Four-Year-High Gas Prices and Jobs Rebound Lift May Consumer Spending
Index of Consumer Spending
Canada’s Index of Consumer Spending stood at 127.3 in May 2026, a gain of 6.1 points from April (April 2022 = 100).
- Consumers paid the highest prices for gasoline since June 2022, with May representing the third consecutive month of elevated fuel costs since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index recorded gasoline prices up 33.2 per cent year-over-year (non‑seasonally adjusted), accelerating from 28.6 per cent in April, and headline CPI reached 3.2 per cent, with prices excluding gasoline up 2.2 per cent.
- Statistics Canada’s advance estimate of retail trade suggests that sales rose 1.0 per cent in May, consistent with the nominal gain recorded in the Index of Consumer Spending (ICS).
- According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, employment rose by 88,000 jobs in May following a net decline of 112,000 jobs over the first four months of 2026. Job gains were concentrated in full-time work, which rose by 154,000, while part-time employment fell by 66,000, and the unemployment rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 6.6 per cent. Sectoral gains were recorded in construction (up 27,000), transportation and warehousing (up 19,000), and accommodation and food services (up 17,000).
- Against the broad hiring rebound, the wholesale and retail trade sector shed 35,000 positions in May, and Statistics Canada reported that employment in the industry has trended down since October 2025, falling 64,000 over the past year even as nominal sales rise, consistent with spending gains driven by inflationary impacts on prices rather than sales volumes.
- May marks the first month of the summer student job market. The unemployment rate among returning students aged 15 to 24 was 18.0 per cent, down 2.1 percentage points from May 2025, which had been the slowest start to student summer hiring since 2009 outside the pandemic years.
- Atlantic Canada posted gains above the national increase. Prince Edward Island led all provinces and territories, rising 20.7 points to 151.1, the highest index level in the country. Nova Scotia gained 12.9 points to 149.0, Newfoundland and Labrador added 11.3 points to 128.7, and New Brunswick rose 10.8 points to 138.1. Statistics Canada reported that accelerating gasoline prices had a larger effect in Atlantic Canada because fuel accounts for a higher share of household expenditures in the region.
- Alberta gained 12.7 points to 137.8. The Labour Force Survey recorded employment in the province rising by 14,000 jobs in May and by 104,000 jobs year-over-year, the largest annual increase among provinces. Ontario posted the smallest provincial increase, up just 1.7 points to 119.2. Quebec gained 7.9 points to 141.0, and British Columbia rose 3.8 points to 116.5.
- Yukon posted the largest territorial gain, up 16.7 points to 145.6. The Northwest Territories fell 2.8 points to 124.8 and Nunavut declined 3.8 points to 103.6, the only two Canadian jurisdictions to decline in May.
Consumers paid the highest prices for gasoline since June 2022.
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The Index of Consumer Spending is powered by exclusive consumer transaction data provided by Moneris Data Services. Moneris is Canada’s number one payment processor with over 3.5 billion transactions spanning more than 325,000 merchant locations. Our index tracks incremental changes in net transaction volume month-over-month from a set starting point (April 2022 = 100), enabling us to gauge economic activity levels across the country and provide insights into how the Canadian economy is performing coast to coast.
Updates on this index will be released monthly.
The Index of Consumer Spending’s (ICS) methodology has been revised for releases from January 2024 onwards. The ICS no longer tracks the weekly year-on-year changes in consumer spending. Instead, the ICS now tracks the incremental changes in net transaction volume month-over-month, from a set starting point (April 2022 = 100).
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