Producers made strong bids for available land, increasing values by 12.2 per cent in Manitoba, 11.4 per cent in Alberta and 9.4 per cent in Saskatchewan, says the 2025 Farmland Values report from Farm Credit Canada.

In its report, FCC said agricultural land values were “resilient” last year and defied expectations of a downturn.

“The market remained supported by farmland’s long-term investment appeal, tight supply and strong competition from expansion-focused producers,” says the FCC report, released March 24.

“The Prairie provinces drove much of the year’s average increase (across Canada).”

Overall, the value of cultivated land jumped 9.3 per cent from coast to coast, but provinces outside of the Prairies saw weaker gains or losses in value:

• British Columbia, a 1.7 per cent decline.
• Ontario, 2.2 per cent increase.
• Quebec, 4.8 per cent gain.

FCC attributed the modest rise in Ontario to farmers becoming picky. They were willing to pay high prices for top-quality land but avoided marginal properties.

A similar situation has developed in Saskatchewan. Expanding producers are driving demand for the best land in the most productive regions.

In 2025, price increases in northeastern, northwestern and east-central Saskatchewan were around 12 per cent. Those regions produce the highest yields for key crops like canola and wheat.

In west-central Saskatchewan, where yields are lower, farmland values increased 4.8 per cent in 2025.

The average price of cropland in northeastern Saskatchewan is getting close to $5,000 per acre. That’s a massive jump from 2019, when average values in the northeast were $2,000 per acre.

Farmland realtors on the Prairies have also noticed this trend of robust demand for fertile land.

“Good land in a good area is still going up,” said Tim Hammond of Hammond Realty in Biggar, Sask.

In southern Alberta, dryland prices surged upward by a 16.4 per cent in 2025. Irrigated land, which is now at $20,000 per acre in the province, played a role in the value gains in southern Alberta.

As irrigation districts have expanded, dryland acres close to irrigated land have become more valuable, FCC said.

A major theme in the FCC report was the shortage of land for sale in multiple provinces and regions.

This could be part of an ongoing trend, for the last 15 years, where retiring farmers rent their land instead of selling.

Whatever the reason for the shortfall of properties on the market, it’s clear that supply is “tight”, said J.P. Gervais, FCC executive vice-president of ag operations.

“This is something that has been certainly documented last year, and if I’m not mistaken, the year before,” he said.

“One of the overall drivers of farmland values, how tight the supply, does matter when (it) comes to the valuations that we’re currently seeing…. Generally speaking, very tight availability of farmland (for sale).”

Pastureland also higher

The FCC report had data on pastureland values, which saw a 5.2 per cent increase across Canada thanks to stronger prices for beef cattle over the last few years.

Gains were much higher in Alberta’s Peace region and northern B.C., where values climbed 17 to 18 per cent.

Across the Prairies, Saskatchewan saw the largest increase in pastureland prices of 7.6 per cent.

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The farm lender maintained its prediction that GDP growth would slow to around one per cent.

The effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has restricted the flow of oil and gas from the region, has pushed commodity prices to multi-year highs, FCC economist Krishen Rangasamy wrote in a March 18 report.

Pros and cons

The jump in prices could spell opportunity for Canada, Rangasamy said.

WHY IT MATTERS: Higher fuel and fertilizer prices for farmers today could be followed by higher borrowing costs in the future if core inflation persists.

“Given its high historical correlation with commodity prices, nominal GDP (which matters for government revenues) is likely to also perk up.”

If commodity prices stay high, the federal government and governments in resource-rich provinces such as Alberta or Newfoundland and Labrador could see higher revenues. That doesn’t mean governments will spend more, Rangasamy said, but there’s potential for a spending-related GDP boost.

However, fertilizer prices are among those surging due to the conflict which is weighing on the ag sector. Higher prices for fuel can also push up inflation and erode consumers’ buying power.

Trade war damages

Last year, Canada’s economy saw the worst performance since the 2020 pandemic recession — growing just 1.7 per cent, Rangasamy wrote. Export volumes fell on an annual basis for the first time in five years.

Government and consumption spending offset weaknesses in housing and business investment. However, based on a slumping household savings rate, consumers also dipped into savings to maintain lifestyles. This means Canadians have little cushion to absorb future shocks.

“With no end in sight to America’s trade war … look for trade and business investment to act as a drag on Canada’s economy again in 2026,” Rangasamy said.

