Furniture price inflation could've been controlled: Retail Council CEO

The Retail Council of Canada said it “takes offence” at the wording used by Statistics Canada in its inflation report, where the agency described how tariffs “may have” contributed to the rising costs of furniture.

The Retail Council of Canada said it “takes offence” at the wording used by Statistics Canada in its consumer price index report, where the agency described how tariffs “may have” contributed to the rising costs of furniture.

On Wednesday, the latest inflation data for November showed the consumer price index held steady at the highest level in almost 19 years last month – fuelled in part by furniture prices that soared 8.7 per cent on an annualized basis.

StatsCan flagged higher shipping costs as a factor, but added “the introduction of tariffs first implemented in early May 2021 may have contributed to the increase in prices for upholstered furniture.”

In an interview Wednesday, Diane Brisebois, the Retail Council’s president and chief executive officer, said she’s displeased about the “many controllable” factors that led to these soaring prices. The council represents almost all of Canada's furniture retailers from coast to coast. 

“I do take offence, first and foremost, at how tariffs ‘may’ have contributed to furniture price increases,” Brisebois said. “There is no ‘may’ here, they most definitely did — something we had warned about months ago.”

Canada’s International Trade Tribunal sided with Canadian furniture manufacturers in a landmark decision in early September that ruled China and Vietnam have unfairly dumped and subsidized their furniture products for years, “causing injury to the domestic industry.”