According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador paid 1.8% more for goods and services in February 2026 than in February 2025.

Prices increased in most major categories in February 2026 compared to February 2025, led by ‘Food’, ‘Health and personal care’, ‘Shelter’, and ‘Alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and recreational cannabis’.

• In February 2026, ‘Food’ prices increased by 6.3% compared to February 2025. There was an increase in prices for both ‘Food purchased from stores’ (+4.8%) and ‘Food purchased from restaurants’ (+9.8%).
  • Price increases for food purchased from stores were largely attributable to ‘Coffee and tea’ (+19.3%) and ‘Fresh or frozen beef’ (+16.9%).
• The increase in prices for ‘Health and personal care’ (+3.7%) was boosted by an increase in ‘Personal care services’ (+9.9%).
• Prices for ‘Shelter’ increased by 2.7%.
  • A slight decline in the ‘Rented accommodation’ index (-0.7%), which includes rent costs, was offset by an increase in the ‘Owned accommodation’ index (+2.2%), which includes mortgage interest costs. While the mortgage interest cost index is not available for Newfoundland and Labrador, at the national level it rose at a much slower pace year-over-year in February (+0.7%), with growth slowing in every month after peaking at 30.9% in August 2023.
  • Also, there was an increase in prices for both ‘Fuel oil and other fuels’ (+10.0%) and ‘Electricity’ (+6.9%). Electricity rates in Newfoundland and Labrador increased by an average of 7.0% for residential consumers, effective July 1, 2025, as implemented by Newfoundland Power, the province’s primary electricity retailer.
• ‘Energy’ prices decreased by 5.2%. A decline in ‘Gasoline’ prices (‑15.9%) offset the increase in ‘Fuel oil and other fuels’.
  • The year-over-year price decrease for gasoline in February was influenced by the removal of the consumer carbon tax, effective April 1, 2025, and by a lower price of Brent crude oil compared to the previous year. While the price of Brent crude oil has been increasing in the last couple of weeks, it averaged US$70.89 per barrel for February 2026, a decline of 6.0% compared to February 2025.
• Prices for ‘Alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and recreational cannabis’ rose by 2.5%, mainly due to an 8.4% rise in prices for ‘Beer purchased from stores’.

The ‘All-items excluding energy’ index increased by 2.8% in February 2026 compared to February 2025.

At the national level, the CPI rose by 1.8% on a year-over-year basis in February 2026 compared to February 2025. Among provinces, the highest inflation rate was in Quebec (+2.8%), while the lowest was in Prince Edward Island (+0.8%).

On a seasonally adjusted basis, consumer prices in Canada increased by 0.1% from January to February 2026. Seasonally adjusted CPI data are not available for Newfoundland and Labrador.

The United States CPI for all urban consumers increased by 2.4% in February 2026 compared to February 2025. The seasonally adjusted series increased by 0.3% in February compared to January.

On a year-to-date basis, consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador paid 2.1% more for goods and services in the January to February 2026 period compared to the same period of 2025, led by higher prices for ‘Food’ (+7.7%) and ‘Alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and recreational cannabis’ (+3.9%). The increases in prices for these categories during this period are partly related to the temporary GST/HST reduction that was implemented by the federal and provincial governments from December 14, 2024, to February 15, 2025, on certain food items and restaurants, children’s clothing and toys, books, as well as items such as alcoholic beverages.

Year-Over-Year Change in CPI, February 2026 vs. February 2025