Canada's inflation rate edges up in February

The Canadian Press</span>
Published Friday, March 22, 2019 8:42AM EDT
Last Updated Friday, March 22, 2019 8:57AM EDT

OTTAWA -- The annual pace of inflation edged higher in February as gains in most sectors offset lower gasoline prices.

Statistics Canada says the consumer price index in February climbed 1.5 per cent compared with a year ago.

The move compared with a year-over-over increase of 1.4 per cent in January.

Helping push costs higher was a 8.1 per cent increase in mortgage interest costs and a 14.3 per cent rise compared with a year ago in the cost of fresh vegetables.

The cost of gasoline was down 11.9 per cent compared with the same month last year as overall energy prices slipped 5.7 per cent.

Excluding gasoline, the annual pace of inflation held steady at 2.1 per cent, the same as January.

Here's what happened in the provinces and territories. (Previous month in brackets):

• Newfoundland and Labrador, 0.5 per cent (0.1)
• Prince Edward Island, 0.4 (0.4)
• Nova Scotia, 1.0 (1.1)
• New Brunswick, 0.9 (1.1)
• Quebec, 1.3 (1.0)
• Ontario, 1.5 (1.5)
• Manitoba, 2.0 (1.4)
• Saskatchewan, 1.3 (0.7)
• Alberta, 1.6 (1.2)
• British Columbia, 2.2 (2.4)

The agency also released rates for major cities, but cautioned that figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples (Previous month in brackets):

• St. John's, N.L., 0.5 per cent (0.1)
• Charlottetown-Summerside, 0.4 (0.4)
• Halifax, 1.1 (1.0)
• Saint John, N.B., 1.0 (1.5)
• Quebec, 0.9 (0.7)
• Montreal, 1.6 (1.2)
• Ottawa, 1.7 (1.7)
• Toronto, 1.9 (1.8)
• Thunder Bay, Ont., 1.0 (1.2)
• Winnipeg, 1.8 (1.3)
• Regina, 1.2 (0.4)
• Saskatoon, 1.2 (0.8)
• Edmonton, 1.6 (1.2)
• Calgary, 1.4 (1.0)
• Vancouver, 2.2 (2.3)
• Victoria, 2.3 (2.7)

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