Government and consumption spending may not provide as much of an offset this time. Rangasamy noted the government has telegraphed caution related to public spending. While ambitious public projects are in the works, that spending isn’t expected this year.

Interest rates and the loonie

If commodity prices stay high long enough, businesses may be forced to raise prices which could lead workers to demand higher wages.

“That could potentially trigger a wage-price spiral,” said Rangasamy.

The Bank of Canada could pre-emptively raise interest rates to prevent core inflation from taking off. However, he predicted the bank would stay in “pause mode” for several months.

FCC predicted the Canadian dollar would trade in the 72- to 74-U.S. cent range for most of the year, but acknowledged currency volatility could temporarily take it outside that range.

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“Which is not sustainable,” the organization said in a statement to Glacier FarmMedia. 

“Access to additional credit does not address the underlying issue.”

FCC announced it would extend its Trade Disruption Customer Support Program, originally established in early 2025 in response to tariffs. Agriculture and food borrowers will be able to receive a new or additional credit line of up to $500,000 to modify terms and to defer principal payments on existing loans.

FCC will now also provide support to help producers and agribusinesses “manage financial pressures caused by unexpected market shocks,” Friday’s statement said.

Middle east conflict spikes input prices

Fertilizer prices have soared since the Iran war began at the end of February and led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping, disrupting urea and sulphur supplies from the Gulf.

As a result, farmers around the world are struggling with fertilizer costs as the northern hemisphere spring planting season approaches.

“I would be faced with financial stress and I would have to maybe not buy as much fertilizer, or I would not plant what I was supposed to plant,” said FCC chief economist J.P. Gervais. “The liquidity in the credit is to actually, hopefully help businesses not having to deviate from what they believe is in their best interest long-term.”

Looking for immediate action

Grain Growers of Canada argues that the federal government should reduce farmers’ costs by dropping fertilizer tariffs.

Canada placed 35 per cent tariffs on Russian fertilizer levied in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. That tariff stopped imports of Russian urea, which had previously made up more than 63 per cent of Canadian imports according to a 2025 report from Grain Farmers of Ontario.

“Canada should also explore targeted, temporary support tied to fertilizer affordability, activated during periods of extreme price volatility, to provide a short-term safety net for farmers while longer-term solutions are implemented,” Grain Growers of Canada said.

-With files from Reuters

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The grain company rejoined the organization at its March 12 annual general meeting after nearly a nine-year hiatus.

“Richardson is a significant player in the industry in a number of different capacities, including as an exporter and processor, so it’s great to have them around the table as a member of the council,” said council president Chris Davison.

Richardson withdrew its funding from the canola council, the Flax Council of Canada and Soy Canada at the end of 2017.

It had been spending more than $1 million per year funding the three organizations.

“We don’t think we got the value out of it,” Jean-Marc Ruest, Richardson’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs, said at the time.

Davison said the council maintained a working relationship with Richardson over the ensuing years.

Recently he discussed the council’s updated priorities with the grain company.

“That led to a decision from them to rejoin the council as a regular member,” he said.

WHY IT MATTERS: Richardson was the only major grain company that was not a member of the council.

He doesn’t know what tipped the scale.

“That’s a question you might have to ask them,” said Davison.

“I think it’s more than one thing.”

Richardson was contacted for this story but did not reply in time to meet The Western Producer’s publication deadline.

One of Richardson’s original concerns surrounded the council’s extensive work on agronomy when the private sector had its own agronomists working in the countryside.

The council seemingly addressed that concern when it announced a “refreshed” strategic framework on July 31, 2025.

In that announcement, the organization said it would no longer maintain a field-based agronomy team.

Davison said the council will instead focus on maintaining or enhancing the ability to innovate, promoting canola’s role in biofuel, ensuring market access for canola products and conducting targeted market development around the world.

Exporters and processors provided $1.33 million, or 36 per cent, of the council’s core funding in 2025.

That compares to $1.55 million contributed by provincial grower groups, $750,000 from life science companies and $21,000 from affiliate memberships.

Davison would not divulge how much Richardson would be paying in 2026.

“We don’t talk about the amounts that individual organizations contribute,” he said.

However, he noted that it will be helpful to have the grain company back in the fold when it comes to tackling priorities and co-ordinating and aligning activities.

“The more of the industry that we have represented at the table the better that is,” said Davison.

Aaron Anderson of Richardson is one of three new directors for 2026-27. He will be a director-at-large nominated by the council’s board.

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Realtors in Saskatchewan have noticed a shift in the market, where some properties are going up in price and others are not.

