Canadians can expect to pay more for their Easter meals as pork and chicken join beef price surges on grocery store shelves.

Beef prices in Canada are up nearly 14 per cent compared to last year, according to the latest consumer price index data, continuing a trend that has seen costs surge in recent years.

While there are early signs that price growth may be slowing, experts say relief is still a long way off.

In an interview with Global News, Dalhousie University professor Sylvain Charlebois said prices are not expected to stabilize before mid-2027, pointing to low cattle inventory in both Canada and the United States.

“I don’t think it’s much of a surprise to listeners. Beef prices are up 13.9 per cent year to year, and we’re not expecting beef prices to stabilize before midyear 2027,” he said.

That supply crunch stems from years of challenges in the beef industry, including drought conditions in Western Canada that reduced herd sizes and limited production.

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While cattle numbers have started to tick up slightly, it can take years to rebuild supply.

Other meats are also becoming more expensive as consumers respond to the surge. Pork prices are up 9.2 per cent year over year, meaning shoppers planning to buy ham for Easter could pay significantly more.

“For people who are going to be looking for ham in a couple of weeks for Easter weekend, expect to pay more, probably eight to 10 per cent more compared to last year,” Charlebois said.

Chicken prices also climbed in February, in part because consumers are shifting away from beef toward more affordable proteins.

“People are pivoting. They’re basically moving away from beef and demand for chicken has gone up,” he said.

But Charlebois warned there may be further pressure ahead. Rising energy costs could drive food prices even higher in the coming months, especially for products that rely on refrigeration and transportation.

“We’re likely going to see food inflation go up again in March, April… any products that would require a cold chain, including, of course, meat products,” he said.

Despite the higher prices, demand for beef remains strong, and experts say consumers are adapting by shopping more strategically, buying items on sale and adjusting when they make purchases.

Charlebois said there may yet be Easter bargains to be had, for consumers patient enough to wait for last-minute bargains in the meat aisle.

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Health Canada is recalling several Frigidaire gas range ovens, citing a “burn hazard” after reports of dozens of injuries in Canada and the U.S.

The recall this week states that “the ovens in the ranges can experience a delayed ignition of the oven’s bake burner, which can create a potential risk of burns. ”

As of March 11, the company has received three reports of incidents in Canada, including one injury. In the U.S., the company received 59 reports of incidents, including 30 injuries.

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According to the recall, Frigidaire reported that approximately 5,318 units of the affected products were sold in Canada and approximately 174,800 units were sold in the United States.

The affected products were sold from approximately June 2025 to January 2026.

In a recall notice issued on Thursday, Health Canada says the issues are with the following models:

• FCFG3062AS
• FCFG3062AW
• FCFG3083AS
• FCRG3052BS
• FCRG3052BW
• FCRG3062AS
• FCRG3062AW
• FCRG3083AD
• FCRG3083AS
• GCFG3059BF
• GCFG3060BD
• GCFG3060BF
• GCFG3070BF
• GCRG3060BD
• GCRG3060BF
• PCFG3080AF

The serial range numbers for these products are listed as VF52200000 – VF54399999.

“Consumers should immediately stop using the ovens in the recalled gas ranges and contact Electrolux Group to arrange free professional in-home installation of a new bake burner,” the recall advises. “Consumers can continue to use the cooktop burners.”

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With the start of the summer tourist season just a few months away, people who work in Alberta’s tourism industry are expecting another boom of visitors from both within Canada and around the world.

The soaring number of visitors has been especially noticeable in places like Banff National Park, where the town of Banff welcomed a record number of tourists — almost seven million vehicles into the town site, up four per cent from 2024.

The federal government’s decision to renew the Canada Strong pass, which provides free access to national parks and national historic sites, amongst other benefits, for a second summer is expected to again help fuel the boom in visitors.

Parks Canada said that between June 2 and Sept. 2 of last year, the period when the Canada Strong pass was available, sites administered by the agency saw an estimated 14 and a half million visitors — a jump of 13 per cent over the previous year.

1:42
‘Very busy’: Elk Island National Park exceeding capacity due to pass program

It’s a stark contrast to the United States, where the Trump administration will be charging non-residents an extra $100 tourist fee to visit many of America’s national parks, which is likely to encourage even more people to look elsewhere — perhaps north of the border.

