OTTAWA — Canada's inflation rate has reached a 31-year high.
Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index for April rose 6.8 per cent from a year ago.
The federal agency said the year-over-year increase was largely driven by food and shelter prices.
Canadians paid 9.7 per cent more last month for food at stores compared with April 2021.
This was the largest increase in food prices since 1981, and the fifth month in a row that it exceeded five per cent.
Gas prices increased as well in April, but at a slower pace than in March.
Statistics Canada reported that the CPI rose 5.1 per cent last month in the Thunder Bay area, although it cautioned that figures for individual cities may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples.
Bank of Montreal Chief Economist Douglas Porter wrote in a report that "The key takeaway...is that inflation is spreading much more broadly, and at clear risk of getting firmly entrenched."
He added "Barring a deep dive in oil prices in coming weeks and months, we expect that the worst is yet to come...and that inflation north of six per cent will still be with us by the end of this year."
