Ontario restaurant price hikes boost food inflation after minimum wage increase
Ontario restaurants hiking menu prices after the province raised its minimum wage this year were likely responsible for pushing January food inflation to its highest annualized increase in nearly two years.
Overall food prices were 2.3 per cent higher last month compared with January 2017, according to Statistics Canada. It’s the biggest jump since April 2016 when food prices increased 3.2 per cent.
Restaurant price hikes led overall food inflation higher. Prices at eateries rose 3.7 per cent year-over-year in January. That follows a 2.9 per cent year-over-year increase for dining out in December.
“If you were to think that was the result of Ontario’s minimum wage, you’d be correct,” Robert Kavcic, a senior economist with BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note.