Canada's Inflation Holds Steady at 3.0% in August as Travel and Rent Costs Rise
Canada's Consumer Price Index rose 3.0% year over year in August 2026, matching July's pace. Slower gasoline price growth was offset by surging travel tour costs and rising rents, while grocery inflation fell below the headline rate for the first time since July 2024.
Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.0% year over year in August 2026, matching the pace recorded in July, according to data released by Statistics Canada. 
Excluding gasoline, the CPI increased 2.4% in August, up from 2.2% the previous month. On a monthly basis, the index fell 0.1%, while the seasonally adjusted monthly CPI rose 0.2%.
Gasoline prices climbed 22.8% year over year in August, a deceleration from the 25.7% increase seen in July. The slower annual growth put downward pressure on the all-items index, though conflict in the Middle East continued to keep fuel prices elevated.
Rising costs elsewhere offset the slowdown at the pump. Prices for travel tours surged 26.1% year over year in August, accelerating sharply from 15.2% in July. This increase was partly driven by a base-year effect stemming from reduced Canadian travel to the United States in 2025.
National rent prices also contributed to upward pressure, increasing 2.8% year over year in August compared with 2.5% in July. Manitoba recorded a notable rent increase of 4.3%, while Ontario saw rents rise 2.4%. 
Grocery price growth slowed to 2.8% year over year in August, marking the first time since July 2024 that grocery inflation fell below the headline all-items rate. Cumulative grocery prices have risen 29.0% since August 2021. A significant deceleration in dairy product prices, which rose just 0.7% year over year in August compared with 3.1% in July, contributed to the broader slowdown in grocery inflation.
Consumers paid less for clothing, with prices falling 1.1% year over year in August. The decline was driven by lower costs for men's clothing, down 2.3%, and children's clothing, down 1.9%.
Regionally, the Atlantic provinces experienced the highest rates of inflation in August. Fuel oil and other fuels prices in the region rose 43.7% year over year, driving the elevated inflation rates in those provinces.