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Statistics Canada has reported an alarming drop in food prices, the first significant drop in months. Despite this positive change, the media and public remain obsessed with rising food prices, overshadowing the encouraging data.
Published date May 22, 2024 • Last updated 13 minutes ago • Reading time 3 minutes
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Statistics Canada reported this week that food inflation was 1.4 per cent in April. Photo credit: iStock /GETTY IMAGES
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Statistics Canada announced this week that food inflation was 1.4 per cent in April. This means food prices in stores are 1.4% higher than a year ago. But Statistics Canada also confirmed a trend that our lab has been tracking for some time. Food prices fell by 0.3% in April. It certainly went down. Statistics Canada's May numbers may turn negative again.
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Notably, Canada's food inflation rate declined for the fourth straight month in April, falling to 2.3% from 3% in March. The year-on-year increase in food purchased from stores was 1.4%, the lowest level since July 2021. This is the first time since November 2021 that food inflation (2.3%) was lower than general inflation (2.7%). This is definitely positive news, especially given the difficult year we've endured. Lower prices are something many Canadians aspire to. However, looking at the reactions and comments on the inflation data, it appears that few people realize that Statistics Canada has essentially announced a significant change in food prices.
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Not a single media outlet reported on this development. This omission is very glaring and suggests a widespread obsession with highlighting negative news in the data. The data released this week was certainly reassuring about the outlook for the rest of the year. Yet no one seems to be paying the slightest attention.
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This reaction stems from deeply ingrained obsessions. Food inflation is highly politicized and exploited by people from all political walks of life. The political weaponization of rising food prices has led most Canadians to resist the rational analysis needed to understand the current situation. That's amazing. Challenging one person's views on food inflation will inevitably lead to conflicts of interest and mutual accusations of bias. We live in unique times.
At the root of this awkward social debate is a political battle between Ottawa's parties that is exacerbating the situation and cornering all parties in the process. Why would any party now want the food inflation storm to die down when so much of their message centers around addressing the cost of living challenges we all face? ?
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Recommendations from the editorial department
Charlevoix: Loblaw joins the grocery store code. Sincerely, Walmart
Charlebois: Do you want to lower food prices? Of course, but be careful what you wish for.
Meanwhile, Jagmeet Singh, a vocal critic of Loblaw's profiteering, seems unwilling to acknowledge that market forces are at work. Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre also has little incentive to try to solve the problem. Why would you do that? It's a perfect political issue for the Conservatives to blame the Trudeau government, even though food inflation has long been a problem in most developed countries. Food inflation used to be politically convenient for both the NDP and Conservatives, but it should no longer be so. But no one in Ottawa seems to be discussing this issue with Jagmeet Singh or Pierre Poilievre.
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When it comes to food prices, calm judgment needs to be prioritized as soon as possible. Emotions and sentiments appear to be more influential than data and science. It is ridiculous. All Canadians need to step away from emotions, which we often mistake for evidence of truth, and focus on what the data reveals. The data clearly show that the situation is improving, and rapidly.
Before you make accusations of bias, you should take the time to examine the data. Emotions and sensations, although intense, are always misleading to the truth.
– Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is Senior Director of the Institute for Agricultural and Food Analysis and Professor of Food Distribution and Policy at Dalhousie University.
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