The Daily — Consumer Price Index, June 2023 (2024)

Released:2023-07-18

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose2.8% year over year in June, following a3.4% increase in May. While deceleration was fairly broad-based, another base-year effect in gasoline prices led the slowdown in the CPI. Excluding gasoline, headline inflation would have been4.0% in June, following a4.4% increase in May.

Canadians continued to see elevated grocery prices (+9.1%) and mortgage interest costs (+30.1%) in June, with those indexes contributing the most to the headline CPI increase. The all-items excluding food index rose1.7% and the all-items excluding mortgage interest cost index rose2.0%.

On a monthly basis, the CPI edged up0.1% in June, following a0.4% gain in May. After contributing to the increase in May, travel tours put downward pressure on the monthly all-items index in June. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI also rose0.1%.

Base-year effects drive deceleration in the transportation component

On a year-over-year basis, the transportation component fell3.4% in June after a2.4% decline in May.

Gasoline prices fell21.6% year over year in June following an18.3% decline in May. The year-over-year decrease was a result of elevated prices in June2022amid higher global demand for crude oil as China, the largest importer of crude oil, eased some COVID-19public health restrictions. In June2023, consumers paid1.9% more at the pump compared with May.

Passenger vehicle prices rose at a slower pace in June (+2.4%) than in May (+3.2%). The year-over-year slowdown was the result of a base-year effect, with a1.5% month-over-month increase in June2022being replaced with a smaller0.6% month-over-month increase in June2023. This coincided with improved supply chains and inventories compared with a year ago.

Moderating deceleration in the transportation component was passenger vehicle insurance premiums, which rose5.4% in June after a3.1% increase in May. The index recorded a0.5% monthly increase in June2023compared with a1.7% monthly decline in June2022.

Smaller year-over-year increase in travel tour prices

Prices for travel tours rose at a slower pace year over year in June (+6.8%) than in May (+23.4%), putting downward pressure on the all-items CPI. This was largely driven by an11.5% month-over-month decline, in line with normal seasonal patterns leading up to the peak travel season in July.

Prices for telecommunications fall

Consumers paid14.7% less for cellular services year over year in June, following an8.2% decline in May. This was a result of both lower prices for cellular data plans and promotional pricing.

Prices for Internet access services fell3.2% in June on a year-over-year basis after increasing1.0% in May. On a month-over-month basis, prices declined5.0%, the largest1-month decline since February2019. This was mostly due to promotions in Ontario and lower prices in Quebec.

Grocery prices continue to put upward pressure on the Consumer Price Index

Grocery prices remain one of the largest contributors to the all-items CPI, with a9.1% year-over-year increase in June, nearly unchanged from the increase in May (+9.0%). The largest contributors within the food component were meat (+6.9%), bakery products (+12.9%), dairy products (+7.4%) and other food preparations (+10.2%).

Fresh fruit prices grew at a faster pace year over year in June (+10.4%) than in May (+5.7%), driven, in part, by a30.0% month-over-month increase in the price of grapes.

Food purchased from restaurants continued to contribute to the headline CPI increase, albeit at a slower year-over-year pace in June (+6.6%) than in May (+6.8%).

Regional highlights

Year over year, prices rose at a slower pace in June compared with May in eight provinces. Among the provinces, year-over-year consumer inflation was lowest in Prince Edward Island (+0.2%), largely the result of the largest decline in energy prices (-24.1%) in the country.

Products

The "Consumer Price Index Data Visualization Tool" is available on the Statistics Canada website.

More information on the concepts and use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is available in The Canadian Consumer Price Index Reference Paper (Catalogue number62-553-X).

For information on the history of the CPI in Canada, consult the publication Exploring the First Century of Canada's Consumer Price Index (Catalogue number62-604-X).

Two videos, "An Overview of Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI)" and "The Consumer Price Index and Your Experience of Price Change," are available on Statistics Canada's YouTube channel.

Find out answers to the most common questions posed about the CPI in the context of COVID-19and beyond.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).