Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Inflation has eroded purchasing power for many Canadians, but the experience with rapidly rising prices has been far from uniform.
While the inflation rate shows how quickly prices are rising, other factors like income and consumption patterns can make it harder or easier for people to cope.
Here's a look at how high inflation is right now, who's feeling the pinch, and when Canadians can expect inflation to come down.
After reaching 8.1 per cent in the summer, Canada's annual inflation rate has slowed noticeably in recent months. In December, the annual inflation rate was 6.3 per cent.
Although that's still much higher than the Bank of Canada's two per cent target, recent monthly trends suggest inflation is heading closer to the target.
But even as inflation slows, food prices in particular have been a pain point for many Canadians. In December, grocery prices were 11 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
Wages are rising but have not kept up with the rate of inflation. In December, average hourly wages were up 5.1 per cent compared with a year ago.
Brendon Bernard, a senior economist with hiring website Indeed, says Canadians on average have seen their real wages (amount earned after factoring in inflation) fall by about one per cent during that time period.
But some have seen their wages go up more than others, making it easier for those who have received a raise to cope with the rising cost of living.
University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe said workers who got a new job or leveraged a job offer with their employer likely saw their pay go up more than others.
Workers can't always negotiate their pay to reflect the rise in the cost of living. Unionized workers, for example, negotiate contracts on fixed schedules.
"It will take potentially quite a bit of time for the current spike in inflation to be compensated for with increased wages for individuals," Tombe said.
Though most Canadians have probably experienced sticker shock at the grocery store or elsewhere, not everyone is equally strained.
"Inflation is not just a single, homogeneous experience that everyone is going through," said Tombe.
Depending on what people buy, the amount they need to maintain their consumption levels and lifestyle could be higher or lower than the headline inflation rate.
Tombe said families with children have been particularly affected by inflation because a larger share of their budgets go toward food and fuel, two categories that have seen sharp increases in prices. According to his calculations based on October 2022, a family with children spent on average about $65 more per month than one without children.
"Price increases will strain households at lower income levels more because they save less than higher-income households," he said.
With less of a savings buffer, lower-income Canadians have a harder time covering the costs of rising bills. Meanwhile, higher income earners can absorb additional costs by reducing their savings.
Statistics Canada data shows net average household savings have declined across all income brackets. But the trend is more alarming for households in the bottom 40 per cent because they tend to spend more than they earn in income.
During the third quarter of 2022, for example, households in the bottom 20 per cent of income earners spent about $7,400 more than they earned. In the third quarter of 2021, that figure was $6,550.
Meanwhile, the top 20 per cent put away on average about $14,200 in the third quarter of 2022, down from $16,900.
With prices rising at the fastest pace in decades and the federal Liberals on the hot seat for cost-of-living issues, inflation has featured prominently in the House of Commons.
Federal Conservatives have been particularly focused on affordability concerns and have been calling on the government to rein in spending.
"Canadians are worse off than ever," said Conservative MP and finance critic Jasraj Singh Hallan on Jan. 31.
Recent polling suggests the Conservatives are indeed tapping into many Canadians' feelings about the state of the economy.
But the current bout of inflation hasn't pushed Canadians back as far as some may think.
Tombe says purchasing power has fallen to 2019 levels, which means a dollar today can purchase the same amount of goods and services a dollar could purchase in 2019.
"It's certainly false that Canadians have never been worse off," Tombe said.
"Inflation has dialed the clock back only just a few years in terms of average purchasing power of people's wages."
A new poll suggests most Canadians feel their financial situation is about the same as it was a year ago.
According to a Leger poll, commissioned by the Association for Canadians Studies, 34 per cent of Canadian households say their financial situation has worsened over the last year.
Meanwhile, 58 per cent of those who responded say their financial situation has remained relatively unchanged and nine per cent say it's improved.
The percentage of Canadians who say they're worse off, however, is higher among low-income earners.
According to the survey, 42 per cent of those earning less than $40,000 say their household's overall financial situation is worse.
The online survey was completed by 1,554 Canadians between Jan. 23 and 25 and cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random samples.
Barring unexpected global events, most economists anticipate inflation to continue slowing this year.
The Bank of Canada is forecasting the annual inflation rate will reach three per cent by mid-year and will come back down to two per cent in 2024.
Tombe said inflation still appears to be high because the rate is calculated on an annual basis.
The recent deceleration in prices, which has been driven by lower energy prices and easing supply chains, is expected to be reflected in the annual inflation rate in the months to come.
"And so, the worst may already be behind us," Tombe said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2023.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.