BC was one of nine provinces to record a year-over-year increase when it came to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The cost of living in the province rose 2.0% in August, up from the 1.9% hike in July.
That’s slightly higher than the national average of 1.4%.
One category was mostly responsible for the increase. “Replacement cost contributed the most to the rising to the Consumer Price Index in British Columbia compared to the other provinces,” said Brian Harrison, Statistics Canada analyst.
However, another subject garnered most of the conversation according to Harrison. “The big story this month was gasoline. It accelerated in all provinces – in BC it was 10.9%.”
In food, the province matched the growth in July of 0.9% while at the national level it went up a little higher. “A lot of this was a base effect last year prices saw a larger decline throughout the western provinces,” added Harrison.
Prince Edward Island recorded the largest CPI hike in the country at 2.3%.