Statistics Canada reports September inflation at 3.1% as gasoline drives rise

Canada’s consumer price index rose 3.1 per cent from a year earlier in September, compared with 3.0 per cent in August, according to Statistics Canada. The figures released October 19 show that transportation and energy were central to the acceleration, even as some other price categories increased more slowly.

Gasoline prices were 27.8 per cent higher than in September 2025, after a 22.8 per cent annual increase the month before. The agency reported that inflation excluding gasoline slowed to 2.2 per cent from 2.4 per cent. This difference matters because headline inflation can move sharply when one widely used item, such as fuel, experiences unusually large price changes.

The statistics also showed that grocery price growth and travel tour prices provided some offset to the faster overall pace. Shelter prices were up 1.8 per cent year over year, while the transportation component increased 8.4 per cent. Those figures describe category averages; individual households may experience different costs depending on commuting, housing and spending patterns.

The headline index rose 0.1 per cent between August and September on an unadjusted basis, and 0.4 per cent after seasonal adjustment. The annual inflation number is not the same as the month-to-month change, and neither number alone explains how prices will behave in coming months.

With the Bank of Canada’s next interest-rate announcement approaching, analysts will be watching whether energy-driven price increases spread more widely through the economy. Statistics Canada’s detailed release remains the primary source for the full category breakdown and calculation methods.