Consumer Price Index Monthly
Consumer Price Index, March 2025
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
Statistics Canada reported that the year-over-year change in the All-Items Consumer Price Index (CPI) for P.E.I. was 1.8 percent in March 2025. This was the second lowest year-over-year increase among provinces, with Newfoundland and Labrador at 1.1 percent. Year-over-year prices rose at a slower pace in March than in February in 8 provinces. This was largely due to lower prices for gasoline and travel tours. The end of the temporary break on the Goods and Services Tax (GST)/Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in February put upward pressure on prices for eligible products in March. The change to the All-items index for P.E.I. as compared to February 2025 was 0.4 percent. This compares to 2.3 percent year-over-year and 0.3 percent monthly changes for Canada.
Leading contributors to year-over-year price increases for P.E.I. were food purchased from restaurants (3.8%), followed by rent (4.4%), mortgage interest cost1, passenger vehicle insurance premiums (11.7%), and passenger vehicle parts, maintenance and repairs (5.2%). These increases were partially offset by year-over-year declines for inter-city transportation (-14.7%), fuel oil and other fuels (-8.8%), travel tours1, telephone services (-7.2%), and traveler accommodation (-14.1%).
The monthly change in the All-Items CPI for PEI in March 2025 was 0.4 percent. Higher prices for food purchased from restaurants (7.5%), other food preparations1, beer purchased from stores (7.3%), recreational equipment and services, excluding recreational vehicles (2.8%), and dairy products (3.0%), were mostly offset by lower prices for gasoline (-4.6%), fuel oil and other fuels (-9.6%), traveler accommodation (-17.8%), telephone services (-7.7%), and fresh vegetables (-5.3%).
Prices increased year-over-year in all of the 8 major CPI components, led by 3.7 percent increase in food prices and a 3.2 percent increase in alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis prices. Energy2 costs fell 1.7 percent year-over-year.
The cost of food increased 3.7 percent year-over-year in March, following three consecutive months of decline. Food purchased from restaurants was up 3.8 percent year-over-year in March, while food purchased from stores increased 3.6 percent. Prices for meat (5.1%), fish, seafood and other marine products (0.8%), dairy products and eggs (2.5%), fruit, fruit preparations and nuts (6.2%), vegetables and vegetable preparations (1.9%), and other food products and non-alcoholic beverages (5.2%) all rose at a faster pace in March than in February. Prices for bakery and cereal products excluding baby food (0.6%) rose at a slower pace than one month ago.
March 2025 Prince Edward Island CPI, Eight Major Components and Energy
Excluding energy, PEI’s CPI increased 2.1 percent year-over-year, the second lowest among provinces. The year-over-year increase in the All-items excluding energy index for Canada was 2.5 percent.
March 2025 CPI All-Items and All-Items Excluding Energy, Year-Over-Year Change, Canada and Provinces
NATIONAL
Nationally, the All-Items CPI rose 2.3 percent on a year-over-year basis in March, down from a 2.6 percent increase in February. The headline CPI grew at a slower pace largely due to lower prices for gasoline and travel tours, while the end of the GST/HST break contributed upward pressure to the headline CPI in March.
Gasoline prices were lower as a result of lower crude oil prices amid concerns of slowing global oil demand and slowing economic growth related to the threat of tariffs. Additionally, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners (OPEC+) confirmed a planned increase to production.
Year-over-year prices increased in all eight major components and rose at a slower pace in March as compared to February in four components.
On a monthly basis nationally, the All-Items CPI rose 0.3 percent in March, following a 1.1 percent monthly increase in February.
For more information on the March 2025 CPI, as well as links to data tables, please refer to Statistics Canada’s release for the Consumer Price Index, March 2025.
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 April 2025 will be released on May 20, 2025.
Source: Statistics Canada.
Table 18-10-0004-01, Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted