Alberta sees highest energy price increases as Canada's inflation climbs to 4%

Canada's inflation rate once again climbed in August, prompting some Calgarians to make tough decisions about their spending.

Canada's inflation rate once again climbed in August, prompting some Calgarians to make tough decisions about their spending.

"It's stressful, right? Like I have a wife looking to have children in the near future but it's almost, it's off-putting to want to have children because how am I going to provide for them?" Craig Steward said.

John Burley added, "It's just about trying to make ends meet for the budget and trying to pick and choose what you do, like no sports activities or less Flames games, less doing things out on date night, things like that."

Canada's inflation rate rose to four per cent in August from 3.3 per cent in July.

Gas prices are driving the increase, rising 0.8 per cent from last August — the first yearly increase since January.

"Oil prices increased in August to over $80 a barrel, and we haven't seen it reach that level since last year, so it's a pretty big change over the lower prices that we previously saw, and that's entirely the reason for the increase," said Trevor Tombe, economics professor at the University of Calgary.

Alberta's inflation rate is even higher than the national average at 4.3 per cent.