Canada’s affordability crisis continues to tighten its grip on household finances, with essential costs rising far faster than paycheques. According to Kaylie Tiessen, chief economist at The Canadian SHIELD Institute, the pressure on family budgets shows little sign of easing even as headline inflation appears to moderate.

Statistics Canada data shows overall inflation at 2.2 per cent in November, but grocery prices climbed 4.7 per cent over the same period. Tiessen’s analysis underscores a persistent problem: everyday necessities are increasing at more than twice the pace of the broader inflation rate, deepening the burden on households.

Public concern reflects those realities. Repeated polling places food and housing costs at the top of Canadians’ economic worries, far ahead of other issues like taxes or discretionary spending. For many families, these pressures are not abstract data points but weekly stressors at the checkout and monthly strains when rent or mortgage bills arrive.

Since 2021, the cost of groceries and rent has climbed roughly 30 per cent, while average wages have risen about 20 per cent. Tiessen highlights this divergence between income growth and the price of essentials as a key factor eroding purchasing power across the country.

That imbalance means the core costs of living are rising around 50 per cent faster than average hourly pay, leaving workers effectively worse off despite declines in headline inflation. Without meaningful relief on food and housing costs, easing inflation offers limited respite to Canadians struggling to keep up.