“Banff is such a beautiful place and everybody wants to come,” said Stéphane Prévost, executive chef and managing partner for Block Kitchen and Bar and Shoku Izakaya in Banff.

While Prévost told Global News that he feels privileged to live and work in Banff, and is eager to welcome visitors, he said it must be done in a sustainable way.

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“I think this is a good situation for us in Canada. There are always different opinions on opening the gates and making it free for everybody to access the parks, which amplifies the inbound traffic. Of course there’s things that we need to manage carefully with that,” said Prévost.

“Over-tourism is a big topic, a big subject that can be divisive, polarizing. However I’m on the side of promoting tourism in the right way, in a sustainable way. That’s how our economy can continue to thrive and succeed for us to keep everybody employed and to be successful and to continue to deliver this great experience to the guests that visit us from all over the place, Canada and the world.”

Concern about Over-tourism is a issue the mayor of Banff says the town is working hard to address.

Corrie DiManno says the expansion of sustainable transit options, like Roam Transit, which encourages visitors to park their cars and take the bus to visit popular attractions like the Banff Gondola, has helped greatly reduce traffic congestion in town.

“We have invested millions of dollars into our transit system to try and address it,” said DiManno.  “After last summer we now know that 40 per cent of the bridge crossings over the Bow River happen on sustainable transportation. So it’s either folks on the bus, buses across our vehicle bridge, or by foot or by bike across our pedestrian bridges. So sustainable transportation is the solution here in town.

“We’ve put in a transit lane that goes to one of the top attractions in the park — the Banff gondola. We have flaggers at intersections during peak times. The town has basically pulled every lever within our control,” added DiManno.

What she claims the town needs now, to help continue to address traffic concerns, is support from the provincial and federal governments to develop better mass transit options from the city of Calgary.

The town is also exploring ways to help grow the winter demand for tourism.

“The impetus behind that is to try and smooth out our tourism so that it’s not so heavily weighted in summer and instead to have more consistent tourism throughout the year,” said DiManno.

“This helps with business certainty as well as folks knowing that they have a steady job. The peaks and valleys can be quite difficult for our residents. There already is a high cost of living here and if folks are getting their shifts cut and not able to have consistent work, then that’s going to affect their ability to pay rent, buy groceries, those sorts of daily things.”

DiManno said the town is also planning an in-depth study of the issue of over-tourism, consulting with residents and businesses about exactly what the issues are and what problems need to be solved.

“I don’t believe the request for proposals has gone out quite yet, but they are working on that,” said DiManno.

“For example, we know our road network is at capacity during peak time, but are our sidewalks? That’s a question we don’t have an answer to,” said DiManno.

“What about restaurants? What about the trails? What about our hospital and health centres? So we’re gonna have this exploratory conversation with all sectors of the community. We know it’s going to be about a year-long process. We want to make sure we’re doing this right.”

In the meantime, both residents and business owners are gearing up for what could be another record tourism season.

“In my opinion, Banff National Park is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and it’s such a gift to be able to share the town with the world and we take it very seriously that we live within a national park and we want to be stewards of this place,” DiManno added.

1:59
Canada Strong Pass expected to boost summer travel

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Most Canadians want the government to ban or regulate algorithmic pricing, a new poll suggests — with half of respondents saying the practice is unfair because it can result in people paying different prices for the same product.

The Abacus Data poll, which was conducted online and can’t be assigned a margin of error, polled 1,931 Canadians on algorithmic pricing.

Around half (52 per cent) of those polled by Abacus said the practice should be banned and 31 per cent said it should be allowed but more strictly regulated.

David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, said that while most people aren’t necessarily familiar with the term, most have felt the effects of algorithmic pricing.

“I would say most Canadians feel they have experienced this in some way,” he said.

“The reason why there is so much sensitivity around it is … basic fairness. It goes to a core principle that … for the same product or the same service, the price should be the same for everybody.”

On Tuesday, the Manitoba government said it would prohibit retailers from using personal data to increase prices for specific consumers. The rule would apply both in person and online.

