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Experts say some of the basics — housing, food, energy — are going up at a rate that threatens to overwhelm household budgets.

FOOD

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Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor of Food Distribution and Policy, said a recent Angus Reid Global survey conducted with the university’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab found three out of every five Canadians see food security and affordability as one of the most important issues in this federal election.

“The results point to how much Canadians are under pressure financially,” Charlebois said. “Vegetables are up 18% year to year, overall we’re looking at an increase (in food prices) of over 2.5%, which is actually a little higher than the core inflation rate.”

The costs of buying meals outside the home, common when people work outside the home, are up 4% this year, he said.

“It effects everyone every single day,” Charlebois said. “People are looking at prices way more than ever before.”