Canada’s CPI holds at 3.0% in August as gas cools, food slips under 3%

OTTAWA — Canada’s annual inflation rate held at 3.0% in August, matching July, as slower gasoline gains were offset by firmer rent and travel-tour costs, Statistics Canada said.

Gasoline prices still rose 22.8% year over year — down from 25.7% in July — while the all-items CPI excluding gasoline advanced 2.4%. Month over month, consumer prices slipped 0.1%. Food purchased from stores cooled to a 2.8% annual pace, the first reading below 3% in 14 months, with dairy leading the slowdown as cheese and yogurt costs eased.

Travel tours jumped 26.1% year over year on fuel surcharges and a base-year effect after Canadians cut trips to the United States in 2025. Shelter costs edged up to 1.5% from 1.3% in July, and rent accelerated to 2.8% from 2.5%. Preferential core gauges stayed soft: CPI-median at 2.0% and CPI-trim at 1.9%, unchanged from July.

Headline inflation remains at the top of the Bank of Canada’s 1%–3% control range even as core measures hug 2%. With crude still firm and tariffs working through shelves, the next prints will decide whether 3% is a ceiling — or the floor for another hike cycle.