Consumer Price Index Monthly
Consumer Price Index, August 2024
This monthly release of the The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada, the provinces, Whitehorse and Yellowknife, provides a descriptive summary of retail price movements, inflation rates and the factors underlying them.
PEI and Canada Consumer Price Index
All-Items Consumer Price Index by Province
| CA | NL | PE | NS | NB | QC | ON | MB | SK | AB | BC | |
| Aug-24 | 161.8 | 163.1 | 166.8 | 165.0 | 161.8 | 157.7 | 163.3 | 161.5 | 163.4 | 170.2 | 156.2 |
| Jul-24 | 162.1 | 163.1 | 167.1 | 165.9 | 162.9 | 157.9 | 163.9 | 162.2 | 163.6 | 170.4 | 156.4 |
| Aug-23 | 158.7 | 161.0 | 164.8 | 163.0 | 158.9 | 155.4 | 159.9 | 159.5 | 161.6 | 166.8 | 152.6 |
| Year Over year Change (%) | 2.0% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 2.0% | 2.4% |
| Monthly Change (%) | -0.2% | 0.0% | -0.2% | -0.5% | -0.7% | -0.1% | -0.4% | -0.4% | -0.1% | -0.1% | -0.1% |
Statistics Canada reported that the year-over-year change in the All-Items Consumer Price Index (CPI) for P.E.I. was 1.2 percent in August 2024, down from 2.0 percent in July. This was the second lowest year-over-year increase among provinces, with Nova Scotia also at 1.2 percent and Saskatchewan at 1.1 percent. Year-over-year prices rose at a slower pace in August than in July in all ten provinces. The All-items index for P.E.I. as compared to July 2024 was -0.2 per cent. This compares to 2.0 percent year-over-year and -0.2 percent monthly changes for Canada.
Leading contributors to year-over-year price increases for P.E.I. were rent (+10.0%), followed by mortgage interest cost1, food purchased from restaurants (+4.0%), passenger vehicle insurance premiums (+10.8%), and passenger vehicle parts, maintenance and repairs (+5.0%). These increases were partially offset by year-over-year declines for gasoline (-7.1%), fuel oil and other fuels (-21.3%), traveler accommodation (-5.6%), telephone services (-5.4%), and home entertainment equipment, parts and services (-11.5%).
The monthly change in the All-Items CPI for PEI in August 2024 was -0.2 percent. Higher prices for child care and housekeeping services (+56.1%), rent (+2.6%), passenger vehicle insurance premiums (+3.3%), mortgage interest cost1, and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.4%) were offset by lower prices for gasoline (-2.8%), inter-city transportation (-9.2%), fuel oil and other fuels (-4.9%), dairy products (-3.5%), and telephone services (-2.7%).
Prices increased year-over-year in 5 of the 8 major CPI components, led by a 3.4 percent increase in food prices and a 3.4 percent increase in health and personal care costs. Prices declined for 3 of the major components and increased at a slower pace in August than in July for 3 components. Shelter costs and prices for alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis accelerated year-over-year.
Food purchased from restaurants was up 4.0 percent year-over-year in August, down from a 5.5 percent increase in July, while food purchased from stores increased 3.1 percent, up from a 2.5 percent increase in July. Prices for dairy products and eggs (+5.6%), bakery and cereal products excluding baby food (+1.6%), and other food products and non-alcoholic beverages (+2.5%) rose at a faster pace in August than in July, while price increases slowed for meat products (+2.1%), fruit, fruit preparations and nuts (+1.4%), and vegetables and vegetable preparations (+7.2%). Prices for fish, seafood and other marine products (-1.6%) declined on a year-over-year basis for the fifth consecutive month.
Energy2 costs decreased 8.2 percent year-over-year, down from a 1.5 percent increase last month. Excluding energy, PEI’s CPI increased 2.3 percent year-over-year. The year-over-year increase in the All-items excluding energy index for Canada was 2.5 percent.
August 2024 Prince Edward Island CPI Eight Major Components and Energy
| Prince Edward Island CPI Major Components and Energy | |||||||||
| Food | Household operations, furnishings & equipment | Shelter | Clothing & Footwear | Transportation | Health & Personal Care | Recreation, Education, & Reading | Alcohol, Tobacco, & Cannibis | Energy | |
| Aug-24 | 202.6 | 141.8 | 177.1 | 98.0 | 177.0 | 156.3 | 130.5 | 233.2 | 249.4 |
| Jul-24 | 204.3 | 139.1 | 176.4 | 99.6 | 179.6 | 156.2 | 131.4 | 232.0 | 256.2 |
| Aug-23 | 195.9 | 141.2 | 171.9 | 100.3 | 179.2 | 151.2 | 133.3 | 225.7 | 271.8 |
| Year Over year Change (%) | 3.4% | 0.4% | 3.0% | -2.3% | -1.2% | 3.4% | -2.1% | 3.3% | -8.2% |
| Monthly Change (%) | -0.8% | 1.9% | 0.4% | -1.6% | -1.4% | 0.1% | -0.7% | 0.5% | -2.7% |
August 2024 CPI All-Items and All-Items Excluding Energy, Year-over-Year Change, Canada and Provinces
Nationally, the All-Items CPI rose 2.0 percent on a year-over-year basis in August, down from a 2.5 percent increase in July. This was the slowest year-over-year increase for headline inflation since February 2021. Lower prices for gasoline contributed the most to the slowdown, due to a combination of a base-year effect (prices rose 4.6 percent in August 2023 and fell 2.6 percent in August 2024) and lower prices. The decline in August 2024 was mainly due to lower crude oil prices amid economic concerns in the United States and slowing demand in China. Mortgage interest cost (+18.8%) and rent (8.9%) remained the largest contributors to the increase in the CPI in August. National year-over-year prices rose at a slower pace or declined at a faster pace in August as compared to July in 5 of the 8 major components.
On a monthly basis, national CPI fell 0.2 percent in August, after rising 0.4 percent in July.
For more information on the August 2024 CPI, as well as links to data tables, please refer to Statistics Canada’s release for the Consumer Price Index, August 2024.
Related downloads for this release:
Monthly Consumer Price Index Report PDF (87KB)
1 Data not published at the provincial level
2 The special aggregate "energy" includes: "electricity", "natural gas", ",fuel oil and other fuels", "gasoline", and "fuel, parts and accessories for recreational vehicles".
Visit the Consumer Price Index Portal to find all CPI data, publications, interactive tools, and announcements highlighting new products and upcoming changes to the CPI in one convenient location.
The CPI for September 2024 will be released on October 15, 2024.
Source: Statistics Canada.
Table 18-10-0004-01, Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted