Provincial posted Jan 21, 2025 @ 05:45am by Iain Burns

BC once again has Canada's highest inflation rate amid surging hotel prices

Canada's annual inflation rate was 1.8 per cent in December, according to Statistics Canada.

That’s a slight decline on November’s rate of 1.9 per cent.

StatCan said alcohol and restaurant food contributed the most to the small decrease and pointed to the federal government’s GST/HST break, which was introduced on Dec. 14.

<who> Photo credit: StatCan

In British Columbia, however, the annual inflation rate increased between November and December.

It was 2.6 per cent in December, up from 2.3 per cent in the previous month.

That means BC had Canada’s highest inflation rate in December, with Alberta in second place on 2.5 per cent. BC also had the highest rate in August and September.

StatCan said annual traveller accommodation prices were up 56.7 per cent in BC in December amid “a high-profile concert series” – that is, Taylor Swift's shows in Vancouver.

<who> Photo credit: 123RF </who> Pop singer Taylor Swift.

On a monthly basis, those prices rose 62 per cent.

StatCan explained: "The swift month-over-month increase was the largest on record for any province and coincided with a high-profile concert series."

Nationally, gas prices increased 3.5 per cent in December compared to the previous year.

Shelter, meanwhile, was up 4.5 per cent, but children’s clothing declined 10.6 per cent and toys 7.2 per cent.

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Provincial posted Jan 21, 2025 @ 05:45am by Iain Burns

BC once again has Canada's highest inflation rate amid surging hotel prices

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