Affordability is a big issue in this election. But let's be clear about where the problem came from. Higher fossil fuel prices (driven by speculation, not a 'supply shock') were the biggest single cause of the post-COVID surge in inflation. Full report: www.falseprofits.ca/reports

Add it all up (measured relative to pre-pandemic 2019 norms), and Canadian workers and consumers lost almost $200 billion over 2022-2024. That is $12,000 per household on average. An incredible cost--and it's still growing by $5 billion (or $300/household) per month. /6

Canada's mostly deregulated fossil fuel prices immediately passed on this price spike, even on Canadian production. In the coming 3 years, Canadians paid dearly through 4 major cost 'buckets': higher direct prices, higher indirect prices, higher interest rates, and lower employment income. /5

The dramatic price spike in early 2022 drove the price up by two-thirds ($50US/bbl), reaching $130US/bbl. It stayed there for just a few months--but long enough to spark worldwide inflation. Surprisingly, oil supply (both global and in Canada) KEPT GROWING throughout this whole time. /4

The report was co-authored by @jimbostanford.bsky.social and Erin Weir. First we explain how oil futures mkts work: they are not driven by 'supply and demand', as commonly assumed. They're driven by finance, speculation, emotion & cartels. Every physical barrel of oil is traded on paper 13 times. /3