OTTAWA, May 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Canadian inflation rose slightly in April
to 2.0 percent, while gasoline prices soared from the previous month due in
part to new or increased carbon emission levies, official data showed on
Wednesday.
Prices for most goods and services were up in the 12 months to April,
according to Statistics Canada.
Higher year-over-year costs for mortgage interest and rents, passenger
vehicles and car insurance premiums, as well as for fresh vegetables, were
partially offset by lower rates for travel accommodations, gasoline,
telephone services, computer equipment and children’s clothing, the agency
said.
But month-over-month gasoline prices rose 10 percent after the federal
government rolled out a price on carbon emissions in New Brunswick, Ontario,
Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Prince Edward Island introduced its own carbon levy and British Columbia
increased its existing carbon tax.
Rising global crude prices due to production cuts also contributed to the
higher March to April gasoline prices.
Tory-led New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have lined up
against the federal carbon tax imposed April 1 on provinces that failed to
put significant curbs on their CO2 emissions.
The feud over the measures to help Ottawa meet its target, under the Paris
treaty, of reducing CO2 emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 is
expected to become an electoral issue in October when Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau’s Liberals vie for a second term.