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Car ownership costs Canada drivers face have shifted in a way most household budgets have not caught up to: the biggest increase is no longer at the pump. Analysis published July 31, 2026 by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, drawing on Statistics Canada Consumer Price Index data, found that insurance premiums rose 29.4% between June 2022 and June 2026 — outpacing gasoline, parts, repairs and the price of new vehicles themselves.
Reported August 2, 2026, based on DesRosiers Automotive Consultants analysis of Statistics Canada CPI data published July 31, 2026. This is news reporting and general information, not financial or insurance advice.
The 5 key numbers
DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) compared CPI components for vehicle-related spending across a four-year window. These are the increases from June 2022 to June 2026.
| Cost component | Increase, June 2022 – June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Insurance premiums | +29.4% |
| Gasoline | +20.5% |
| Repair services | +19.3% |
| Vehicle parts and accessories | +17.2% |
| New vehicle prices | +11.7% |
Two things stand out in that ranking. First, insurance leads by a clear margin, and it is still climbing — DAC reported a 6.0% increase over the past year alone. Second, the three cheapest-sounding lines on the list are the ones you pay repeatedly, which is why car ownership costs Canada households actually experience have risen faster than the sticker price of a vehicle suggests.
Why insurance now leads car ownership costs Canada drivers pay
The ordering matters more than the individual figures, because it inverts how most people budget for a vehicle.
A household deciding whether it can afford a car typically focuses on the purchase price and the monthly loan payment. That is the component that rose least over this period, at 11.7%. Everything that follows the purchase — insuring it, fuelling it, fixing it — rose faster.
That has a specific consequence for the common cost-saving strategy of keeping an older vehicle longer. Delaying a purchase avoids the 11.7% line. It does nothing about the 29.4%, and it arguably increases exposure to the 19.3% repair-services line, since older vehicles need more work.
On fuel, DAC Managing Partner Andrew King offered a measured read: "While gasoline costs may not be quite at all-time heights, they remain elevated compared to much of the past few years."
Background: how car ownership costs Canada faces changed after 2022
The June 2022 starting point is not arbitrary. It sits near the peak of the pandemic-era vehicle shortage, when new and used vehicle prices spiked on constrained supply and gasoline reached record highs.
What has happened since is a rotation rather than a broad relief. Vehicle prices moderated as supply normalised. Insurance did not follow, and industry analysis has consistently pointed to higher repair costs, more expensive vehicle technology, and elevated claims severity as reasons premiums have continued to rise even as other lines cooled.
Insurance is also the one component on the list that is provincially regulated, with public insurers in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a hybrid system in Quebec, and private markets elsewhere. That means the national CPI figure conceals significant regional variation in both the level of premiums and the speed at which increases are approved. Two households can face very different car ownership costs Canada wide while driving identical vehicles.
Timeline
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| June 2022 | Baseline for the DAC comparison — vehicle prices and fuel near cycle peaks |
| Through 2023–2025 | New vehicle supply normalises; price growth moderates |
| June 2025 – June 2026 | Insurance premiums rise a further 6.0% |
| July 31, 2026 | DesRosiers publishes CPI analysis showing insurance as fastest-rising ownership cost |
Why this matters
For most Canadian households outside the largest transit-served cities, a vehicle is not discretionary — it is how income gets earned. That makes car ownership costs Canada drivers carry a labour-market cost as much as a lifestyle one.
Three practical implications follow from the data:
- The savings from delaying a vehicle purchase are smaller than they look. The purchase-price line rose least. Recurring costs, which you pay either way, rose most.
- Repair exposure is rising in real terms. With parts up 17.2% and repair services up 19.3%, a single significant failure now represents a larger share of monthly income than it did four years ago. Unplanned repairs are among the most common reasons Canadians reach for short-term credit.
- Insurance is the line most worth actively managing. It is the fastest-rising component and, unlike fuel prices, it is one where shopping the renewal, adjusting deductibles or qualifying for usage-based programs can produce a measurable difference.
Households already stretched will recognise the pattern. Recent survey work has repeatedly found roughly half of Canadians saying income is not keeping pace with costs, and vehicle expenses are a large, non-negotiable slice of that gap. With average weekly earnings up 3.4% year over year in May 2026, car ownership costs Canada drivers face have been rising faster than the pay increases meant to absorb them.
Key takeaways
- Insurance is the fastest-rising component of car ownership costs Canada motorists face, up 29.4% from June 2022 to June 2026 and 6.0% in the past year.
- Gasoline rose 20.5%, repair services 19.3%, parts 17.2% and new vehicle prices 11.7% over the same window.
- Recurring costs rose faster than purchase prices, which weakens the "keep the old car" savings strategy.
- Insurance is provincially regulated, so national averages mask wide regional differences.
- Repair and insurance line items are the two most actionable places for households to find savings.
What to watch next
The next monthly CPI release will show whether the insurance line continues climbing at its recent pace or begins to moderate alongside other vehicle costs. Provincial rate-approval decisions — particularly in Ontario and Alberta, where reforms have been under discussion — will determine how much of the national trend reaches individual drivers in the second half of 2026.
For households facing an unexpected repair before those numbers move, our car repair loan options and loan calculator can help size a manageable payment. Drivers dealing with a premium increase can also review our insurance premium financing page — though shopping the renewal first is almost always the cheaper move.