Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Canada's annual inflation rate continued to slow last month, reaffirming the central bank's decision to hold its key interest rate steady.
In its latest consumer price index report released Tuesday, Statistics Canada said the country's inflation rate rose 5.2 per cent year over year in February, marking the largest deceleration since April 2020.
The reading compared with an annual inflation rate of 5.9 per cent in January and was the lowest rate since January 2022 when it was 5.1 per cent.
BMO's chief economist Douglas Porter called the report "mildly encouraging."
"That's actually a couple months in a row now where we've had slightly better-than-expected inflation readings," he said.
Since peaking at 8.1 per cent in the summer, Canada's annual inflation rate has been tumbling amid easing global pressures and high interest rates.
The Bank of Canada is hoping inflation will continue to slow without the need for further interest rate hikes.
Earlier this month, the central bank left its key interest rate target unchanged at 4.5 per cent, marking the first hold since it began raising rates last year.
The Bank of Canada has been laser-focused on bringing inflation back down to its two per cent target. Its aggressive rate hike cycle over the last year is starting to slow the economy by forcing people and businesses to pull back on spending.
Porter said the Bank of Canada is likely "breathing a big sigh of relief" looking at the February inflation data.
"This very much supports their decision to stop raising interest rates," Porter said.
In Tuesday's report, Statistics Canada noted that the decline in February was due to a steep monthly increase in prices in February 2022 when the global economy was significantly affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
However, Porter noted the deceleration in inflation over the last few months has been led by a significant pullback in energy prices, while other prices remain stickier.
"The next part of the inflation fight is going to be a little bit more of a challenge getting inflation from around five per cent to maybe back below three per cent," he said.
Energy prices were down 0.6 per cent year over year as gasoline prices fell 4.7 per cent compared with a year ago when prices began to rise due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. February was the first yearly decline for gasoline prices since January 2021.
Meanwhile, grocery prices continue to rise rapidly, showing little cooling even as overall inflation eases.
Prices for food purchased from stores in February were up 10.6 per cent compared with a year ago, the seventh consecutive month of double-digit increases.
Excluding food and energy, Statistics Canada said prices in February were up 4.8 per cent compared with a year ago, following a 4.9 per cent year-over-year gain in January.
In a note to clients, CIBC's executive director of economics Karyne Charbonneau said she expects headline inflation to ease below three per cent by May, but cautions that continued strength in food prices and mortgage interest costs will likely keep the annual pace "sticky between two and three per cent throughout the second half of the year."
With many Canadians continue to struggle with the cost of living, the federal government is facing pressure to deliver more help in its upcoming budget.
The federal government has signalled the budget, which is set to be tabled March 28, will include affordability measures to help Canadians still challenged by the cost of living.
The agency also released rates for major cities, but cautioned that figures may have fluctuated widely because they are based on small statistical samples (previous month in brackets):
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2023.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.