Canada’s inflation rate reversed its cooling trend last month and moved higher, to a 4.4 per cent annual rate.
Economists had been expecting new data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday to show the cost of living had eased from March’s 4.3 per cent pace to something around 4.1.
Instead, it moved higher again, as the cost of things like gasoline, rent and mortgages increased during the month.
It’s the first acceleration in the cost of living since June of 2022, when Canada’s inflation rate hit a more than 40-year high of 8.1 per cent.
Food prices have been a major source of consternation for Canadian families of late, and while overall costs have come down from their recent record highs, they are still staying at eye-watering levels.
Grocery prices have increased by 9.1 per cent in the year up to April. That’s down from March’s 9.7 per cent pace but still more than twice as high as the overall inflation rate.