Numbers released today by Statistics Canada show that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Alberta rose 4.3% on a year-over-year basis in November. This is the fourth month in a row that the rate has been above 4%.

The national inflation rate in November was 4.7%. Prince Edward Island had the highest inflation rate at 7.0% while British Columbia* had the lowest at 3.6%.

Inflation is expected to stay elevated well into next year.

Assuming the rate in Alberta in December is once again around 4.3%, average inflation for 2021 will come in at 3.2% compared to 1.1% in 2020 and 1.7% in 2019.

*Price collection for the November CPI was largely unaffected by the recent floods in B.C., as the majority of prices were collected prior to the weather events.

Answer to the previous trivia question: OSB stands for oriented strand board and is a type of engineered wood. Alberta exported $1.6 billion worth of OSB to foreign markets over the first 10 months of 2021.

Today’s trivia question: What does “reindeer” mean in Old Norse?