Canada’s inflation edged up to 3.1% in September as gasoline rose

Canada’s Consumer Price Index rose 3.1 per cent year over year in September, up from a 3.0 per cent increase in August, Statistics Canada reported on October 19.

Gasoline prices were a major contributor, increasing 27.8 per cent from September 2025 after a 22.8 per cent year-over-year rise in August. Excluding gasoline, the CPI increased 2.2 per cent, down from 2.4 per cent in August.

Prices for food purchased from stores rose 1.7 per cent year over year. Shelter costs increased 1.8 per cent, while the transportation component was up 8.4 per cent.

The national figures describe average price movement across the country and do not represent a household’s exact change in costs. For Montréal-area families, the result is most useful as a broad measure alongside actual local grocery, rent, mortgage and transportation expenses.

Statistics Canada is scheduled to release October’s CPI figures on November 16.

Source

• Statistics Canada: Consumer Price Index, September 2026, October 19, 2026.

Illustrative image. Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash; cropped and resized. It is not a photograph used by Statistics Canada.