Food inflation up in September despite end to counter-tariffs

Statistics Canada says food prices drove inflation higher in September, with grocery prices up four per cent compared with the same month a year ago.

Overall inflation was 2.4 per cent last month, up half a percentage point from 1.9 per cent in August.

Statistics Canada says fresh vegetables contributed the most to food inflation, while other contributors included sugar and confectionary as well as beef and coffee prices.

The agency says annual price hikes at the grocery store have largely trended higher since a recent low in April 2024.

CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham says high food inflation came as a surprise.

He says food inflation was expected to be lower for the month of September after the federal government dropped retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., which initially weighed on the grocery prices earlier this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2025.

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press