Canadians paid 45% more for tomatoes and 25% more for beef chuck in May: StatCan inflation report

As the Iran war drives up gas prices, Canada’s inflation rate increased to 3.2 per cent year-over-year in May, up from 2.8 per cent in April, according to Statistics Canada. This is the first time it’s risen above three per cent since 2023.

Even with the recent dip in gas prices, drivers are still paying more at the pump since the war began.

The agency said that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in particular drove gas prices higher for the third consecutive month. In May, the cost of gasoline rose at a faster pace (+33.2 per cent) than in April (+28.6 per cent). This resulted in Canadians paying the highest gas prices since June 2022, when the surge was a knock-on effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Food prices also rose, according to the consumer ‌price index . With an overall food inflation rate of 3.8 per cent , Canada is once again leading G7 nations.

“Canada’s return to the top of the G7 food inflation rankings should concern policymakers. At 3.8 per cent, food inflation isn’t a crisis, but it is a signal. Most G7 countries face the same global pressures. The fact that Canada continues to underperform suggests our food affordability problem is increasingly homegrown, not imported,” Sylvain Charlebois, director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab , said in a social media post .

Inflation also accelerated at the grocery store, with fresh fruit and vegetables driving the increase. StatCan said grocery inflation rose half a percentage point to 4.3 per cent year-over-year in May, outpacing headline inflation for 16 consecutive months.

Year-over-year, Canadians faced a nine per cent increase in fresh vegetable prices in May, following a 4.1 per cent rise in April. StatCan attributed the growth to higher broccoli, cauliflower, tomato and lettuce prices.

Tomato prices alone increased 45.2 per cent year-over-year due to poor growing conditions in Mexico. According to the agency, supply was constrained by severe weather and U.S. tariffs, which caused Mexican growers to reduce their acreage.

After a drop of 3.9 per cent in April, fresh vegetable prices rose 5.5 per cent month-over-month in May. StatCan notes that this is the “largest monthly May increase since 2008,” and attributes it to higher fuel costs and shrinking supply.

Driven by berries (including cherries) and grapes, fresh fruit prices also increased at a faster pace year-over-year, from a drop of 0.5 per cent in April to a rise of 5.3 per cent in May.

The prices of all beef cuts increased in May, ranging from +7.4 per cent year-over-year for beef ribs to +25 per cent for beef chuck. As Stacey Taylor, an assistant professor of business analytics at Cape Breton University, told National Post in April, beef supply will remain tight as ranchers deal with the aftermath of herd contraction. “Farmers tend to reduce their herd sizes when feed costs are very expensive, or they’re going through a period of uncertainty. So, it can take many years to get those herds back to full strength.”

Canadian travellers also paid more for air transportation and travel tours in May (+0.7 per cent) than in April (-11.0 per cent). Year-over-year, prices for flights increased 7.4 per cent after a 1.7 per cent drop the month prior, which StatCan said was driven by higher operational costs, especially jet fuel.

• Beef, coffee and tomatoes among the grocery items with the biggest price increases this year
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