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Canada's 12-month food price inflation rate fell to 2.18% in September 2026

Food prices in Canada rose at a slower 12-month pace in September 2026 than in August: 2.18%, down from 2.85%.

Published 1 min read

  • 2026-082.85%
  • 2026-092.18%
Canada food price inflation (12-month change) · Statistics Canada

Canada Food price inflation →

The headline figure

The pace of food price increases in Canada slowed in September 2026. Food price inflation, measured as the 12-month change, was 2.18%. In August 2026 the same measure was 2.85%.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

What the official figures show

The measure compares food prices in a given month with food prices in the same month a year earlier. It is a 12-month change, not a change from the previous month.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

Between the August 2026 and September 2026 readings, the 12-month rate moved by -0.67 percentage points. That figure describes the change in the annual rate itself. It does not describe how much food prices moved between August and September.

Sources for this paragraph (3)

September against August

Both readings come from the same statistic, so they can be set side by side. The 12-month rate was 2.85% for August 2026 and 2.18% for September 2026. The later value is lower, so the rate fell.

Sources for this paragraph (3)

Two monthly readings are not enough to establish a trend. The facts available here do not include earlier months, so a longer comparison is not possible in this analysis.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

What it means for people in Canada

For people in Canada, the September figure means the national 12-month rate of food price increases was smaller than it was a month earlier. The rate was still above zero at 2.18%.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

The figure is a national average across many foods. Individual households buy different items in different places, so their own grocery costs may have moved differently. The data cannot say how any particular household's spending changed.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

What the data does not tell us

The figures here do not break food prices down by item, by province or by store type. They do not explain why the rate fell, and no cause is given in the facts.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

Other price measures, such as overall consumer price inflation and shelter prices, are calculated over different baskets of goods and services. They are not directly comparable with the food measure, so this analysis does not set them against it.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

Scenarios to watch

  • Scenario, not a forecast If the next monthly reading of the 12-month food rate comes in below 2.18%, that would mean the slowdown seen in September continued for another month.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If the next reading comes in above 2.18%, the September decline would look like a single-month move rather than the start of a sustained easing.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If the next reading is close to 2.18%, the September level would hold, and more months of data would be needed to judge direction.

What to check next

  • The October 2026 reading of Canada's 12-month food price inflation rate
  • Whether the change in the 12-month rate from the previous month is again negative
  • Any official breakdown of food prices by category or province, if published

Verified data used in this report

IndicatorValuePeriodSourcesAccessed
F1Canada food price inflation (12-month change)2.18%2026-09Statistics Canada
F2Canada food price inflation (12-month change)2.85%2026-08Statistics Canada
F3Change from previous period (percentage points)-0.67pp2026-09Statistics Canada
C11Canada consumer price inflation (12-month change)3.09%2026-09Statistics Canada
C13Canada new housing price index (12-month change)-2.04%2026-09Statistics Canada
C14Canada central bank policy rate (month-end)2.25%2026-09Bank of Canada
C15Canada shelter prices (CPI, 12-month change)1.75%2026-09Statistics Canada
C16Canada unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)6.5%2026-09Statistics Canada
C17Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change)3.18%2026-07Statistics Canada
C18Canada GDP growth (annual %)1.74%2025World Bank
C19Canada Unemployment, total (% of labour force, ILO modelled estimate)6.91%2025World Bank
C20Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman)1.252024World Bank
C21Canada Population aged 65 and above (% of total population)20.26%2025World Bank
C22Canada Population growth (annual %)0.94%2025World Bank

Sources

  • Source: Statistics Canada. Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada — license
  • Source: Bank of Canada — license
  • Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) — license

How this report was checked

  • Data: the newest reference period cited is 2026-09.
  • Figures were collected from the source on
  • Written by an AI model (claude-opus-5-5) using only the official figures listed in this report.
  • Automatic checks passed: every number matches a cited figure, every paragraph names its evidence, and there is no investment advice or copied source text.
  • A separate quality-check model raised concerns, and the report was rewritten once to address them.
  • No person reviewed this report before publication. Automatic checks confirm the numbers, not every interpretation.

The source has since revised figures cited here (as collected → current):

  • Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change) · 2026-07: 3.18% → 3.2%
Update history
  • 2026-10-27 10:30 UTC — created
  • 2026-10-27 10:30 UTC — approved+published

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