Higher gasoline prices, car insurance payments and mortgage rates were the biggest drivers of inflation during the last 12 months.
According to Statistics Canada, national inflation rose 2.4 per cent in January 2020 compared to January 2019. Provincially, British Columbians saw inflation rise 2.3 per cent during the same period, as one of four provinces with inflation rates below the national rate. Alberta and Prince Edward Island with spikes of three per cent each led the provinces with rates above the national figure.
RELATED: Greater Victoria sees highest gas prices in the country
Higher gasoline prices were the biggest contributor to inflation, as gas prices were 11.2 per cent higher in January 2020 than in January 2019, when the world experienced excessive supply. Geo-strategic events, however, pushed oil prices up. This development is far from abstract for local drivers, as Greater Victoria recorded the highest gas prices in all of Canada Tuesday.
Insurance premiums for passenger vehicles rose 8.4 per cent in January 2020 compared to the same period last year, while mortgage payments rose 5.3 per cent. Fresh vegetables, a traditional source of inflation during the winter months, rose five per cent in price, largely because of severe weather in the United States impacting crops.
On the other end of the spectrum, phone services, traveller accommodation, and tutition fees dropped by 7.1, 4.8 and 3.6 per cent per cent.
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