an increase in travel tours. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.3% in May.

Chart 1: 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and service prices

Chart 2: Consumer prices increase in six components

Smaller year-over-year decline in prices for cellular services reflects current and base-year effect
Prices for cellular services fell at a slower year-over-year pace in May (-19.4%) than in April (-26.6%). This was partly driven by price declines in May 2023, when prices for cellular services fell 7.8% month over month. On a monthly basis, prices for cellular services were up 1.2% in May compared with April.

Higher prices for travel tours and air transportation
Year over year, prices for travel tours (+6.9%) and air transportation (+4.5%) rose at a faster pace in May. Faster year-over-year growth was driven by month-over-month increases for travel tours (+10.4%) and air transportation (+2.3%), mostly to the United States in both cases.

Chart 3: Higher prices for travel tours and air transportation on a month-over-month basis

Grocery prices increase month over month
Prices for food purchased from stores rose 1.5% on a year-over-year basis in May following a 1.4% increase in April. Although slight, this was the first acceleration since June 2023. Prices for groceries remain elevated and have increased by 22.5% compared with May 2020.

On a month-over-month basis, grocery prices rose 1.1% in May 2024. While this monthly increase is seasonally typical, it is the largest since January 2023. The monthly increase in May 2024 was driven by higher month-over-month prices for fresh vegetables (+3.5%), meat (+1.3%), fresh fruit (+2.2%) and non-alcoholic beverages (+2.4%). The monthly increase in meat prices was largely a result of higher prices for fresh or frozen beef, amid high demand and tight supply.

Chart 4: Grocery prices accelerate for first time since June 2023

Infographic 1: Largest month-over-month increase in grocery prices since January 2023

Explore the Consumer Price Index tools
Check out Statistics Canada's Food Price Data Hub, which features a variety of food price related statistics, articles and tools.

Check out the Personal Inflation Calculator. This interactive calculator allows you to enter dollar amounts in the common expense categories to produce a personalized inflation rate, which you can compare to the official measure of inflation for the average Canadian household—the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Browse the Consumer Price Index Data Visualization Tool to access current (Latest Snapshot of the CPI) and historical (Price trends: 1914 to today) CPI data in a customizable visual format.

Regional highlights
Year over year, prices rose at a faster pace in May compared with April in six provinces.

Chart 5: The Consumer Price Index rises at a faster pace in six provinces

Ontarians pay more for rent
On a year-over-year basis, rent prices rose 8.4% in Ontario in May, up from a 6.1% increase in April. This contributed to faster growth in the national rent index, which rose 8.9% in May, outpacing growth in Ontario for the ninth consecutive month. A higher interest rate environment and population increases both continue to put upward pressure on the rent index nationally.

Chart 6: Year-over-year rent increase in Ontario trails national level for ninth consecutive month

Note to readers
Visit the Consumer Price Index portal to find all Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, publications, interactive tools and announcements highlighting new products and upcoming changes to the CPI in one convenient location.

Reddit Ask Me Anything
Do you have questions about the CPI, Canadian inflation or what the new CPI basket means for measuring consumer prices? Join us for our "Reddit Ask Me Anything" event on June 26, 2024, at 1:30 p.m., Eastern Time.

Consumer Price Index basket update
The basket of goods and services used in the calculation of the CPI has been updated with the release of the May 2024 data. The new basket weights, available in table 18-10-0007-01, are based on 2023 expenditure data, ensuring the relevance of the CPI as a reflection of the most recent consumer expenditure data available.

The new basket weight reference period is 2023, based on the most recent Household Final Consumption Expenditure data, and other alternative data.

The base period, in which the all-items CPI is set to equal 100, remains 2002.

The headline CPI for May 2024 would have been the same using the 2022 basket weights.

For more detailed information, consult the document entitled "An Analysis of the 2024 Consumer Price Index Basket Update, Based on 2023 Expenditures" in the Prices Analytical Series (Catalogue number62F0014M).

Real-time data tables
Real-time data table 18-10-0259-01 will be updated on July 8. For more information, consult the document, "Real-time data tables."

Next release
The Consumer Price Index for June will be released on July 16.

Products
The "Consumer Price Index Data Visualization Tool" is available on the Statistics Canada website.

More information on the concepts and use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is available in The Canadian Consumer Price Index Reference Paper (Catalogue number62-553-X).

For information on the history of the CPI in Canada, consult the publication Exploring the first century of Canada's Consumer Price Index (Catalogue number62-604-X).

Two videos, "An Overview of Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI)" and "The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Your Experience of Price Change," are available on Statistics Canada's YouTube channel.

Find out answers to the most common questions posed about the CPI in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).

Industry Intelligence Editor's Note: This press release omits select charts and/or marketing language for editorial clarity. Click here to view the full report.
 

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