“Algorithmic pricing, otherwise known as dynamic pricing, is when companies use AI and data to set different prices for consumers, depending on whatever attributes they set up,” retail analyst Bruce Winder said.

This could be based on anything from the income levels and demographic details of the prospective customer to the demand for the good or service.

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“There’s a bit of a black box in terms of what are they looking at in that algorithm. Is it my income? Is it where I live? My postal code? Is it my race or ethnicity?” Winder said.

Currently, there are no explicit regulations against dynamic pricing, but consumers can report unfair or discriminatory practices to the Competition Bureau, said University of Guelph food economist Mike von Massow.

“If people complain, then they will investigate,” von Massow said.

Charging people more on the basis of demographic differences might be seen as prejudice, he added.

Last year, the Competition Bureau also investigated the possible use of artificial intelligence-driven algorithmic pricing in Canadian real estate rental markets.

In November, it said that while it hasn’t found evidence that using computer software to recommend rent prices reaches the level of anti-competitive behaviour, it remains concerned about possible issues.

Some who took part in the Abacus poll expressed worries about the potential for discrimination, a lack of transparency, the effect on the affordability of daily essentials, and privacy and ethical concerns associated with consumer data collection.

While changing prices depending on demand or time of day is not new in retail, using AI or technology is, von Massow said, adding that some grocery stores are attempting to use algorithms to set prices for loyalty card holders.

“If you are a loyalty card member, on your app, on your phone, you will get offers for deals on specific things. That is algorithmic pricing. They’re looking at what you’ve bought before, they’re looking at where you are geographically and they’re offering you something that they think you might want,” von Massow said.

Many Canadians have already experienced one form of dynamic or algorithmic pricing – when they book a ride on an app like Uber, Winder said.

“If you book an Uber, and there’s not many drivers on the road during a snowstorm, your rates are going to go way up. But if you book an Uber on a nice sunny day, the weather’s great, there’s lots of drivers on the road, your rate will be a little less,” he said.

“We have something similar to this across airlines, hotels and ride sharing. And it’s not about someone’s demographics, or wealth, or income. It’s about time of day and capacity.”

For example, an airline or hotel may automatically raise prices during peak travel season.

While customers have come to expect wild price swings for ride-sharing services and travel, Winder said brands will have a harder time selling it for more basic items, such as groceries or toilet paper.

“Brands can’t have that wide a swing for basic items that we use every day or else their consumers are going to resent them for that,” he said.

“I remember during the pandemic, one store increased the price of hand sanitizer to an incredibly high amount, and consumers just brutalized them on social media. You can’t be seen as a brand or retailer of taking advantage of your customers; that never works in retail.”

Algorithmic pricing has caused a stir in food retail as well, with fast-food chain Wendy’s facing backlash from some consumers in 2024 when it tried to introduce dynamic pricing.

In December 2025, online grocery platform Instacart said it was ending a program where some customers saw different prices for the same product ordered at the same time from the same store when using the delivery company’s service.

A report from Consumer Reports and two progressive advocacy groups, Groundwork Collaborative and More Perfect Union, said Instacart offered nearly three out of every four grocery items to shoppers at multiple prices in an experiment.

For the report, researchers conducted an independent experiment involving 437 shoppers in live tests across four cities in the U.S. It found that dynamic pricing would mean price swings of around US$1,200 on groceries for the average American family.

“When prices are no longer transparent, shoppers can’t comparison-shop. When prices are no longer predictable, shoppers can’t properly budget,” the report said.

— with files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press

Canada’s middle class appears to be struggling with the higher cost of living, with new data showing more are taking on debt as financial pain bleeds out into broader sections of the economy.

It comes as the so-called “K-shape” economy continues to underscore a widening wealth divide between Canada’s highest and lowest income groups, with Equifax reporting debt among Canadians with higher credit scores is rising.

“There’s more of a divergence happening and a few of the higher income or low-risk people are kind of switching almost on that ‘K’,” says Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of analytics at Equifax Canada.

“Everything that’s happening right now is just going to add pressure to an already difficult situation where we did have diversions in financial health.”

Total Canadian consumer debt in the fourth quarter, or final three months of 2025, increased 3.13 per cent from a year earlier to $2.65 trillion, and non-mortgage debt increased by 4.5 per cent.

