The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 2.4% year over year in March, up from an increase of 1.8% in February. Driving faster price growth in headline inflation were higher prices for energy, especially gasoline, due to the conflict in the Middle East. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose at a slower pace year over year in March (+2.2%) compared with February (+2.4%). There remained lingering base-year effects from the GST/HST break which ran from December 2024 to February 2025, resulting in downward pressure on headline inflation in March 2026. The CPI was up 0.9% month over month in March. On a seasonally adjusted ... (full story)