Overall inflation eased for Canadians in March, but the end of the GST/HST holiday and U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war continues to stress consumers in Canada.
Statistics Canada said Tuesday that the annual pace of inflation cooled to 2.3 per cent in March, compared to 2.6 per cent the month before.
The numbers defied analysts expectations, who expected inflation to remain unchanged from February. Experts believe that Canada managed to keep the rate of inflation below two per cent until December because of the GST/HST holiday, which lasted from Dec. 9 to Feb. 15.
Statistics Canada said the slowdown in prices was led largely by Canadians paying less for tourism, airfare and gasoline.
More to come.