Those with higher credit scores of between 751 and 880 out of the scale to 900 saw their non-mortgage debt rise by 6.1 per cent, while lower credit scores of 320 to 580 remained mostly the same, the report showed.

“It doesn’t really matter what your credit score is. What matters is how much income you have relative to your expenses. And so if your expenses are growing faster than your income, a 750 or 800 FICO score isn’t going to make you any wealthier,” says mortgage expert Clay Jarvis at NerdWallet Canada.

“So if anything, I would say having a higher credit score may have actually hurt some of these homeowners by allowing them to squeeze into these giant mortgages at a time when everything else is becoming more expensive.”

1:59
Affordability remains top of mind for many Calgarians

Missed payments on non-mortgage debt peaked at the end of December, Equifax says, with the number of Canadian households that missed a minimum debt payment by 90 days or more rising from 1.64 per cent to 1.73 per cent.

That’s a 5.43 per cent increase from the previous year.

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The data may soon show more severe changes, too.

That’s because this data out now shows a snapshot from the end of 2025, and a lot has happened since then, including the Iran war, which is expected to lead to higher prices for gas at the pumps, groceries, and just about everything else.

“With all these headwinds in what’s happening this year since January, that’s just going to put more pressure,” Oakes says.

The K-shape economy refers to a sharp divide between higher-income earners being able to spend more over time without going into debt, while lower-income earners are losing purchasing power and have to cut back more and more to make ends meet.

It’s effectively a visual cue to picture an economy where those on the upper end of the spectrum are able to continue increasing spending, while those on the lower end are declining.

A report from November 2025 showed this pattern unfolding based on survey data on expected holiday spending among consumers. Twenty-six per cent of shoppers said they planned on spending more than $1,000, while 46 per cent planned to spend less than $500, and 15 per cent said less than $100.

The Equifax data, Oakes says, shows a consistent result, where consumers did spend less than the year before.

“Our numbers are telling us is that there definitely is more concern, I think, coming from consumers in terms of affordability. We’re seeing that translate into spending behaviour,” she says.

“In the backend of last year, it was a holiday period. We saw quite a pullback in terms of spend by certain groups of consumers during that holiday period.”

Oakes adds that these higher debt levels, especially when including mortgage debt, were concentrated in British Columbia and Ontario, where cities like Vancouver and Toronto demand higher incomes to keep up with the relative cost of living, including for housing.

2:21
Dream of home ownership still alive for majority of Canadians: RBC

Mortgage debt increased to $1.95 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, Equifax said, which was up 2.6 per cent from the previous year.

A large wave of mortgage renewals was the main reason for this, Oakes says, and many Canadians locked in at higher interest rates than when they started in 2020, 2021 and early 2022, when rates were at multi-year lows.

“Stronger credit scores, maybe strong incomes, are able to kind of get hold of those higher balance mortgages. But the reality is that the payment shock they’re now seeing on renewal is just too much for them,” she says.

“Combine a cost of living increase with a payment shock if your mortgage is renewed at a higher rate or higher payment amount, and that, for some consumers, is just too much.”

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the third straight meeting, but signalled the Iran war was raising the risk for Canada’s economy and the outlook is even more uncertain.

Some economists even suggested, based on what the Bank of Canada said after the announcement, that rates may even need to be increased in Canada if the war leads to long-term inflation spikes.

“It’s just it’s so hard to be positive about anything. Anybody I talk to about anything is feeling really really down and that’s just the overall sentiment when it comes to your finances,” says Jarvis.

“Anybody who is able to glide through this right now without having to worry about their finances every day … I don’t think they realize how lucky they are and what kind of a bubble they’re living in.”

Tech experts are warning that a global memory chip shortage driven by technology giants is causing prices to soar for many consumer electronic products.

“All these AI data centres that are powering all these AI tools, they need huge amounts of RAM and they are basically gobbling it up right now,” said Mike Agerbo from GetConnected Media.

Memory chips or RAM (Random Access Memory) are in short supply around the world. RAM allows your computer to access data quickly and efficiently; however, major tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Meta are buying up the global supply to fuel their AI centres.

