Just like death and taxes, food inflation seems inevitable in Canada.More so for some provinces than others, however none went unscathed.On Monday, Statistics Canada (SC) released March inflation rates, with overall food inflation increasing by 4% compared to a year earlier. Although smooth sailing on the surface, in-store food purchase prices increased by 4.4% compared to last year, after a slightly lower inflation of rate of 4.1% in February.But how does this all look in separate provinces in Canada? Let's find out — the following is a list from lowest to highest food inflation per province, keeping in mind the average inflation rate in the country is 4%..9. Prince Edward Island (PEI) It never felt so good to be last — with PEI having a 2.8% inflation rate compared to a year earlier. 8. New Brunswick (NB)A close second for last — but losing to PEI by 0.1%, NB had an inflation rate of 2.9% in March..7. Ontario & QuebecThere's nothing more anti-climactic than a tie, unless it's a tie for one of the lower food inflation rates in Canada. Both Ontario and Quebec had a 3% inflation rate compared to a year earlier. 6. Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)NL got a 3.2% inflation increase in March compared to last year..5. Nova Scotia (NS)NS felt the pressure of a 3.4% inflation increase for food prices from the same time a year ago.4. British Columbia (BC)The province had a 3.6% increase in its food inflation rates..3. ManitobaOnly getting a bronze medal for highest increase in food inflation, Manitoba settled for a 4.7% increase.2. Alberta So close to first place — yet, still so far away. In second place, Alberta experienced a food inflation rate of 4.8% compared to a year earlier..1. Saskatchewan Winning for highest food inflation in the country, Saskatchewan — whose food inflation ranks with the best of them — at 4.9%. As the food professor, Sylvain Charlebois, who runs an agri-food lab at Dalhousie University, points out, Western Canada holds the top four spots for highest food inflation. Canada is also still leading among the G7 countries for the top spot in food inflation — tying Japan, both at a 4% increase. .Fresh vegetables in particular had the highest rates of food inflation, rising by 7.8% in March from a year earlier, with cucumber increasing the most, by 28.4% . This has been the highest increase in fresh vegetable prices since August 2023.
