Prices for food purchased from grocery stores rose 11.4% year over year in November in Canada, following an 11.0% gain in October.

Statistics Canada says food inflation remained broad-based. Canadians saw prices increase at a faster pace in November 2022 for non-alcoholic beverages which were up 19.4 per cent, fresh fruit increased 11 per cent and meat was up 6.2 per cent. Stats Can says chicken prices rose 9.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis, due partly to reduced global supply, as farmers have culled and quarantined birds infected with avian influenza.

Statistics Canada says the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.8 per cent year over year in November, following a 6.9 per cent increase in both September and October.

Slower price growth for gasoline and furniture was offset by rapidly rising shelter costs. If food and energy are excluded, prices rose 5.4 per cent on a yearly basis in November.

Stats Can’s latest CPI report indicates that a drop in month-over-month gasoline prices in Western Canada drove the national decline. Year over year, gasoline prices rose 13.7 per cent in November after rising 17.8 per cent in October.

Mortgage interest cost continued to rise at a faster rate year over year, up 14.5 per cent in November compared with 11.4 per cent in October, amid the higher interest rate environment. The increase in November was the largest since February 1983.

The rent index rose 5.9 cent in November on a year-over-year basis following a 4.7 per cent increase in October. Among other factors, a higher interest rate environment, which may create barriers to homeownership, put upward pressure on the index.