Buyers are still willing to pay a premium for productive land, but demand is much softer for mediocre cropland.

Tim Hammond, founder of Hammond Realty in Biggar, Sask., described the current situation as a “split market.”

WHY IT MATTERS: After 15 to 20 years of rising values, Canada’s land market may have entered a new phase.

“Good land in a good area, is still going up,” he said.

“Average land in an average area, it’s struggling. It is going sideways and in some cases it’s going down…. I haven’t seen a mix like this since I started in 2002.”

Hammond made his comments March 10 during a webinar hosted by Dan Aberhart, who runs Aberhart Ag Solutions in Brandon, Man.

Aberhart invited Hammond and Trent Klarenbach, a market analyst who turns Klarenbach Research in Saskatoon, to discuss farmland values on the Prairies.

A snapshot of prices will be revealed next week, when FCC releases its annual report on farmland values March 24.

In 2024, values increased 9.3 per cent year over year across Canada, including a 13.1 per cent jump in Saskatchewan.

It’s possible that FCC will report another increase in 2025, but realtors like Hammond say something has changed.

Two or three years ago, when he put cropland up for tender, Hammond would receive 10 offers.

The top three or four bids would be very close on price.

“What we’re seeing now, instead of getting 10 offers, we’re getting two or three,” he said.

“And the spread between the top bid and second highest bid is five, 10, 15 percent.… I’ve always said, land is only worth as much as the second highest bid.”

Other experts have made similar comments about demand and buyer interest.

It remains strong in certain geographic pockets, but less so in other areas.

“Farmland is still very much a regional market,” Justin Shepherd, senior economist with Farm Credit Canada, said last August.

“There could be areas that see (more) farmland value growth … but there could be other areas where there is (less) competition for that farmland, where you could see things slow down.”

Similar market for U.S. farmland?

A comparable situation has developed in the United States, where buyers are driving up the price of productive cropland while demand is weak for less fertile land.

Sellers of land, outside of the best areas, might need to lower their expectations, said a January report from Farmers National Co., a firm that manages farmland across the Midwest and Northern Plains.

It’s not necessarily a buyers market, but buyers are getting picky, said Colton Lacina, Farmers National Co. senior vice-president of real estate operations.

“(They) are carefully assessing soil quality, the percentage of tillable acres, water access and how a parcel fits into their current operations. Those details matter more than ever.”

A plateau in values would be a significant change for Canadian producers, landowners and the psychology of investors because the market has increased for nearly 20 years.

An FCC report on historical farmland values indicates that the average price increase was 10.7 per cent annually from 2007-23 across Canada.

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RB Global Inc. announced last Wednesday (March 4) it will buy Nebraska-based BigIron for an undisclosed sum, expecting to close the deal in the second half of this year.

BigIron, whose roots in the auction business date back to 1984, is now billed as “a scaled, agriculture-focused online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of agricultural equipment, land, livestock, and other farm and ranch assets.”

According to RB Global, BigIron processed about $885 million in gross transaction value in the 12 months ending last Sept. 30, including about $520 million worth of farm assets and vehicles and about $365 million in farmland and real estate transactions (all figures US$).

“BigIron brings a talented team with deep ag sector knowledge and an established sales footprint that will continue operating as a stand-alone brand while being complemented by the Ritchie Bros. industrial footprint,” RB Global CEO Jim Kessler said in a release. “This will create opportunities to serve even more customers through a combination of onsite, offsite, and digital channels and solutions.”

BigIron co-founder Ron Stock noted BigIron will remain a stand-alone operation within RB Global, with he and co-founder Mark Stock “involved in the business as usual.”

“Through this combination, we gain a larger platform and additional resources, which is expected to help us deliver even greater choice and liquidity to all the sellers we serve,” Mark Stock said in the same release.

RB Global dates back to the founding of Ritchie Bros. in Kelowna in 1958, from which it expanded its services into the U.S. and overseas and bought several Canadian and U.S. auction firms, becoming publicly traded in 1998. Its corporate headquarters has since moved to the Chicago area.

In its last fiscal year ending Dec. 31, RB Global booked $412.8 million in net income on total revenue of $4.28 billion, handling a gross transaction value of $15.9 billion.

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Signs should state that video surveillance is in use, the purpose (e.g., security/safety) and provide a contact for questions or access requests.

If cameras are used strictly for personal/domestic purposes (e.g., monitoring your private residence) and not for commercial activity, posting signs isn’t legally required but remains good practice to avoid disputes.

