Canadian consumers are being squeezed at both ends as higher interest rates impact shelter costs and food affordability, according to Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
for the sixth-straight time. The central bank hiked its benchmark overnight lending rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent, which was less than the 75-basis-point hike expected by the majority of economists.
“Higher interest rates will impact shelter costs for many Canadians, another necessity of life. So consumers are now squeezed from both ends of the food affordability continuum.” But with additional agriculture expenses starting to fall, she said they’ll be watching to see if the price declines are reflected at the grocery store.