The annual rate of inflation jumped to 3.2 per cent in May, up from 2.8 per cent in April and topping most economists\u2019 expectations.<\/p>\n
StatCan said gas prices rose 33.2 per cent year-over-year last month as conflict in the Middle East continued to shutter the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. The agency said last month marks the most consumers have paid for gasoline since June 2022, when Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine drove supply uncertainty.<\/p>\n
Prices at the pumps have fallen in recent weeks as peace talks between the United States and Iran progressed.<\/p>\n
BMO chief economist Doug Porter said in a note to clients Monday that June is tracking for a 10 per cent decline in gas prices, \u201cwhich should clip the headline result next month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Higher costs for jet fuel \u2013 also driven by the war but not captured in StatCan\u2019s April inflation data \u2013 showed up in May. Air transportation costs were up 7.4 per cent annually last month after decreasing slightly in April.<\/p>\n
Inflation also accelerated at the grocery store, rising half a percentage point to 4.3 per cent annually. StatCan said grocery inflation has now outpaced the headline rate for 16 straight months.<\/p>\n
The agency pointed to rising prices for fresh fruit and vegetables as driving the increase. StatCan said fresh vegetables rose 5.5 per cent in May \u2013 the largest monthly May increase since 2008 \u2013 due to reduced supply and higher fuel costs.<\/p>\n
Tomato prices rose a whopping 45.2 per cent annually in May, which StatCan attributed to tough growing conditions in Mexico. U.S. tariffs also meant Mexican growers planted less acreage, StatCan said, contributing to supply constraints.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5CX7B3VQ3FVHGRRAV3KYM55RNU.jpg\")
A shopper reaches for groceries at a grocery store in Toronto, Thursday, May 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Chris Young A shopper reaches for groceries at a grocery store in Toronto, Thursday, May 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Chris Young <\/p>\n
Porter said May\u2019s headline inflation result \u201cstings somewhat\u201d as stubborn food inflation proves \u201ca significant thorn.\u201d But if recent declines in oil prices are sustained, he said that should deliver some relief for consumers in the months ahead.<\/p>\n
Prices for computer equipment, software and supplies, meanwhile, rose 3.9 per cent in May. Demand from artificial intelligence data centres has put a supply crunch on key computer inputs, StatCan said.<\/p>\n
Offsetting the price hikes in May were ongoing declines in shelter inflation, which edged lower to 1.7 per cent year-over-year last month. Prices were also growing at a slower pace for passenger vehicles, tools and other household equipment.<\/p>\n
The May inflation report will be the Bank of Canada\u2019s last look at price data before its next interest rate decision on July 15.<\/p>\n
Bradley Saunders, North America economist at Capital Economics, said in a note that he expects the rising fuel and food prices that were driving inflation higher last month will be temporary.<\/p>\n
There was little change in the Bank of Canada\u2019s preferred measures of core inflation in May, which economists are watching closely to see if the energy shock spreads much beyond the gas pumps.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the worst of the oil price surge now seemingly behind us, the (Bank of Canada) will be hoping that sizeable second-round effects have been averted,\u201d Saunders said.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2026.<\/p>\n
By Craig Lord<\/p>\n
Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CTV News\u2019 Annie Bergeron-Oliver breaks down the significance of the latest inflation numbers and the impact gas prices…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":719273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,28,101,451,6377,3,25260,452,453,7622],"class_list":["post-719272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-headlines","tag-national","tag-news","tag-oilgas","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-utilities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=719272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/719273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=719272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=719272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=719272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}