(CKOM News staff)

By CKOM News

Annual inflation rate hit 30-year high in December: Statistics Canada

Jan 19, 2022 | 10:51 AM

Inflation in December rose at its highest rate since 1991, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

The organization said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) last month was up 4.8 per cent compared to December 2020.

The CPI rose 3.4 per cent on an annual average basis last year, the fastest pace since it was 5.6 per cent in 1991.

Saskatchewan posted the slowest price growth among the provinces, at 2.6 per cent. Prince Edward Island (5.1 per cent) and Nova Scotia (4.1 per cent) had the fastest price growth.

In December, the rate of inflation in Saskatchewan was 3.5 per cent, the lowest in the country. P.E.I. was again the highest at 6.7 per cent.

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Saskatoon’s inflation rate last month was 3.2 per cent, with Regina at 4.0 per cent.

Nationally, some of the biggest drivers were the prices of food (2.5 per cent), transportation (7.2 per cent) and housing (3.9 per cent).

“In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic remained a key factor impacting the prices of goods and services purchased by Canadians,” the Statistics Canada report said.

“Inflationary pressures stemmed from a combination of widespread global supply chain constraints and pent-up consumer demand as the economy reopened.”

The agency noted Canadians paid 31.2 per cent more at the gas pump on an annual average basis in 2021. Gas prices rose at the fastest pace since 1981, when they went up 6.1 per cent,

— With files from The Canadian Press