That’s leaving less RAM for the traditional electronics market. Given the shortage, industry experts predict prices for many consumer electronic products like laptops, tablets, and even smartphones will increase by as much as 20 per cent or higher.

“I think we’re going to be looking at rapid price increases over the next 12 to 24 months minimum,” Dwight Dubowits of North Vancouver’s Concept Computers told Consumer Matters.

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Dubowits has been in the computer business for over 40 years and says the shortage of RAM is causing a seismic shift in the industry.

“I think the $600 laptop and cheap desktop market has pretty much disappeared at this point,” he said.

“Entry level is in the $800-$900 range. We see that going as high as $1,200 or $1,300 just to get a basic function, reasonable quality laptop computer.”

2:16
AI tax scams are increasing, Canada Revenue Agency says

Dubowits also says some local dealers are being forced to reduce costs by offering systems with less RAM. “Consumers should ensure that these systems are, in fact, upgradable,” said Dubowits. “Many systems, especially laptops, have limited or no capacity for adding more RAM post-purchase.”

The shortage is also hitting the gaming industry especially hard. GamerTech Toronto builds custom gaming desktop computers and says it’s spending four times as much for RAM on its computers.

“Basically, the entire cost to build the computer has increased and so we are having to pass that along for the actual sale price,” said Niam Radia from GamerTech Toronto. “This may just be the new normal for RAM pricing and PC part pricing overall.”

Three major companies manufacture and control most of the world’s memory chips and experts predict this shortage could continue well into 2027.

“I would recommend looking at purchasing a computing device now. If you’ve been thinking about it in the next six months, I’d get it now because I can only see the prices basically going up,” Agerbo said.

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The Bank of Canada is set to update interest rates on Wednesday as the Iran war brings a dark cloud over the Canadian economy and as Ottawa prepares to release a fiscal update sometime this spring.

Oil price spikes globally have quickly led to higher gas prices for consumers, and economists expect inflation to tick up in the coming months. This means just about everything else is about to get more expensive for consumers and businesses alike.

“Whether it’s uncertainty or actual smoke, there’s a dark cloud hanging over the global economy thanks to the Iran war,” said Clay Jarvis, a mortgage expert at NerdWallet Canada, in a note.

“It’s fair to wonder if a rate cut would even move the needle for consumers and businesses; the current economic/political climate doesn’t feel all that hopeful.”

The Bank of Canada has a mandate “to promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada.”

To do this, one of its key goals is to maintain price stability by keeping the annual inflation rate between two and three per cent.

Other economic gauges the Bank monitors closely include the perceived strength of the job market and the rate at which the economy is expanding, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP).

To help achieve its mandate, the Bank of Canada’s main tool is adjusting monetary policy, or interest rates. This effectively changes the cost of borrowing money for consumers and businesses.

If inflation gets too high, then raising interest rates usually slows down the rate at which prices are increasing, while inflation getting too low means the economy could contract and even enter a recession. This would likely result in cutting rates to encourage more business activity and job hiring.

Getting monetary policy aligned with the immediate needs of Canada’s economy is a fine balancing act that the Bank of Canada’s governing body discusses on a regular basis at monetary policy meetings.

“The Bank [of Canada] can only act on what it knows, which is that inflation is near its two per cent target and that the economy hasn’t keeled over after a year of Trumponomics,” said Jarvis.

“Cutting the overnight rate right before a possible spike in inflation would be terribly uncharacteristic of one of the world’s most risk-averse central banks.”

6:51
Breaking down the impact of oil prices

Wednesday’s announcement will follow the Bank’s second meeting of the year, and several weeks into the Iran war. Although inflation in February cooled to 1.8 per cent, that was mostly before the war sent oil and gas prices skyrocketing.

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“Canada’s inflation cooled in February, but that is backward-looking now that prices at the pump have skyrocketed in the wake of the U.S./Israeli war with Iran. We expect higher energy costs will lift headline inflation close to three per cent in the months ahead,” said Leslie Preston, managing director and senior economist at TD Bank, in a statement.

“The Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision is coming up on Wednesday, and the Bank is universally expected to remain on pause. We will be listening closely for the Bank’s assessment of the impact of the oil shock on Canada’s economy.”

