Canada Inflation Calculator
| 2000 | 2022 | |
| Value | $100.00 | $158.49 |
Average Annual Inflation Rate from 2000 to 2022: 2.12% | ||
Value of $100.00 in 2000 Over Time
| Cumulative Price Change: 58.49% |
| Similarily, a $100.00 item in 2022 would have cost $63.10 in 2000 |
About the Inflation Calculator
Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is used in this inflation calculator to calculate Canada’s current and historical inflation rates. The Consumer Price Index is a measure of prices of goods and services over time. Changes in the CPI reflect the level of price inflation experienced over a certain period of time. In Canada, inflation is commonly reported as the 12-month percentage change in the CPI.
This inflation calculator lets you determine how inflation has affected the value of the Canadian Dollar, starting from as early as 1914 up to the present day. Since prices across Canada aren't the same, you can also customize the location to match your province or major city. This allows you to get a more localized inflation rate for your area.
The personal inflation calculator lets you customize the official CPI basket weightings with your actual annual household spending on goods and services. This gives you a personal inflation rate, which is the increase in prices that you would personally see.
For example, gasoline makes up 4.28% of the CPI basket. If you do not purchase gasoline, such as if you do not own a car and take public transportation instead, then your personal consumption basket would be different from the official CPI basket. If gasoline prices increase significantly, then your personal inflation rate will be lower than the official inflation rate. That’s because you aren’t affected directly by increases in the price of gasoline. The opposite can be true as well. If gasoline makes up a larger percentage of your annual spending, then gasoline price increases will have a larger effect on your personal inflation rate.
Current Inflation Data
Canada Annual Inflation Rate for each Month (1915-2023)
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1.48% | 1.14% | 1.55% | 2.04% | 2.28% | 2.36% | 2.11% | 2.11% | 2.03% | 2.36% | 1.95% | 1.47% |
| 2015 | 0.97% | 1.05% | 1.20% | 0.80% | 0.87% | 1.03% | 1.27% | 1.27% | 1.03% | 1.03% | 1.36% | 1.61% |
| 2016 | 2.01% | 1.36% | 1.27% | 1.66% | 1.50% | 1.49% | 1.26% | 1.10% | 1.34% | 1.49% | 1.18% | 1.50% |
| 2017 | 2.13% | 2.05% | 1.56% | 1.64% | 1.32% | 1.01% | 1.16% | 1.40% | 1.55% | 1.39% | 2.10% | 1.87% |
| 2018 | 1.70% | 2.16% | 2.31% | 2.22% | 2.22% | 2.45% | 2.99% | 2.84% | 2.22% | 2.44% | 1.68% | 1.99% |
| 2019 | 1.44% | 1.51% | 1.88% | 2.03% | 2.40% | 2.02% | 2.01% | 1.94% | 1.87% | 1.86% | 2.17% | 2.25% |
| 2020 | 2.40% | 2.16% | 0.89% | -0.22% | -0.37% | 0.66% | 0.15% | 0.15% | 0.51% | 0.66% | 0.95% | 0.73% |
| 2021 | 1.02% | 1.09% | 2.20% | 3.39% | 3.60% | 3.06% | 3.72% | 4.09% | 4.38% | 4.65% | 4.72% | 4.80% |
| 2022 | 5.14% | 5.69% | 6.66% | 6.77% | 7.73% | 8.13% | 7.59% | 7.01% | 6.86% | 6.88% | 6.80% | 6.32% |
| 2023 | 5.92% | 5.25% | 4.30% | 4.41% | 3.36% | 2.81% | ||||||
| To Be Released | ||||||||||||
Source: Statistics Canada
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.99% | 2.01% | 0.15% | 3.72% | 7.59% |
| Feb | 2.84% | 1.94% | 0.15% | 4.09% | 7.01% |
| Mar | 2.22% | 1.87% | 0.51% | 4.38% | 6.86% |
| Apr | 2.44% | 1.86% | 0.66% | 4.65% | 6.88% |
| May | 1.68% | 2.17% | 0.95% | 4.72% | 6.80% |
| Jun | 1.99% | 2.25% | 0.73% | 4.80% | 6.32% |
| Jul | 1.44% | 2.40% | 1.02% | 5.14% | 5.92% |
| Aug | 1.51% | 2.16% | 1.09% | 5.69% | 5.25% |
| Sep | 1.88% | 0.89% | 2.20% | 6.66% | 4.30% |
| Oct | 2.03% | -0.22% | 3.39% | 6.77% | 4.41% |
| Nov | 2.40% | -0.37% | 3.60% | 7.73% | 3.36% |
| Dec | 2.02% | 0.66% | 3.06% | 8.13% | 2.81% |
Source: Statistics Canada
Canada Inflation Rate - Annual Average CPI (1914 - 2023)
| Year | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.32% |
| 2021 | 3.36% |
| 2020 | 0.74% |
| 2019 | 1.95% |
| 2018 | 2.30% |
Show All Available Years
Source: Statistics Canada
Canada’s Core Inflation Rate
While total CPI is most commonly used to calculate inflation, there are also variations of CPI used for other purposes. The Bank of Canada uses core inflation when deciding on monetary policy. Core inflation is measured through CPI-trim, CPI-median, and CPI-common. Core inflation filters out fluctuations in the CPI to allow policymakers to focus on trends instead of month-to-month variations. For example, CPI-trim removes 40% of the most extreme price variations in the CPI basket.
