For the past several months, the growth in prices for new houses has been driving the sustained increase in mortgage interest cost. Consumers also had to spend less for their clothing. Prices for men's clothing were down 2.7%, while those for women's clothing decreased 2.1%.
Consumer prices were up in all provinces and territories between June 2006 and June 2007. However, only two provinces posted increases higher than the national average of 2.2%: Alberta (+6.3%) and Saskatchewan (+3.2%).
In Alberta, the average increase was largely the result of a gain (+15.8%) in the costs for owned accommodation. This was also the case in Saskatchewan, where costs for owned accommodation rose 12.7%.
Growth in replacement cost in Saskatchewan (+31.8%) surpassed that of Alberta (+23.6%) for the first time since September 2005. The main factor in Saskatchewan was the increase in prices for new houses, sustained by strong employment growth. Growth in the employment rate in Saskatchewan has surpassed the national average from August 2006 to May 2007.