$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Higher gasoline prices helped the annual inflation rate tick higher in March, but core inflation continued to cool for the month, raising the chances of an interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada in June.
Statistics Canada said Tuesday its consumer price index for March was up 2.9 per cent compared with a year ago, up from a 2.8 per cent year-over-year increase in February.
The increase came as gasoline prices rose 4.5 per cent compared with a year earlier, helped higher by an increase in global oil prices.
Excluding gasoline, Statistics Canada said the overall annual inflation rate for March was 2.8 per cent, down from 2.9 per cent in February. The Bank of Canada's three core measures for inflation for March also all moved lower compared with February.
Leslie Preston, a managing director and senior economist at TD Bank, said she continues to expect the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates in July, but added that the latest data does raise the chances it might move in June.
"We are seeing a very encouraging cooling in core inflation pressures," Preston said.
"So we've seen three good months now, but you know the governor will likely want to see a bit more, whether that's one or two months is a tough call."
Preston said the April inflation figures will be important, but she will also be watching to see what the federal budget holds, as well as the next jobs report.
The central bank kept its key interest rate on hold last week at five per cent, but said it was "within the realm of possibilities" that it might cut rates at its next scheduled announcement in June.
The Bank of Canada has said that it is looking for evidence that the recent easing in underlying inflation will be sustained.
"We are seeing what we need to see, but we need to see it for longer to be confident that progress toward price stability will be sustained," Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said last week.
Preston noted there was a sharp deceleration in inflation in the U.S., but now it's been rising again.
"You know, these things don't necessarily move in a straight line. It can be bumpy. So the question is, you know, how many downward months do you need to see before the Bank of Canada is confident to cut rates and that's really where the uncertainty lies," she said.
Olivia Cross, North America economist at Capital Economics, said the March reading fit with the trend of downward momentum in core inflation seen so far this year.
"The bank will probably want to see the same again in the April CPI data, which will be released before the bank's next meeting, although a modest pick-up in the average monthly gain seems unlikely to prevent a cut in June," Cross wrote in a report.
"There are still some risks to that view, most notably the potential for a much larger rise in oil prices amid an escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Gasoline prices were one of the strongest contributors to headline CPI in March, and oil prices have continued to rise in early April."
Statistics Canada said shelter prices continued to contribute to overall inflation as they were up 6.5 per cent compared with a year ago.
Mortgage interest costs in March rose 25.4 per cent on a year-over-year basis, while rent prices increased 8.5 per cent.
Food prices rose 3.0 per cent compared with a year ago, while prices for clothing and footwear fell 2.7 per cent. Prices for household operations, furnishings and equipment dropped 2.3 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2024.
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says federal opposition parties should be 'celebrating' the recently announced electric vehicle deals, despite their criticisms the Liberals refuse to make public the terms and conditions laid out in the contracts.
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
As Donald Trump increasingly infuses his campaign with Christian trappings while coasting to a third Republican presidential nomination, his support is as strong as ever among evangelicals and other conservative Christians.
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
VIA Rail service resumed in the Kingston, Ont. area late Saturday afternoon, after a suspicious package investigation halted train service for more than four hours over the Victoria Day long weekend.
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.