Why signs matter

When cameras capture identifiable individuals, it constitutes a collection of personal information under Canadian privacy laws.

For private-sector organizations (such as commercial farms), the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), or substantially similar provincial laws (Alberta, B.C., Quebec), require transparency about the collection and use of that information.

Privacy commissioner guidelines about the use of video surveillance technology indicate that you should inform people before they enter a monitored area so they can make an informed choice about entering. They say that you should be ready to answer questions about the use, retention and safeguarding of recordings. Privacy commissioners have also emphasized proportionate camera placement and limiting what you collect, for example, not pointing at public sidewalks or neighbouring yards, and not capturing inside private spaces like washrooms or into residences.

Personal/domestic versus business use on the farm

A key consideration is whether cameras are used in the course of commercial activity. If cameras only monitor your private residence areas for personal/domestic purposes (i.e., not your farm business premises or publicly accessible areas), then the above privacy laws do not apply.

Even then, other laws and claims (e.g., the federal Privacy Act, nuisance, statutory privacy torts, voyeurism and interception of private communications under the Criminal Code) can still be engaged if cameras intrude on neighbours’ privacy, are pointed at places with a heightened expectation of privacy, or record audio without consent. Although not legally required, it may be best practice to post signs even when cameras are only used for personal/domestic purposes to avoid any disputes.

By contrast, if cameras monitor any area used for the business, such as farm stores, driveways or yards where customers, delivery drivers, inspectors or seasonal workers come and go, privacy obligations apply. In those settings, signs are expected, camera coverage must be limited to what’s necessary, and recordings must be safeguarded and retained only as long as needed for the stated purposes.

Employees and contractors: notice and reasonableness

If your cameras capture employees or contractors, you must be transparent about monitoring and purposes, limit collection to what’s necessary (e.g., safety/security), avoid sensitive areas and not use surveillance to manage routine performance unless employees have been properly informed and employee policy supports it. Hidden cameras are generally not justified except in narrow, well‑documented investigations where notice would defeat the purpose and all less intrusive measures have failed.

Audio recording

Businesses subject to privacy laws should limit their collection of personal information to what is necessary for the stated purpose. Most farms can meet their security objectives with video only, so unless you have a clear lawful need and a valid basis to obtain consent, disable any audio recording features.

What good signage looks like

Post signs at entrances to your farm and buildings and before people enter monitored areas. Keep signs visible, simple and informative. Your sign should state that video surveillance is in use, the purpose and how to contact you with questions or access requests. If you operate in regions where both official languages are expected, post bilingual notices.

Sample wording: “This area is under video surveillance for security and safety. For questions or access requests, contact (farm name/privacy contact) at (phone/email).”

Place cameras thoughtfully

Aim cameras only where needed to deter theft, protect people or secure assets. Avoid aiming at neighbouring properties, public sidewalks or roads where possible, sensitive spaces (e.g., washrooms) or into private residences. If cameras are adjustable, restrict users from panning/zooming into off‑limit areas. Where public or neighbour capture is unavoidable, narrow the field of view, mask privacy zones or reposition.

Handle footage carefully

If you record, store footage securely with limited access, keep it only as long as needed for your stated purpose (for example, a short rolling retention unless an incident is flagged) and be prepared to respond if an individual requests access to images of themselves. Document your purpose, locations, retention, access rules and safeguards in a short, practical policy. If you disclose footage outside the farm (e.g., to police), record what was shared and why.

Note: This article is of a general nature only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws may change and should be interpreted in the context of particular circumstances. Consult legal counsel for advice about your specific situation. If you have a topic you would like to hear about, please email kkriel@mltaikins.com.

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What can you do?

Kelly Dobson, executive coach and fourth-generation Fairfax, Man., farmer says a common complaint from his clients is that they are working as hard as they can and that their teams are putting their hearts and souls into it, but it isn’t enough.

They’re burning out.

Being understaffed is a chronic problem in agriculture, says Dobson, citing two main reasons. First, historically, there has been an unrealistic expectation of how much an individual can accomplish in a day, a week, a month or a season.

Secondly, as the need has shifted from low-skilled to high-skilled labour in recent years there is an ongoing shortage of qualified help.

Unfortunately, when managers and employees are overworked, they are unable to be decisive or to think and act strategically, says Dobson. “The data shows working 60 hours or more per week impairs your mental abilities as much as being drunk. Then people wonder why mistakes are made or why they are not focusing on the jobs with the highest impact.”

