Shoppers stroll through the 5.3 million square foot (492,000 square metre) West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Dan Riedlhuber

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Canada’s annual inflation rate edged up slightly in December to 1.6 percent from 1.4 percent in November, with higher prices for food and shelter accounting for most of the change, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

Food prices in stores climbed 4.1 percent in December from a year earlier after recording a 3.7 percent annual rise in November. The annual core inflation rate continued to edge downward, falling to 1.9 percent from 2.0 percent the previous month.