OTTAWA -- A surge in gasoline prices helped push Canada's annual inflation rate well beyond expectations in January to 2.1 per cent -- an increase that coincided with the implementation of new carbon-pricing policies in Ontario and Alberta.
Statistics Canada said Friday the 6.3 per cent increase in transportation costs was the main contributor to the higher inflation rate, with gas prices experiencing a 20.6 per cent boost across the country compared to the year before.
The overall inflation reading last month was stronger than December's rate of 1.5 per cent, the agency's latest consumer price index said. However, excluding gasoline, the January inflation rate was also 1.5 per cent.
The report also found that year-over-year inflation rates were higher in every province last month compared to a year earlier.
In Alberta, the annual inflation rate hit 2.5 per cent last month after an increase of one per cent in December. Gas prices in Alberta climbed 33.9 per cent last month, a gain that Statistics Canada says was partly attributable to a new carbon levy in the province.
The agency said Ontario, which introduced a cap-and-trade program in January, saw a 20.4 per cent year-over-year increase last month in gas prices.
Overall, a consensus of economists had predicted 1.6 per cent inflation for January, according to Thomson Reuters.
Statistics Canada says consumers paid 2.1 per cent less for food last month compared to a year earlier.
The agency said the Bank of Canada's three preferred measures for core inflation saw increases last month of 1.3 per cent, 1.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent.
