It may have seemed that Canada’s inflation was starting to slow, but July saw an increase at 3.3 per cent, reports Statistics Canada.
The previous month’s inflation was 2.8 per cent.
Economists are saying that gas prices is a major factor that is increasing the inflation rate. As prices of gas are going up again, so is the inflation rate. In July, pump prices saw an increase of 0.9 per cent whereas the same time last year, they declined over 9 per cent.
Not only are gas prices a factor, the price of electricity has skyrocketed 11.7 per cent in the past year.
Grocery prices are also on the rise and increased by 8.5 per cent by July. While the previous month saw prices at 9.1 per cent, grocery prices are still shockingly high. Many policy makers are suggesting that the government put a price cap on some items.
Mortgages are also a source of pressure, which are continuing to rise. Mortgage interest is the largest factor in the increase of inflation. In the past year, mortgage interest costs have increased by a record year-over-year gain of 30.6 per cent.