Statistics Canada set to publish January inflation data

By Canadian Press on February 17, 2026.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada is expected to publish fresh inflation data for January this morning.

A Reuters poll of economists expects the annual rate of inflation held steady at 2.4 per cent in the first month of the year.

But some economists believe the inflation rate will accelerate as tax changes from a year earlier distort the annual price comparisons.

RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen says that because the federal government’s two-month tax holiday on some goods and services was in full swing a year earlier, January’s inflation numbers could tick up to 2.6 per cent.

He says that food inflation could rise above seven per cent in January as restaurant meals and some groceries benefited from the temporary break on federal sales tax in 2025.

Today’s data will be the Bank of Canada’s first look at the inflation picture since it held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.25 per cent late last month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press