Canada's annual inflation rate was 0.9% in May, edging up from 0.8% in April, but the cost of food continues to push core inflation higher.
Lower energy prices continue to keep a lid on the consumer price index, with overall energy prices down 11.8% in the 12 months to May, according to Statistics Canada.
Gasoline prices fell the most — 17.4% compared with the same month a year earlier, but natural gas and heating oil also were also down.
Excluding the cost of energy and other volatile items, core inflation moved up 2.2% in the year, down from 2.3% in April.
The increase in CPI was led by higher prices for food, with the overall cost of food up 3.8% on the year. A lower Canadian dollar is pushing up the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables, many of them coming from the U.S. — Canadians are paying 5.8% more for vegetables and 2.9% more for fruit.
Statistics Canada lists the annual inflation rates by province (April's rate in brackets):
Newfoundland and Labrador, 0.3% (-0.4%)
Prince Edward Island, -0.7% (-1.2%)
Nova Scotia, 0.5% (0.3%)
New Brunswick, 0.6% (-0.1%)
Quebec, 1.2% (1.1%)
Ontario, 0.9% (0.8%)
Manitoba, 0.5% (0.9%)
Saskatchewan, 1.5% (1.2%)
Alberta, 0.6% (0.7%)
British Columbia, 0.8% (0.5%)
Whitehorse, Yukon, -0.6% (-0.7%)
Yellowknife, N.W.T., 1.5% (1.6%)