The Bank of Canada has not changed its benchmark interest rate since the quarter percentage point cut to 2.25 per cent on Oct. 29, 2025. Following the announcement last year, Governor Tiff Macklem said rates are “at about the right level.”

Although many economists expect the Bank of Canada to continue taking a wait-and-see approach, higher inflation as a result of price shocks stemming from the Iran war could add pressure to the central bank the longer the conflict goes on.

“Given the inflationary threat from higher energy prices, [financial] markets are pricing in a quarter-point rate increase from the Bank of Canada later this year. We deem this unlikely,” said Sal Guatuieri, senior economist and director of Economics at the Bank of Montreal in a statement.

“We suspect policymakers will look past the oil-driven rise in prices and remain wary of economic risks until the fog from both the Iran war and the trade war lifts.”

2:22
Business Matters: Iran oil shock spurs worldwide push to conserve energy

Wednesday’s rate announcement also comes just a few weeks before the end of the federal government’s fiscal year on March 31, and it’s expected to provide an economic update shortly after. This follows the Budget 2025 released in November, which marked a new timeline for budget and fiscal update releases.

By pushing the budget release from the spring to the fall, the economic update now occurs in the spring.

This means Ottawa will be expected to show Canadians how its spending plans outlined in the budget have been coming along and if they are on track to meet their goals.

Global News sent the Department of Finance a request for when the spring economic update will be delivered.

“The upcoming economic update will proceed as scheduled in the spring. The exact date will be announced in due course,” said John Fragos, press secretary for the minister of finance and national revenue in response.

Doug Porter, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal, says even with the potential of higher inflation on the horizon, the Canadian economy still needs room to grow.

“If anything, the threat of higher inflation has rekindled chatter of a potential rate hike in 2026. We still view that as a very long shot indeed, with the economy struggling to grow, employment weakening heavily in recent months, core inflation moving closer to the two per cent target, and [Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA] uncertainty still clouding the outlook,” Porter said in a note to Global news.

“Trade talks have finally restarted again after a four-month pause, but there are no guarantees of success. Against that backdrop, we look for the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates steady for an extended period, even as inflation temporarily flares higher on the oil price spike. “

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The Iran war is causing a global oil shock with energy prices skyrocketing across the world.

And in a bid to avoid running through supplies, governments around the world are instituting energy-saving measures, including asking employees to work from home or cut down on driving and other measures while the crisis continues.

In Thailand, an order for civil servants to work from home for the foreseeable future came with another request, as well – the Thai prime minister also ordered measures including suspending overseas trips and using stairs instead of elevators.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has around 95 days of energy reserves left, officials have said, and it has been seeking additional sources of liquefied natural gas from the United States, Australia and South Africa.

Pakistan has mandated a four-day work week and work from home measures for a large swathe of its public service and ordered that all universities hold classes online, citing “resource conservation.”

Vietnam’s government has asked private firms to consider letting their employees work from home, while India has asked liquefied petroleum gas consumers to avoid panic buying.

Sri Lanka introduced fuel rationing on Sunday to extend the life of its supplies. Under the new system, motorcycles will be allocated five litres, cars 15 litres, and buses 60 litres of fuel per week.

The island nation has secured fuel shipments until the end of April, authorities at the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation told reporters in Colombo, adding that police will be deployed to reduce lines and minimize hoarding.

2:06
Iran’s new supreme leader vows to continue Strait of Hormuz blockage

“It’s supply and demand,” said Concordia University economist Moshe Lander.

“When supply of oil is being constrained and demand is not constrained with it, then the price is going to go sky high. And we’ve already seen that in Canada at the pumps,” he added.

While part of the effort to contain the price of oil involves raising supply, such as Canada and dozens of other countries agreeing to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves, the other part of the puzzle is lowering consumption, Lander said.

The Iran oil shock has the potential to be a “pivot point,” Lander said, forcing economies around the world to rethink the way they do their business.

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“Usually economies go full steam ahead until some shock comes along, whether it’s from the supply side or the demand side, that causes this pivot moment,” he said, adding that the lockdowns forced by the COVID-19 pandemic were such a pivot point.

