Canada’s annual inflation rate has surged to a 10-year high of 3.7 per cent – the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year increases above three per cent.
While gasoline prices and shelter costs have been driving much of the recent increases, pricier groceries and restaurant meals have also been hitting Canadians’ wallets, with experts warning that rising food prices could become another hot-topic issue in Canada’s federal election.
Food manufacturers and restaurant chains have been announcing price increases as they grapple with higher costs for transportation and agricultural commodities. Restaurants, in particular, have also been struggling with devastating labour shortages that are adding pressure to profit margins.
Big Trudeau gaffe: he says he doesn’t “think about monetary policy”—even though whoever is PM this fall will sign off on the central bank inflation mandate, setting the cost of living for the next 5 years.
If he gets in, he’ll let inflation go wild without a thought. pic.twitter.com/OsXUOOAhbk
— pierrepoilievre (@PierrePoilievre) August 18, 2021
In July, menu prices were up 3.1 per cent compared to the same month last year, while meat also rose 3.1 per cent and dairy products rose 3.5 per cent over the same period.
“A whole bunch of things have become more expensive for people. Basic things that we normally would have thought were affordable are now becoming less affordable,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs Canada.
“Concerns around affordability are consistently polling among Canadian voters’ top three concerns. While housing and gasoline costs feature prominently among those worries, food is definitely in there.”
Credit to Pierre Poilievre MP for calling this out months ago (see tweet above).
The Liberal Party have operated under the idea that Canada can simply spend its way out of the pandemic – a tell-tale sign that either Trudeau and his Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, have no clue what they are doing, or they are simply reckless with taxpayers money. Either makes them unfit for government.
If the Canadian public thought times were tough now, wait until the coming months when everything becomes much more expensive. However, don’t expect the Liberal Party leadership under Trudeau to care too much. They can survive soaring inflation rates with their hefty government pay cheques and business interests while the working class suffer for their economic mismanagement.
At a time where the Canadian economy hangs on a knife-edge, it is time for conservative values to step in; curbing overly-excessive government spending and (finally) balancing the budget.
(Photo credit: Bloomberg)
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