Canadians were forced to spend unprecedented amounts on groceries this year due to inflation, and for some products, October was no exception. Data released by Statistics Canada revealed changes in grocery product prices due to inflation last month, as grocery costs have risen significantly since 2019, after the emergence of COVID-19.

Factors such as supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, changes in consumer purchasing patterns, bad weather in some growing areas, tariffs, rising input costs, and increasing wages also contributed to rising grocery bills.

Last September, the annual increase in grocery store prices reached a high of 11.4 percent – the largest jump since 1981.

Then, the following month, this figure remained high at 11 percent in October, with food items such as dairy products, eggs, and butter showing some of the biggest price increases, according to Statistics Canada.

Also, food prices purchased from stores slowed down in some categories, but they remained high in October, changing over 12 months.

Costs of products such as margarine, pasta, butter, dairy products, and eggs also saw price increases from September to October, while prices of others – coffee, tea, fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat – slightly decreased last month.

"We are seeing signs that things have started to calm down now," said Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, on CTV News, adding that sellers have more control over the situation, as do processors.

In addition, food prices purchased from stores slowed down in some categories but remained high in October.