Terry Betker, CEO of Backswath Management Consultants in Winnipeg, Man., sees farmers spending too much of their time working in their management function, focusing on the near-term (the next six months) and not enough time on the short-term (three to five years) or longer. “They would benefit if they could extend that horizon,” he says. “A lot of farmers have a lot of structure around the operational pieces but don’t have as much structure around long-term management.”

He says that looking further into the future to identify the end-state they want to achieve will help them make better decisions today.

Sara Chambers, an HR consultant who works with Betker at Backswath Management Consultants, agrees. She says that if farmers are feeling overwhelmed, the best place to start is to zoom out to the big picture. Once they figure out what they want their end-state to look like, they can work backwards to figure out what they need to do to get there.

“It’s really important for farmers to look at what they’re delegating and ask themselves ‘Are those things that I’m delegating going to help me get there?’”

“I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t have room to delegate better and more,” agrees Dobson, who has also seen the difference zooming out can make. “Being outcome-oriented creates a whopping difference in effectiveness,” he says, resulting in improvements in both individual mental health and the farm’s bottom line.

Chambers recommends farmers ask themselves what they are managing towards. Is it to be less busy? A different farm size? A certain financial position? Setting the farm up so the next generation can be successful? What will it look like when they have arrived at their goal?

Delegating the right tasks

What farmers have chosen to delegate is sometimes based on a knee-jerk reaction, explains Chambers.

Without doing any strategic planning, farmers may not be delegating the right things. They may be delegating the things they don’t want to do or the things they think are a quick fix. “Those quick fixes tend to get farmers on a hamster wheel … that they can never get out of,” she says.

Once you’ve prioritized what you want to delegate, Chambers says “You need to have the right systems and procedures to build out those roles to communicate what’s expected.” This requires building out job descriptions, organizational charts and employee manuals so that everyone understands their roles, expectations and accountability. The result is that “everyone is swimming in the same direction towards the desired end-state.”

If it’s not possible to hire additional staff, Chambers says it may be possible for current staff to take on additional responsibilities. Once you set your priorities, she says farmers may find that there are existing team members who are willing to take on more responsibilities for a pay increase. The increased responsibility may even result in stronger ties with these employees, who may choose to stay longer as a result.

However, she emphasizes that it’s important to include training plans for employees taking on additional responsibilities.

Betker suggests enlisting the help of a farm management consultant to complete a management assessment and to ensure the plan is implemented. Ongoing conversations between farmer and consultant can identify what’s working, what’s not and how to make appropriate changes. “Otherwise, it’s human nature to revert back to old practices,” he says.

Kim Gerencser, a financial planner and president of Growing Farm Profits in Regina, says that operating a modern farm is not what it was a generation or two ago and no one person has all the necessary knowledge — or can do it all.

He sees significant potential with artificial intelligence (AI) tools for improvements to how farms operate.

“There is potential for AI to fill a gap … to help create and standardize operating procedures, to record and store them as video, audio or text so that there is less time spent on training, supervising, observing and correcting repetitive tasks, especially in large operations where several people do the same work in multiple locations.”

No quick fixes

Determining what you want the end goal to be and then working backwards to achieve it is not a quick fix, but farmers could see significant progress in a year’s time, says Chambers. “It may involve some short-term suffering to get there but if you know, you can plan for it.”

Dobson agrees it’s not a quick fix but in time he finds people are amazed at what they can accomplish once they get out of problem-solving mode and build towards the outcome they want instead. “When they are hyper-selective about where they put their attention, they can be hyper-productive and hyper-efficient.”

If you’re too busy to get started on this process now, Chambers suggests putting a note in your phone to remind you during a slower season.

The post Executive decisions: what and when to delegate on the farm appeared first on Country Guide.

“Canada possesses significant agricultural potential, but legacy structures, regulatory fragmentation, aging infrastructure and heightened geopolitical trade risks are constraining the sector’s growth and competitiveness,” the report says.

“Rebuilding confidence among producers, investors and trading partners will require a clear, long-term vision for Canada’s agri-food system.”

The Canada West Foundation, a west-focused think tank, released Building Future Success: Growing Canada’s agricultural sector on February 19. It summarizes discussions from a roundtable of agriculture, business and government experts convened in late 2025.

It argues that the progress of Canadian agri-food as a priority depends on action across four interconnected themes:

• On-farm investment
• Market and product diversification
• Infrastructure
• Technology and innovation

On-farm investment

The report argues that Canada needs more small-scale investment opportunities, as most current infrastructure focuses on larger-scale projects. It also needs infrastructure upgrades to help mitigate the risks of climate change.

