Kelowna More Expensive

The Economic Development Commission's Robert Fine says that it is costing more to live in Kelowna. The cost of living in Kelowna is now 10% above North American average. Just 10 years ago we were 10% below the average. Fine says that Real Estate is pushing it up as well as "misc items".

On the national front, Canadian Consumers paid 2.0% more in January 2005 than in January 2004 for the goods and services included in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket. This increase follows a 12-month increase of 2.1% in December.

The CPI dropped by 0.1% between December and January, from 125.4 to 125.3 (1992=100). Lower prices for travel tours, fresh vegetables and the purchase and leasing of automotive vehicles accounted for most of this reduction. Higher prices for gasoline and non-alcoholic beverages nonetheless exerted a mitigating effect on this decrease.

After two consecutive monthly decreases, gasoline prices were up 2.5% in January. More important price increases in Ontario (+5.2%) and Quebec (+3.5%) triggered this rise. Increases of less than 1.0% were noted in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia, while price reductions were posted in all of the other provinces.

On average, gasoline prices in January 2005 were 8.6% higher than in January 2004. Changes to property taxes (including special charges) that were reflected in the CPI in October 2004 continued to influence the All-items index, with a 4.3% increase over last year.