Canada’s food prices surge faster than overall inflation

Although inflation is easing, fall barbecues will still hit your wallet hard. For the second consecutive month, grocery prices in Canada have risen faster than the overall inflation rate, with beef seeing a notable price hike.

Fresh and frozen beef is now 9.2% more expensive than it was last year, according to the latest inflation data from Statistics Canada.

In September, food purchased from stores saw a 2.4% price increase compared to the same time last year, surpassing the country’s overall inflation rate of 1.6%. This marks the same growth as August when groceries also climbed by 2.4% year-over-year.

Including restaurant meals, the overall cost of food has risen by 2.8% over the past year. Some essentials have surged in price, such as fresh or frozen beef (+9.2%), edible fats and oils (+7.8%), and eggs (+5.0%).

However, not everything has become more expensive—items like seafood (-4.9%), nuts and seeds (-0.9%), and fish (-0.3%) have actually dropped in price over the last 12 months.