Canada's annual inflation rate was 2.2% in November, unchanged from the previous month, and driven primarily by food prices rising at their fastest pace in more than two years, Statistics Canada said on Monday.

Consumer price growth in Canada held steady last month as consumers paid less for services but faced the sharpest rise in grocery costs since the end of 2023 and prices at the pump declined less sharply.

Inflation in Canada held steady last month while core measures broadly cooled, as accelerating price increases for food and some other goods were offset by slowing services price growth.

"Inflationary pressures continue to be contained despite added costs related to the reconfiguration of trade," said Macklem, according to prepared remarks set for delivery before Montreal's chamber of commerce. He added he expects inflation to remain close to 2% for the next two years.

Statistics Canada is set to publish inflation figures for November this morning. A Reuters poll ahead of the release showed the consensus among economists was for headline inflation for the month to come in at 2.3 per cent, according to LSEG Data & Analytics. That would mark a slight increase from October’s reading of 2.2 per cent.