With inflation rising again to a rate of 6.8% for the month of April, opposition parties in Ottawa have demanded answers from the Trudeau government to help Canadians weather the jump.
• Read also: Inflation continues to rise in Canada and Quebec
Conservative MPs Ed Fast and Gérard Deltell notably accused the Liberals of having argued that the inflationary crisis would be “transitional”.
“[Justin Trudeau] was wrong. Liberal spending sprees are fueling soaring inflation and a cost of living crisis, making it harder for Canadian families to make ends meet, with no end in sight,” they argued Wednesday morning.
New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh also stepped up to the plate on this issue during a press briefing.
“We know that there are several reasons for inflation, but we criticize the Liberal government’s inaction to meet people’s needs in a rather difficult time,” he said. This is a huge increase for families, especially since wages have only increased by 3.3%.”
In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured during question period that he is aware of the problem.
“I know Canadians across the country are facing challenges with cost of living increases, we will continue to be there for them to support them,” he said. , without, however, providing specific measures regarding inflation.
A rate that is not about to go down again
According to analysts at Desjardins, “inflation in Canada has not yet come down, and it may not do so anytime soon.”
The invasion of Ukraine, which has been going on for almost three months, continues to exert a particular influence on the cost of living from one month to the next, in particular on the price of energy (0.6% ) and food (0.9%).
The price of rents has also experienced a significant jump in the last month, with an increase of 4.5% in Canada compared to April 2021.
With a price that remained, on average, around $1.80 per liter in Quebec, gasoline did not have as much impact on the Consumer Price Index in April, compared to March 2022, down 0.7%. The cost of gasoline is still 36.3% higher than that observed in April 2021.
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