Please note that the removal of the consumer carbon price on April 1, 2025 has affected energy prices, with all provinces (except Québec) also removing provincial consumer carbon prices. While other factors such as global commodity prices will continue to affect Canadian energy prices, it is expected that this policy change will be reflected in month-over-month inflation rates for April 2025 and year-over-year rates until March 2026. 

Nova Scotia’s all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) decelerated to 1.3% year-over-year in April 2025, down from 2.3% year-over-year in March. Statistics Canada noted that Nova Scotia’s HST decrease to 14% contributed to slower year-over-year price growth in April.

Nationally, consumer prices decelerated to 1.7% year-over-year growth in April 2025, down from 2.3% in March. Inflation was highest in Québec and slowest in New Brunswick.

The most significant upward contributors (combining price increase as well as share of the consumption basket) to Nova Scotia's 1.3% year-over-year inflation were: rent, passenger vehicle insurance premiums, mortgage interest cost, homeowners' replacement cost, and purchase and leasing of passenger vehicles.

The largest downward year-over-year contributions were from: gasoline, telephone services, fuel oil and other fuels, inter-city transportation, and personal care supplies and equipment.

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's all items CPI was down 0.5% from March 2025 to April 2025. National prices were down 0.1% on average, with price declines reported in all provinces except Québec, and British Columbia with no change. Prince Edward Island, Alberta, and Nova Scotia reported the largest monthly decline in prices.

Major upward contributors to Nova Scotia's monthly consumer prices were: travel tours, financial services, sugar and confectionery, electricity, and furniture. Major downward contributors were: gasoline, fuel oil and other fuels, recreational equipment and services (excluding recreational vehicles), purchase and operation of recreational vehicles, and personal care supplies and equipment.

Energy prices play a significant role in inflation rates. Nova Scotia's energy prices (and overall inflation) are more sensitive to fluctuations in the global price of crude oil. The removal of the consumer carbon tax, as well as lower crude oil prices, contributed to lower energy prices in April. Nova Scotia's energy prices were down 11.6% from April 2024 to April 2025. Year-over-year energy prices were down 12.7% nationally with all ten provinces reporting decreasing energy prices. Québec reported the slowest year-over-year decrease in energy prices, while Alberta reported the fastest decline.

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's energy prices fell 7.0% from March 2025 to April 2025. National energy prices were down 7.9% with every province except Québec reporting lower prices compared to the previous month. Alberta reported the fastest monthly decrease in energy prices.

In April 2025, gasoline prices were down 21.1% compared to a year ago in Nova Scotia. All ten provinces reported lower gasoline prices, with the steepest fall in New Brunswick. Manitoba saw the slowest year-over-year decrease in gasoline prices.

Gasoline prices were down 11.3% from March to April in Nova Scotia, and were down 10.2% nationally. All provinces reported lower monthly gasoline prices with the largest decrease in Manitoba, while Québec saw the slowest decrease.

Nova Scotia's year-over-year fuel oil prices were down 6.1% in April 2025 compared with April 2024. Nationally, the fuel oil and other fuels index decreased 6.0% compared to April 2024, with all reporting provinces observing decreases. British Columbia reported the steepest drop in fuel oil prices while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest. 

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's fuel oil prices were down 8.4%. National fuel oil prices were down 8.4% from March to April, with all provinces reporting decreases. British Columbia reported the steepest monthly fuel oil price decrease.

Food prices increased 3.3% in Nova Scotia year-over-year. National food prices grew 3.8% in April 2025. Food prices were up in every province, led by Saskatchewan. Prince Edward Island reported the lowest food price inflation.

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's food prices increased 0.5% from March to April. National food prices were up 0.4% from March to April. All provinces except Prince Edward Island reported higher prices on a monthly basis, with the largest monthly food price increase in Saskatchewan.

Food and energy prices are heavily influenced by volatile global commodity markets. Nova Scotia's underlying inflation rate excluding food and energy was 2.6% from April 2024 to April 2025. Nationally, inflation excluding food and energy was 2.6% with year-over-year increases in all provinces. Alberta reported the fastest growth while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest growth in inflation excluding food and energy prices.

On a monthly basis, Nova Scotia's prices for all items excluding food and energy were unchanged from March to April, the only province not reporting price increases. Nationally, prices for all items excluding food and energy were up 0.5%, with increases in nine of ten provinces. Manitoba saw the fastest monthly increase in prices for all items excluding food and energy. 

Year-over-year shelter cost inflation was 4.4% in Nova Scotia in April 2025. National shelter prices were up 3.4% with increases in all provinces. Québec reported the largest year-over-year increase in shelter prices while Prince Edward Island reported the slowest increase.

