(file photo)

By Susan McNeil

Inflation creeps up

Provincial inflation up 2.4 per cent

Feb 19, 2025 | 11:51 AM

After dropping to 1.8 per cent in December, the January inflation numbers for Saskatchewan are up to 2.4 per cent. By contrast, the national rate was 1.9 per cent.

An almost double digit increase in the cost of energy at nine per cent, skewed the number up.

The second biggest factor leading to the inflation increase is the cost of shelter which rose 4.8 per cent between January 2025 and the previous January.

Not far behind the cost of shelter, however, is the cost of recreation, education and reading which rose 4.3 percent followed by cost of transportation increases at 3.3 per cent.

The price of food, an issue that came to the forefront during the pandemic, showed a .9 per cent increase.

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Decreases are seen in household operation, health/personal care and the cost of alcohol.

Federally, energy costs went up 5.3 per cent and that was also followed by more expensive shelter costs and a 4.5 per cent increase. Transportation rose 3.4 per cent.

On the national level, most categories showed slight decreases.

Saskatchewan was joined in higher inflation in the other western provinces.

Manitoba’s inflation was the highest in Canada at 2.7 per cent while Alberta and Whitehorse, Yukon both rose 2.5 per cent.

British Columbia and Yellowknife (NWT) both posted higher than two per cent increases from January to January.

While no region posted negative growth, Newfoundland and Labrador, Iqaluit Nunavut and New Brunswick were all lower than one per cent.

Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and PEI all ranged between one and two per cent.

Saskatchewan’s annual inflation rate for 2024 was 1.4 per cent, one of the lower numbers across the country but a look at the numbers posted in Regina and Saskatoon for January 2025 show inflation puts them in the top five categories for cities.

The numbers were released by the provincial bureau of statistics today.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social