Manitoba has lowest inflation rate in Canada due to gas tax break: premier
New numbers from Statistics Canada show that Manitoba has the lowest inflation rate in the country, largely due to the gas tax break.
On Tuesday, Premier Wab Kinew announced that the province’s inflation rate was 0.8 per cent in January – down from 1.7 per cent the month before.
Kinew added that Manitoba is the only province with a consumer inflation rate below the Bank of Canada’s target range.
“Today we are also seeing the economy-wide benefits of this step that we have taken in cutting the gas tax,” the premier said at a news conference.
“Our move to cut the provincial gas tax has lowered inflation in Manitoba.”
According to Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), the gas tax holiday, which removed the 14-cent provincial tax on gas, contributed to the national decline in inflation. Canada’s annual inflation rate tumbled to 2.9 per cent in January, down from 3.4 per cent in December.
The federal agency also reports that Manitoba’s gas prices fell 20.2 per cent in January 2024 compared to January 2023.
“Manitobans can feel proud that not only are we taking steps to lower costs for your family, but we’re also moving the national economy in a good direction,” Kinew said.
However, not all Manitobans are feeling the relief.
Harvest Manitoba said they helped more than 21,000 households last month – 3,000 more families compared to 2023.
"It's very concerning,” said Meaghan Erbus, network advocacy and education director with Harvest Manitoba. “We're always hoping for that number to trend down. To put it into perspective, that's 50,000 people every single month accessing our services at a food bank somewhere in Manitoba, half of those people or children."
Grocery prices in Manitoba are showing deceleration, dropping from 4.5 per cent to 2.7 per cent.
While that is an improvement, Harvest Manitoba said people are hurting, struggling to buy staple items such as bread, meat and fresh fruit.
"The majority of folks that access our food banks do not drive; they use transit,” Erbus said. “And in fact, they purchase bus tickets over bus passes, because they find that too expensive. So unfortunately, that rebate, that money doesn't trickle down to the folks that are using food banks."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6974305.1721749112!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING Biden to speak Wednesday about his decision to drop 2024 re-election bid
U.S. President Joe Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening on his decision to drop his 2024 Democratic reelection bid.
Waterloo, Ont. woman out thousands for car totalled by stolen hit-and-run driver
A woman in Waterloo, Ont. is out thousands of dollars for a car crash she wasn’t involved in.
DEVELOPING Wildfire near Jasper National Park prompts evacuation order and highway closures
Multiple wildfires in Jasper National Park flared up with a vengeance late Monday night, forcing all park visitors along with the 4,700 residents of the Jasper townsite to flee west with little notice over mountain roads through darkness, soot, and ash.
Do you need a lawyer when making a will in Canada?
Many people believe that creating a will requires the services of a lawyer, but this isn't always the case. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew explains a lawyer's role when crafting your last will and testament.
BREAKING U.S. Secret Service director resigns after Trump assassination attempt
The director of the Secret Service is stepping down from her job, according to an email she sent to staff, following the assassination attempt against former U.S. president Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents could fail in its core mission.
Quebec mom devastated after man who killed her daughter in hit-and-run gets out after 5 months
A Montreal-area mother is furious with Quebec's justice system because the man who killed her 25-year-old daughter in a 2022 hit-and-run was released from jail after only serving one-sixth of his sentence behind bars.
'They are not taking this decision lightly': Wildfire forces Williams Lake, B.C., seniors homes to move residents
Firefighters continue to battle raging wildfires in B.C.’s Cariboo Region, and concern is growing that recent weather could worsen the situation.
BREAKING Polar bear at Calgary Zoo died by drowning following 'crushing' injury
The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo has revealed the cause of death for polar bear Baffin.
Edmonton gas station employee found guilty of terrorism charges in the U.K.
An Edmonton man has been convicted of multiple charges under the Terrorism Act in the United Kingdom.