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The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.3% in the 12 months to May, following a 2.0% increase in April.

Higher energy prices lead the rise in the Consumer Price Index

The year-over-year rise in the CPI in May was led by energy prices, which increased 8.4% in the 12 months to May, matching the rise in April.

Prices for gasoline increased 6.3% in the 12 months to May, while natural gas prices advanced 21.3%. Electricity prices rose 7.0% year over year in May, following a 4.6% rise in April. The faster rise in the electricity index was led by a gain in Alberta. At the national level, consumers also paid 12.7% more for fuel oil in May.

Excluding energy, the CPI advanced 1.7% year over year in May, after it rose 1.4% the previous month.

12-month change in the major components

Prices increased in all major components in the 12 months to May, with higher prices for shelter, transportation and food contributing the most to the increase in the CPI.

Shelter costs increased 3.4% in the 12 months to May. In addition to natural gas, electricity and fuel oil, consumers paid more in property taxes. The mortgage interest cost index rose 0.2% year over year in May. However, on a monthly basis, the mortgage interest cost index fell 0.1% in May, the first decrease since August 2013.

Transportation costs rose 2.7% year over year in May. In addition to higher prices for gasoline, prices for the purchase of passenger vehicles increased 2.0%, after rising 1.5% in April.

Food prices increased 2.3% in May compared with the same month a year earlier. This increase followed a 1.9% rise in April. Prices for food purchased from stores rose 2.5% year over year in May, after increasing 1.7% in April. Meat prices led the faster rise, advancing 8.0% on a year-over-year basis in May, following a 4.5% gain in April. Prices for both fresh vegetables and fresh fruit rose 8.5%. Consumers paid 2.1% more for food purchased from restaurants in the 12 months to May.

For more information on food price inflation, please refer to the Consumer prices at a glance section of this analysis.

12-month change in the provinces

Consumer prices rose in all provinces in the 12 months to May. Ontario posted the largest increase, while British Columbia recorded the smallest. Higher energy prices were observed in all provinces.

Consumer prices increased 2.8% in Ontario in the 12 months to May, following a 2.4% rise in April. Natural gas prices rose 39.4% and gasoline prices advanced 8.6% on a year-over-year basis in May. Consumers in Ontario also paid 8.1% more for electricity and 9.1% more for meat.

Prices in Quebec rose 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in May. Compared to Canada as a whole, prices for natural gas and electricity rose at slower year-over-year rates in Quebec. In addition, clothing prices fell 2.8% in the province, while they rose at the national level.

British Columbia saw consumer prices increase 1.5% in the 12 months to May. Among the provinces, British Columbia posted the smallest year-over-year increase in gasoline prices (+2.7%). As well, homeowners’ replacement cost fell 2.0% in the 12 months to May.

Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index increases

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.2% in May, following a 0.3% rise in April.

All major components increased on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis in May. The index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products (+0.8%) posted the largest rise.

The seasonally adjusted food index rose 0.4% in May, matching the increases observed in April and March. On an unadjusted basis, the food index increased 0.8%, led by meat prices which rose 3.3% in May compared with April.

The recreation, education and reading index increased 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis in May. Before seasonal adjustment, this index, which includes traveller accommodation, rose 1.5%.

Non-seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index increases

On a monthly basis and before seasonal adjustment, the CPI rose 0.5% in May, after increasing 0.3% in April.

Consumers paid 13.9% more for traveller accommodation in May compared with April. Electricity prices rose 3.1%, while prices for women’s clothing declined 1.5% and natural gas prices fell 2.2%.

Prices rose in all provinces on a monthly basis in May, with Manitoba and British Columbia recording the largest increases (+0.6%). The smallest rise was observed in Prince Edward Island (+0.1%).

Bank of Canada’s core index

The Bank of Canada’s core index rose 1.7% in the 12 months to May, after increasing 1.4% in April. Meat, traveller accommodation and electricity were notable contributors to the faster rise in May compared with April.

On a monthly basis and before seasonal adjustment, the core index increased 0.5% in May. This followed a 0.2% increase the previous month.

The seasonally adjusted core index rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in May, matching the increase in April.

Consumer prices at a glance: meat prices push food price inflation higher in 2014

Following relatively low price inflation for food purchased from stores in 2013, prices in this category rose faster in the first five months of 2014. Between January and May 2014, prices for food purchased from stores increased 2.7%. In comparison, they rose 1.2% between January and May 2013. The higher increase in the first five months of 2014 was mainly attributable to meat prices, which climbed 7.5% during this period, compared with a 1.0% gain in the same period of 2013.

Higher prices for fresh or frozen beef led the increase in meat prices between January and May 2014. Consumers paid 10.0% more for beef in the first five months of 2014, compared with a 2.3% increase over the same period of 2013. Similarly, prices for fresh or frozen pork advanced 12.2% from January to May 2014, while a 0.5% increase was recorded in the first five months of 2013. Fresh or frozen chicken prices increased 0.5% from January to May 2014, whereas they decreased 1.5% from January to May 2013.

In addition to meat, higher prices for vegetables and fruit contributed to the rise in price inflation for food purchased from stores from January to May 2014. Consumers paid 5.3% more for fresh vegetables in the first five months of 2014. Conversely, prices for fresh vegetables had increased 2.6% over the same period of 2013. The index for fresh fruit recorded a 5.6% gain from January to May 2014, compared with a 0.3% decline over the same period the previous year.

The effects of price gains for meat, fresh vegetables and fresh fruit between January and May 2014 were moderated by smaller price increases in other food categories. For instance, prices for non-alcoholic beverages increased 1.6% between January and May 2014, whereas they rose 8.1% over the same period of 2013. In addition, prices for dairy products rose 0.2% in the first five months of 2014, compared with a 1.1% increase over the same period the previous year.