Canada’s core Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation eased in February 2026, with the year-over-year rate slowing to 2.3%, down from 2.6% recorded in January 2026. The data, updated on 16 March 2026, show that underlying price pressures continued to moderate as February’s core CPI was compared against the same month a year earlier.
The previous reading for January represented a 2.6% increase versus January a year before, while the latest figure reflects a 2.3% rise in February compared with February of the prior year. The continued deceleration in core inflation suggests that price growth in categories excluding the most volatile components is gradually cooling on an annual basis.
Market participants and policymakers will be watching whether this trend persists in the coming months, as a sustained move lower in core CPI could influence expectations around the future path of Canadian monetary policy and borrowing costs.
