Inflation rates came in for Canada this week, with overall inflation for the country ticking upwards to 2.9% in March. Yet that doesn’t mean every single city saw inflation rise during this time. So let’s see how your city stacked up.
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The numbers
First off, let’s see the results from Statistics Canada for inflation rates. While some Canadian cities saw a rise in inflation, others stayed the same, or even dropped! So let’s see how each city stacked up.
| City | March Inflation Rate (%) | February Inflation Rate (%) |
| St. John’s, N.L. | 3.8 | 2.5 |
| Charlottetown-Summerside | 2.5 | 1.3 |
| Halifax | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Saint John, N.B. | 2.7 | 2.3 |
| Quebec City | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| Montreal | 4.1 | 3.4 |
| Ottawa | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| Toronto | 3.1 | 3.0 |
| Thunder Bay, Ont. | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| Winnipeg | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Regina | 1.9 | 2.0 |
| Saskatoon | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| Edmonton | 3.3 | 4.2 |
| Calgary | 4.2 | 5.1 |
| Vancouver | 2.8 | 2.9 |
| Victoria | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| Whitehorse | 2.4 | 2.5 |
| Yellowknife | 2.2 | 1.7 |
| Iqaluit | 2.2 | 3 |
While some cities saw growth in inflation month after month, others actually stayed the same, or even dropped! So now let’s look at what could be influencing these changes for Canadians.
What influenced inflation growth or declines
First off, Statistics Canada cautioned that these city inflation rates could have been volatile because they are based on a smaller set of data compared to the national average. This can lead to random fluctuations month over month. However, there are broad factors influencing the inflation rate.
Cities can experience a surge in demand for certain goods and services, with supply unable to keep up. This can cause prices to rise faster, causing higher inflation. Cities can also be affected by higher transportation costs, especially with higher oil and gas prices. Furthermore, wages might be rising in some cities faster than others, leading to businesses raising their prices to cover increased costs.
As for specific examples, St. John’s, NL might have seen a rise in inflation specifically from supply chain disruptions, energy costs, as well as the housing market. Housing costs likely also influenced the rise in inflation for Montreal as well, along with consumer spending. Meanwhile, Calgary has seen lower housing prices, with a situation similar to what we saw during the pandemic. Cost of living is lower in Calgary, with higher wages and lower housing costs, all leading to a lower inflation rate.
Take advantage
If you’re wanting to take advantage of higher inflation across the nation, there is certainly a way to do it. Right now, the biggest beneficiaries are oil and gas companies. So if you’re wanting more passive income, then consider dividend stocks in the oil and gas sector.
An excellent option right now that should also deliver long term is TC Energy (TSX:TRP). TC stock is an oil and gas pipeline company, but it’s also been expanding into renewables as well. This allows you to take advantage of higher oil and gas prices now, as well as dividends. Then you can look forward to more growth in the decades to come from the renewable energy transition.
For now, investors can gain access to a dividend yield at a whopping 7.74%, with shares still down 11% in the last year for a deal. However, those shares have risen 9% since the October bottom. A recent drop from the sale of its Prince Rupert Gas Transmission led to a drop in share price. Yet overall, the company is likely to rebound, especially with first quarter earnings around the corner.
So don’t lose out as inflation rises! Instead, take advantage by investing in a dividend stock like TC stock.