Monthly shelter costs were down 0.3% in Nova Scotia from March to April. Nationally, shelter costs were down 0.1% with decreases in six provinces, and no change in Saskatchewan. The largest monthly decline in shelter prices was in Alberta, while the largest increase was in New Brunswick. 

Among detailed food products with available data, Nova Scotia's year-over-year inflation was fastest for beef, coffee/tea, and eggs. The largest year-over-year price declines were for fats/oils, pork, and cheese.

In detailed shelter cost components, fuel oil/other fuels and home maintenance/repairs saw the only year-over-year price declines. Prices for all other shelter cost components were up year-over-year, led by water and rent.  

Household operations/furnishings costs were up 0.6% overall. The largest year-over-year price increase was for furniture and financial services, while prices fell the most for telephones, appliances, and utensils/tableware/cookware.

Clothing and footwear prices were down 1.6% year-over-year in April with the fastest price increases in men's clothing, while the largest price declines were in footwear and women's clothing.

Health and personal care costs were up 1.0% year-over-year on gains in all sub-components except non-prescribed medicine and personal care supplies. Health care and personal care services reported the largest price increases.

Overall transportation costs were down 4.1% year-over-year in April. Vehicle insurance had the largest increase while gasoline had the largest decline, with no change in vehicle registration prices.

Nova Scotia's overall prices for recreation, education and reading were up 2.0% from April 2024 to April 2025 with the only decline in home entertainment equipment/services, and the fastest increase for other culture/recreation.

Nova Scotia's prices for alcohol, tobacco and recreational cannabis were up 1.1% year-over-year, with increases in all categories except liquor from stores, with the fastest increase in beer from stores.

Trends

Since the start of the Bank of Canada's inflation-targeting monetary policy regime, inflation for all items has generally been in the 0-4% range. Periods of above target inflation are typically followed by periods of slow price growth or declines. The most recent acceleration in inflation was the strongest since the inflation-targeting era began, though this inflation has receded with tighter monetary policy and lower commodity prices.

Many of these periods of accelerated and slowed inflation are attributable to volatile commodity prices, especially energy prices. Once the more volatile commodity prices are excluded, inflation in Nova Scotia has largely been below 2% for much of the last 20 years. However, the recent rise in inflation through 2021-2024 spread beyond commodity prices, resulting in the longest period under the Bank of Canada's inflation-targeting regime with Nova Scotia's CPI excluding food and energy above 3%. In April 2025, Nova Scotia's inflation excluding food and energy remained at 2.6% year-over-year.

The Bank of Canada examines 'core' measures of inflation that are intended to remove the effects of volatile components and capture underlying inflation trends that are more connected to capacity in the Canadian economy. Core measures of inflation may also indicate where all items inflation is headed. 

Canada's core measures of inflation remained mostly at or below the Bank's target of 2% for over a decade prior to 2021. However, core inflation measures rose in 2022, peaking at over 6% for the CPI-common measure before declining around the beginning of 2023.

The Bank of Canada's year-over-year core inflation measures in April 2025 were:

• CPI-common: 2.5% (up from 2.3% the previous month)
• CPI-median: 3.2% (up from 2.8% the previous month)
• CPI-trim: 3.1% (up from 2.9% the previous month)

The core CPI excluding volatile products and the effects of indirect taxes was up 2.5% (up from 2.2% in the previous month).

Source: Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0004-01  Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted; Table 18-10-0256-01  Consumer Price Index (CPI) statistics, measures of core inflation and other related statistics - Bank of Canada definitions

Year-over-year (April 2025 vs April 2024)

All items: Consumer price changes in Nova Scotia decelerated to 1.3%. The national average inflation was 1.7%. In Halifax consumer prices increased 1.7%.

All items excluding food and energy: Nova Scotia consumer prices outside of food and energy increased 2.6%. This the same as the national average increase of 2.6%.

Month-over-month (April 2025 vs March 2025)

All items: Consumer prices in Nova Scotia fell 0.5%. Nationally, consumer prices were down 0.1% compared to the previous month. In Halifax consumer prices fell 0.5%.

All items excluding food and energy: Nova Scotia consumer prices excluding food and energy were unchanged month over month in April 2025. Nationally, consumer prices outside of food and energy increased 0.5% from the previous month.

Source: Statistics Canada.  Table  18-10-0004-01   Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted

Year-over-year (April 2025 vs April 2024)

The inflation rate slowed to 2.4% in the European Union and remained stable at 2.2% in the Euro Area in April 2025.

The fastest inflation was reported in Romania, Hungary, and Estonia while the slowest inflation rate was in France.                                                                      

Energy price inflation declined to -2.8% in the European Union and to -3.6% in the Euro Area in April 2025.

Food price inflation was 2.9% for the European Union and 2.3% in the Euro Area in April 2025.

