Canada
Food prices spiked in November, says StatCan in latest inflation report – National
Grocery prices in Canada increased an average of 4.7 per cent in November compared to a year earlier.
That’s according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by Statistics Canada on Monday, which measured consumer inflation at 2.2 per cent overall, and was unchanged from the same inflation report in October.
The agency adds this was the biggest spike in food inflation since December 2023, and was up from 3.4 per cent in October.
Food categories that got particularly more expensive in November included fresh fruit, especially berries, as well as beef and coffee.
“The Consumer Price Index held steady in November, but this plateau won’t translate into much relief for Canadian wallets. Grocery aisles continue to tell a vastly different story, as anyone who has purchased beef, coffee or fresh fruit in recent months can attest,” said Shannon Terrell, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet Canada in a statement.
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“When simply putting a holiday meal on the table feels like an insurmountable budget hurdle, Canadians will need to use every tool at their disposal to make the holiday magic happen.”
Statistics Canada says higher beef prices were partly the result of lower cattle inventories in North America.
Coffee prices got a jolt from a combination of poor weather in growing regions and American tariffs on coffee-producing countries like Brazil.
In mid-November, U.S. President Donald Trump removed tariffs on some products including coffee, beef and some fruits amid pressure from consumers hit with higher prices.
“The increase in food inflation was driven by a combination of supply side constraints, including severe weather conditions,” said senior economist Claire Fan at Royal Bank of Canada.
“And despite Canadian importers not paying tariffs themselves, prices in Canada could still be impacted by U.S. exporters passing on their related cost increases along food manufacturing supply chains. Prices for refined coffee, for example, are rising because of U.S. tariffs on coffee-producing countries.”
Last week, the Bank of Canada left interest rates unchanged, citing positive economic gauges on the economy, including inflation as well as the job market and GDP.
A separate report released earlier in December forecast consumers could pay $1,000 more for groceries in 2026.
Increases in food prices were somewhat offset by cooling inflation in other areas, including gasoline prices, which fell 7.8 per cent in November compared with a year earlier.
Hotel prices were also lower in November in some areas compared with a year earlier, especially in Ontario, according to Statistics Canada.
“The largest contributor to the (overall) lower prices was Ontario (-20.2 per cent), partially due to a base-year effect from a swift monthly increase in November 2024 (+11.0 per cent), which coincided with a series of high-profile concerts in Toronto,” said Statistics Canada in the report.
In November 2024, Taylor Swift played six sold-out shows in Toronto, which saw hotel prices increase dramatically to meet the high demand from fans.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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