Dubai · Gulf EduReleased: 2026-10-19 Tab 1 Tab 2 Tab 3 Tab 4 Consumer Price Index September 2026 3.1% (12-month change) Food purchased from stores September 2026 1.7% (12-month change) Shelter September 2026 1.8% (12-month change) Transportation September 2026 8.4% (12-month change) The Consumer Price Index ( CPI ) rose 3.1% year over year in September, following a 3.0% increase in August. The acceleration was led by higher prices for gasoline in September (+27.8%) compared with August (+22.8%). Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.2%, after increasing 2.4% in August.
Moderating the acceleration in the all-items CPI in September were smaller year-over-year price increases for travel tours and groceries compared with the previous month. The CPI increased 0.1% month over month in September. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.4%.
Chart 1 The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and CPI excluding gasoline Chart 2 Prices accelerate in three major components in September Energy prices increase at a faster pace Prices for energy accelerated in September, rising 19.0% year over year following a 15.4% gain in August. Crude oil prices increased in September, reaching their highest level since May amid ongoing uncertainty about the wars in the Middle East, resulting in higher prices for gasoline and fuel oil. Year over year, prices for gasoline rose at a faster pace in September (+27.8%) compared with August (+22.8%).
Moderating the increase in gasoline prices in September was the switch to the less expensive winter blend. Similarly, prices for fuel oil and other fuels rose 57.8% year over year in September, following a 43.7% increase in August. The price increase in September had a greater impact on consumers in Atlantic Canada, where fuel oil is more widely used.
Chart 3 Prices for gasoline accelerate year over year Grocery price growth continues to slow Prices for food purchased from stores rose 1.7% year over year in September, after increasing 2.8% in August. Although price levels remain high, this was the smallest yearly increase since May 2024 (+1.5%), and the second consecutive month where grocery price growth increased at a slower pace than the all-items CPI . Driving the year-over-year slowdown in grocery prices in September 2026 were declines in prices for fresh vegetables ( -2 .9%) and sugar and confectionery ( -2 .7%).
Prices for other food preparations (+1.8%) and fresh or frozen beef (+8.7%) rose at a slower pace in September than in August (+2.8% and +11.0%, respectively), also contributing to the slowdown. Despite the year-over-year slowdown in prices for groceries, prices have increased 33.0% since September 2020. Chart 4 Price growth in food purchased from stores slows, but prices remain elevated Shelter prices increase year over year In September, shelter prices rose 1.8% year over year, up from a 1.5% increase in August.
In addition to higher prices for fuel oil and other fuels (+57.8%), driving the acceleration was faster price growth for homeowners' home and mortgage insurance (+4.9%) and homeowners' maintenance and repairs (+1.2%). The homeowners' replacement cost ( -1 .9%) and mortgage interest cost ( -0 .2%) indexes fell at the same rate in September as they did in August. Meanwhile, prices for rent rose 2.8% year over year, matching the increase in August.
Regional highlights Year over year, prices rose at a faster pace in five provinces in September compared with August, mainly due to higher prices for gasoline and fuel oil. Excluding energy, inflation was higher in Nova Scotia (+3.3%), Prince Edward Island (+2.6%), New Brunswick (+2.6%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+2.4%) in September, compared with the movement at the national level (+2.1%). At the provincial level and on a year-over-year basis, rent prices rose at the fastest pace in Atlantic Canada.
Chart 5 The Consumer Price Index increases at a faster pace in five provinces Students pay more for tuition in 2026 Tuition fees, priced annually in September, increased 2.4% in 2026 compared with a 1.7% increase in 2025. In 2026, students from Prince Edward Island (+4.9%) experienced the largest price increase. At the same time, students from Newfoundland and Labrador (+0.6%) had the smallest increase, coinciding with a freeze on tuition fees.
Tuition fees in Ontario rose 2.1% year over year in 2026, the largest increase since 2018, as the province ended its freeze on tuition fees. Products The " Consumer Price Index Data Visualization Tool " is available on the Statistics Canada website. More information on the concepts and use of the Consumer Price Index ( CPI ) is available in The Canadian Consumer Price Index Reference Paper ( Catalogue number 62-553-X ).
For information on the history of the CPI in Canada, consult the publication Exploring the first century of Canada's Consumer Price Index ( Catalogue number 62-604-X ). Two videos, " An Overview of Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI) " and " The Consumer Price Index and Your Experience of Price Change ," are available on Statistics Canada's YouTube channel. The podcast '' Eh Sayers Episode 18 - Why Food Inflation Is Such A Hard Nut To Crack '' is also available.
Find out answers to the most common questions posed about the CPI in the context of the COVID -1 9 pandemic and beyond. Contact information For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136 ; 514-283-8300 ; infostats@statcan.gc.ca ) or Media Relations ( statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca ).
Source: Statistique Canada