Excluding the impacts of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices year-over-year inflation rose to 2.8% in the European Union and to 2.7% in the Euro Area in April 2025.

Source: Eurostat; Eurostat Data

The United States Consumer Price Index (not seasonally adjusted) for All Urban Consumers increased 2.3% year-over-year in April 2025, this was down from a year-over-year pace of 2.4% in March 2025.

Compared to April 2024, the US energy price index declined 3.7%. The gasoline price index was down 11.8%. The food index rose 2.8% and the shelter index was up 4.0% year-over-year.

The US CPI excluding food and energy rose 2.8% compared to April 2024. 

Note: Canada and Nova Scotia April 2025 CPI figures will be released on May 20, 2025.

Sources: Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0004-01  Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted; U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Year-over-year (March 2025 vs March 2024)

Over the last year (March 2025 vs March 2024), the consumer price index for all items in Nova Scotia excluding food increased by 2.1%. Food prices as a whole rose 3.4%.  At the same time average weekly earnings across all Nova Scotia industries increased by 6.8%.

In the last year, the following products reported lower prices in Nova Scotia:

• Pork loin cuts
• Pork rib cuts
• Pork shoulder cuts
• Chicken drumsticks
• Wieners
• Shrimp
• Canned tuna
• Soy milk
• Bananas
• Lemons
• Limes
• Grapes
• Cantaloupe
• Strawberries
• Potatoes, 4.54 kilograms
• Tomatoes
• Cabbage
• Onions, per kilogram
• Onions, 1.36 kilograms
• Celery
• Iceberg lettuce
• Romaine lettuce
• Broccoli
• Peppers
• Squash
• Salad greens
• Frozen french fried potatoes
• Frozen pizza
• Frozen spinach
• Flatbread and pita
• Cookies and sweet biscuits
• Brown rice
• Cereal
• Apple juice
• Tea (20 bags)
• Vegetable oil
• Canola oil
• Olive oil
• Baby food
• Peanut butter
• Canned baked beans
• Canned tomatoes
• Canned beans and lentils
• Canned peach
• Dried lentils
• Dry beans and legumes
• Salad dressing
• Toothpaste
• Laundry detergent

The following products reported price growth that exceeded the gains in average weekly earnings:

• Beef stewing cuts
• Beef striploin cuts
• Beef top sirloin cuts
• Beef rib cuts
• Ground beef
• Whole chicken
• Bacon
• Cream
• Eggs
• Oranges, per kilogram
• Pears
• Avocado
• Potatoes, per kilogram
• Cucumber
• Mushrooms
• Frozen corn
• Frozen peas
• Dry or fresh pasta
• Wheat flour
• Roasted or ground coffee
• Infant formula
• Canned soup
• Canned corn
• Pasta sauce
• Almonds
• Peanuts

Nova Scotia prices relative to national average (March 2025)

Nova Scotia food prices were below national averages for the following products:                                                                                                               

• Beef stewing cuts
• Beef striploin cuts 
• Beef rib cuts
• Pork loin cuts
• Pork rib cuts
• Chicken breasts
• Salmon
• Shrimp
• Canned salmon
• Milk, 2 litres
• Potatoes, 4.54 kilograms
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Salad greens
• Frozen strawberries
• White sugar
• Apple juice
• Baby food
• Infant formula
• Canned peach
• Canned pear
• Pasta sauce
• Shampoo
• Laundry detergent

Nova Scotia food prices were more than 10% higher than the national averages for the following products:

• Beef top sirloin cuts
• Canned tuna
• Oranges, per kilogram
• Oranges, 1.36 kilograms
• Bananas
• Pears
• Limes
• Grapes
• Cantaloupe
• Potatoes, per kilogram
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Mushrooms
• Broccoli
• Peppers
• Flatbread and pita
• Crackers and crisp breads
• White rice
• Vegetable oil
• Canola oil
• Canned soup
• Canned corn

Notes: Statistics Canada makes available scanner data on prices collected for a range of food and personal care items. These prices are collected through point-of-sale (transaction) data obtained directly from Canadian retailers. The data represent commonly purchased items (which do change over time), but are not representative of the Consumer Price Index weights. Over time, products are rotated and quantity or quality may change. Comparisons of prices from one time period to another reflect quantity and quality changes as well as price changes.

For the purposes of this analysis, the 110 items reported by Statistics Canada will be grouped into:

• Meat, fish, poultry and meat substitutes
• Dairy, eggs and substitute products
• Fruit (including canned and frozen products)
• Vegetables (including canned and frozen products)
• Grains, cereals, beans, legumes and nuts
• Sugar, juices, cooking oils, condiments and prepared foods
• Health and cleaning products

Source: Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0245-01  Monthly average retail prices for selected products; Table 18-10-0004-01  Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted; Table 14-10-0063-01  Employee wages by industry, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality