Canadian Consumer Price Index Up 0.9% in January; Inflation Rises 5.1% Year-Over-Year

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (2-16-22) that Canadian inflation in January 2022 surpassed 5% for the first time since September 1991, rising 5.1% on a year-over-year basis and up from a 4.8% gain in December 2021.

The Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.0% on an annual average basis in January 2022. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.9% in January, the largest increase since January 2017, following a -0.1% decline in December 2021. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was up 0.6%.

Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 4.3% year over year in January 2022—the fastest pace since the introduction of the index in 1999. COVID-19 pandemic-related challenges continue to weigh on supply chains, and consumer energy prices remain elevated. Taken together, Canadians continued to feel the impact of rising prices for goods and services, especially for housing, food, and gasoline.

In January, prices rose in all major components on a year-over-year basis, with shelter prices (+6.2%) contributing the most to the all-items increase.

Year over year, prices for services (+3.4%) rose in January, matching the increase in December 2021. Prices for goods (+7.2%) grew at a faster pace in January 2022 than in December 2021 (+6.8%), contributing to the price growth in the CPI.