According to Statistics Canada, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.3 percent in the 12 months to March, after increasing 1.4 percent in February.
Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 1.9 percent year over year in March, matching the increase in February.
Despite a 5.7 percent monthly increase in gasoline prices in March, the gasoline index was down 13.6 percent year over year in March, after declining 13.1 percent in the 12 months to February.
Prices rose in six of the eight major components on a year-over-year basis in March, with the food and shelter indexes contributing the most to the increase in the CPI. The transportation index, which includes gasoline, and the clothing and footwear index declined on a year-over-year basis in March.
Food prices were up 3.6 percent year over year in March, after rising 3.9 percent in February. Prices for food purchased from stores increased 4.0 percent year over year, following a 4.4 percent gain the previous month. The 12-month growth rate in the fresh vegetables index (+14.9 percent) and the fresh fruit index (+11.3 percent) slowed in March compared with February. The meat index rose 3.2 percent year over year in March, its largest increase since November 2015. Prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 2.6 percent year over year in March, following a 2.7 percent increase the previous month.
The transportation index decreased 1.0 percent in the 12 months to March, following a 0.5 percent decline in February. Lower year-over-year gasoline prices partly contributed to the decrease. The index for purchase of passenger vehicles was up 3.2 percent year over year in March, after increasing 5.0 percent the previous month.
The clothing and footwear index was down 0.4 percent year over year in March, after decreasing 1.3 percent in February. Shoppers paid 1.8 percent less for women's clothing in March compared with the same month a year earlier. Prices for children's clothing increased more on a year-over-year basis in March (+2.6 percent) than in February (+0.9 percent).