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OTTAWA — Inflation remained within the Bank of Canada’s target range in January, but rising food costs continue to strain household budgets across the country.
Statistics Canada reported Tuesday the Consumer Price Index rose 2.3 per cent year over year in January, down slightly from 2.4 per cent in December. The Bank of Canada’s target range is one to three per cent.
Shelter costs, a major driver of inflation over the past two years, continued to cool. Prices rose 1.7 per cent year over year in January, the first time in nearly five years shelter inflation has fallen below two per cent. Mortgage interest costs and rent both showed slower growth.
Food prices, however, remain a pressure point.
Food purchased from stores rose 4.8 per cent compared with January last year. Restaurant prices climbed 12.3 per cent year over year, influenced in part by base-year effects tied to the temporary GST and HST break in early 2025.
The Conservative Party of Canada seized on the food data Tuesday, releasing a letter from Leader Pierre Poilievre to Prime Minister Mark Carney demanding what he called emergency reversals of Liberal policies.
“As they navigate through the aisles, they will be confronted with higher prices than ever before, as food costs have skyrocketed by 7.3 per cent over the last year,” Poilievre wrote.
The Conservatives cited specific increases, including a 22.4 per cent rise in ground beef, 13.2 per cent for pork shoulder, 12.9 per cent for whole chickens and 37.4 per cent for coffee. The party argued food inflation is rising “2.28 times faster than before you took office” and called for the removal of what it described as hidden taxes on farmers, processors and transporters.
Poilievre wrote the situation is “a made-in-Canada problem” and urged the government to introduce a Food Affordability Plan aimed at boosting competition in the grocery sector and cutting costs tied to carbon pricing and fuel standards.
The Liberal government has pointed to broader global pressures and currency movements as factors affecting food prices. It has also pledged targeted relief, including an increase to the GST credit aimed at helping lower and modest income Canadians offset higher living costs.
While headline inflation has eased and remains within the central bank’s target band, grocery bills continue to rise faster than overall inflation, leaving many families feeling little relief at the checkout counter.
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