“The idea of working from home is a lot more acceptable now,” he said, explaining why this made it easy for governments around the world to pivot to work from home recommendations.

While most of the countries that have put in place such measures are heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil, “Canada is not immune,” Lander said.

During the 1973 oil crisis, the U.S. and Canadian government put in place several measures to contain the price of oil, which rose by 400 per cent during the period of the crisis.

The U.S. imposed a national speed limit of 89 km/h (55 mph) on all highways in 1974, a limit that was not lifted until 1995.

In Canada, then-prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau set limits on the price that Canadians can be charged for oil at the pumps.

2:11
Fuel prices impacting flight costs

However, in the present day, it is unlikely that Canada will see any consumption controls, said Behrouz Bakhtiari, a professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business.

“I do not foresee any bigger mandates from the government towards consumers to lower their consumption,” he said.

“We’re not a country that does well with mandates. Mandates with respect to consumption, I don’t see it would fly at all,” Bakhtiari added.

For one, it would bring back the polarizing debates that came with the COVID-19 lockdowns, which the federal government might want to steer clear of, Lander said.

“A stay at home or work from home order isn’t necessarily going to be met with the greatest acceptance within (Canadian) society,” he said.

“I think that the easiest way to do it is to make a recommendation or at least indicate to firms, hey, it’s your decision and you guys decide what you want to do and work with your workers.”

However, it would take a lot for Canada to be in the same dire straits as some Asian economies, Bakhtiari said.

“For Canada to find itself in this position… before that, many other countries would have to be hit very, very, very hard,” he said.

Instead, Bakhtiari said the Canadian government might try to put in place some supply side measures by ensuring that oil is being pumped at capacity.

This could involve a number of measures from ensuring crucial energy lines, like Enbridge Line Nine from Ontario to Quebec, run at capacity to delaying maintenance on some lines to ensure they run full time, he said.

Another measure could include issuing an emergency rail priority order under Canada’s Railway Safety Act. This would essentially mean that oil transportation from Western Canada to the refineries in the East would take precedence over all other rail traffic, he said.

1:53
Canada’s role in historic emergency oil reserve release

This would ensure the “refineries on the east side are able to produce, to process the oil coming from the west,” and get crucial energy to Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, he said.

This would mean the federal government would have to act like a “handshake” between Western and Eastern Canada.

A result of the 1970s oil crisis was the creation of Petro-Canada, a national oil company. Canada could use this as an opportunity to find buyers other than the U.S., which buys most of its energy, Bakhtiari said.

“Canada should use this opportunity, just like we used tariffs, as an opportunity to diversify supply,” he said.

The 1973 oil crisis prompted structural, long-term shifts in industry, Lander said, pointing to cars and electronics becoming more energy efficient. This current oil shock presents a similar opportunity, he said.

“Do we go back to the old halogen-style light bulbs? No. Once you go one direction, you usually don’t go back,” he said.

–with files from Reuters

Consumer inflation cooled to 1.8 per cent in February compared to a year earlier, when the federal GST/HST tax holiday led to lower prices for many consumer goods and services.

The Consumer Price Index released Monday from Statistics Canada was 0.5 percentage points less than the annualized inflation rate of 2.3 per cent in January.

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The GST/HST tax holiday from December 2024 to February 2025 created a base-year effect, the agency said, which means year-over-year price comparisons may cloud the underlying trend of where prices are heading for consumers.

Statistics Canada said this base-year effect was concentrated in price changes for food purchased from restaurants, alcoholic beverages and toys.

The latest reading does not reflect the period since the start of the Iran war, which began on Feb. 28.

– More to come

Weyburn is like any other small town in Saskatchewan, but one thing sets it apart from other cities across the country: it’s home to the last KFC All-Day Buffet.

Since 1988, Larie Semen, Weyburn KFC’s Manager, brought in an All-Day Buffet option — a move that initially ruffled some feathers. But after bringing in more business than ever, it was deemed a success and 27 KFCs across the country followed suit.

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With other locations closing down their buffet options for a variety of reasons, Weyburn’s KFC is now the only KFC in the country that offers all-day buffet, and hopes to keep it that way.

Sania Ali has more details in the video above.

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