Compared to last year, Canadians are paying way more money for the same goods and services this year. Such is inflation, and the inflation rate in Canada has apparently skyrocketed.
Canadians notably paid 28% more for air transportation and 14% more for fresh vegetables in December 2018 than they did in 2017, according to Global News.
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TL;DR Inflation was up in December, compared to November as well as December of 2017. Air transportation cost Canadians 28% more while fresh veggies were up 14%.
The price increases contributed to a 2% increase in Canada's inflation rate even with prices at the gas pump going down in most areas.
This increase is apparently the largest increase in Canada since 2011.
The lowering gas prices did nothing to offset the increase in air transportation and fresh vegetables, mentioned above at a 28% and 14% increase, respectively.
If the gas prices weren't so low, Canada's inflation rate would have straight up been 2.5%.
Other notable increases include a 7.5% hike to mortgage interest costs, 5.1% increase in passenger vehicle insurance premiums, and a 3.8% increase in restaurant bills.
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Inflation is essentially an ongoing increase in the overall price of goods and services in our economy over a period of time.
Inflation thus reflects a decrease in the purchasing power of the Canadian dollar, even without our own markets.
The inflation rate is a summation of the change in prices over time and highlights whether prices have generally increased or decreased over the last month.
Inflation is also considered on a year-over-year basis, meaning economists and organizations like the Bank of Canada also look at December 2017 compared to December 2018 and consider changes within the same fiscal period to determine the real rates of change for certain products and services.
There were some decreases. The prices for hotels, natural gas, and computer services and equipment all saw around a 5% downturn.
While Canada has certainly seen the sole upside of inflation with a decrease in unemployment, the negative impacts are sure to rear their ugly heads.
Negatives of inflation include an increase in consumers' desire to save, an uncertainty in future inflation which leads to fear of investing, and even the potential for consumers to start hoarding things for fear of further increases in price, which can then lead to shortages in goods.