The report authors also note the opportunities with a new generation of producers.

“A generational shift is reinforcing this opportunity,” the report reads. “Younger producers are more open to partnerships, cooperative models and public-private collaboration.”

Agriculture could take lessons from early stages in energy project development, “particularly in co-investment models that enable shared infrastructure and de-risk private capital,” the report adds.

Market and product diversification

On market and product diversification, the report focuses on potential for new opportunities for Canadian commodities.

The roundtable identifies value-added processing as an area for potential development. They also emphasize the need for market intelligence to identify emerging opportunities for Canadian goods, both raw and processed.

Infrastructure

Roundtable participants raise concerns that Canada’s reputation as a trading partner suffering as a result of infrastructure decisions.

More representation from the sector could help address this problem.

“Moving forward, port governance and decision making should include engagement with representatives from the agriculture sector to ensure sectoral needs are considered as trade patterns and partners evolve,” the report says.

Technology and innovation

The report’s discussion on technology and innovation makes the case for increased research and development and for investments to focus on the sector as a whole.

Sector leaders raise concerns about the disconnect between research priorities and on-farm needs.

“Investments in the Canadian agricultural sector have generally been quite targeted and have not been focused on benefiting the sector as a whole,” the report says. “On the other hand, some other countries employ a more holistic, industry-wide approach.”

Industry protection starts with policy

The report makes a case for prioritizing agriculture in an era when trust in Canada’s two largest trading partners is decreasing.

Protecting the industry starts with domestic policy that recognizes the importance of the sector and “does not expect one industry to bear the brunt of geopolitical retaliation,” it says.

The report points to recent trade tensions with China, which saw canola tariffed in apparent response to Canada’s restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles. Some within the sector saw this as canola being used as collateral in a larger trade dispute.

“Regulatory frameworks that reflect this prioritization and are built in consultation with sector stakeholders could also help address some of the challenges the government has faced when weighing the economic, environmental and social impacts along with the benefits of the sector.”

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The consumer price index rose 2.3 per cent in January compared with 2.4 per cent in December, beating an analysts’ poll which pegged January’s expected rise in consumer prices at 2.4 per cent.

On a monthly basis, the CPI was unchanged from the prior month, data showed.

Gas prices decline by 16.7 per cent

The gasoline price index was the largest contributor to the deceleration in headline inflation, StatsCan said, as the yearly decline in gasoline prices was huge.

Prices at gas pumps fell on average 16.7 per cent in January, after a decline of 13.8 per cent in December. But, excluding gasoline, the CPI rose three per cent in January, matching the increase in December, the statistics agency said.

A sales tax break during the same period last year created an opposite base effect for some products such as food, alcohol and clothing. This pushed up the prices last month when compared with the same period a year ago.

Food prices rose 7.3 per cent, largely based on food from restaurants, and the category containing primarily alcoholic beverages rose 4.8 per cent in January.

Due to the choppy impacts of the sales tax break, economists usually focus on core inflation to ascertain the actual rise in consumer prices.

Excluding food and energy, the CPI rose 2.4 per cent year over year in January, following a 2.5 per cent increase in December, the agency said.

BoC calls inflation stable

The Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures of inflation continued to ease.

CPI-median, or the price change of the centermost component of the CPI basket when arranged in order of increasing prices, was 2.5 per cent compared with 2.6 per cent previously, while CPI-trim, which excludes the most extreme price changes, was 2.4 per cent, down from 2.7 per cent in December, StatsCan said.

Shelter costs, which account for the biggest weight in the CPI basket, continued to rise at a slower pace and rose 1.7 per cent last month from a year earlier.

The January data come as the Bank of Canada has indicated that it considers inflation to be stable and around the mid-point of its target range. This has helped the central bank to pause rate cuts at 2.25 per cent.

“It’s clear now that Governing Council should be squarely focused on supporting the economy,” Royce Mendes, managing director and head of macro strategy at Desjardins Group wrote in a note after the inflation numbers were released.

Money markets are now pricing in a chance of a rate cut by July, although economists are still maintaining that there could be no cuts this year as inflation stays at the central bank’s target.

The Canadian dollar was trading down 0.2 per cent to C$1.3668 to the U.S. dollar. Yields on the two-year government bonds were down 3.9 basis points to 2.439 per cent.

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