The Bank of Canada maintains a target range for core inflation between 1% and 3%. In 2023, both core inflation indicators for CPI-trim and CPI-median remained above the 3% target inflation range.
Source: Bank of Canada
From the latest February 2023 release of inflation data, the current core inflation rates for the month of January 2023 are:
CPI-Trim: 5.1%
CPI-Median: 5.0%
CPI-Common: 6.6%
Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks changes in Canadian consumer prices. CPI data is released every month by Statistics Canada for the preceding month. It is an important metric because an increase in CPI leads to a decrease in the purchasing power of a dollar, which decreases individuals' and households' net worth in real terms. Canada’s CPI is made up of the following components:
- Food
- Shelter
- Household operations, furnishings and equipment
- Clothing and footwear
- Transportation
- Health and personal care
- Recreation, education and reading
- Alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and recreational cannabis
The CPI basket is updated every two years based on data collected in the biennial Survey of Household Spending (SHS). This allows the CPI to reflect the spending patterns of Canadians. Between updates, monthly adjusted consumer expenditure basket weights are used to create an adjusted price index to reflect changes in basket weights since the latest 2020 update.
Shelter is the largest individual component of Canada's CPI. It's composed of three groups: rented accomodation, owned accommodation, and water, fuel, and electricity. Changes in the cost of homeownership would be reflected in owned accommodation. This includes mortgage interest costs, which fell 4.4% from April 2021 to April 2022, due to falling mortgage rates. However, as mortgage interest rates rose in 2022 and 2023, the value of this product group will increase as well. This will have an upward effect on Canada’s CPI and inflation rate.
CPI Basket Weights by Country (2020)
| Country | Food | Housing | Transport | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 16.2% | 30% | 16% | 2.9% |
| United States | 14.1% | 42.4% | 15.2% | 8.9% |
| United Kingdom | 8.8% | 29.6% | 12% | 2.2% |
| France | 15.8% | 15.3% | 13.3% | 11.2% |
| Australia | 16.3% | 24.1% | 10.2% | 6.3% |
| Japan | 26.3% | 21.5% | 15% | 4.8% |
| China¹ | 19% | 20.4% | 10.6% | 10.3% |
| India² | 44.6% | 10.1% | 8.6% | 5.9% |
| Brazil³ | 21.6% | 18.2% | 20.8% | 10.7% |
| Mexico⁴ | 27.6% | 22.1% | 14% | 6.7% |
1: Estimated for 2020 by CEIC Data
2: Last updated in 2015 by India’s Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
3: Monthly weights for December 2021 by the Government of Brazil
4: Last updated in 2018 by the Government of Mexico
Canada CPI Release Dates
Canadian CPI data is released by Statistics Canada every month. The table below shows the CPI data release schedule for 2023.
CPI Data Release Schedule for 2023
| Release Date | CPI Data for the Month Of |
|---|---|
| January 17, 2023 | December 2022 |
| February 21, 2023 | January 2023 |
| March 21, 2023 | February 2023 |
| April 18, 2023 | March 2023 |
| May 16, 2023 | April 2023 |
| June 27, 2023 | May 2023 |
| July 18, 2023 | June 2023 |
| August 15, 2023 | July 2023 |
| September 19, 2023 | August 2023 |
| October 17, 2023 | September 2023 |
| November 21, 2023 | October 2023 |
| December 19, 2023 | November 2023 |
| January 16, 2024 | December 2023 |
| February 20, 2024 | January 2024 |
| March 19, 2024 | February 2024 |
Source: Statistics Canada 2023 Release Dates
What is Inflation?
Inflation is when the purchasing power of the dollar goes down. This can be seen through rising prices. As prices rise, you will be able to purchase less and less goods and services for the same amount of money. A certain level of inflation is good for the economy. That’s why the Bank of Canada has an inflation target range of 1% to 3%. Deflation is when prices fall over a period of time. Both deflation and high inflation can be bad for the economy.
How Is Inflation Calculated in Canada?
In Canada, inflation is calculated through changes in the CPI. More specifically, the 12-month percentage change in the CPI is the annual inflation rate.
Calculating Inflation for a 12-Month Period
When comparing a 12-month period, the formula for calculating the inflation rate is:
For example, the CPI in February 2021 was 138.9. The CPI in February 2022 was 146.8. Using this inflation formula:
Inflation Rate = 5.69%
The inflation rate for February 2022 was 5.7%. This is calculated based on the 12-month change from February 2021’s CPI.
Calculating Inflation for Multiple Years
To find the average annual inflation rate over a period of multiple years, you will need to calculate the compound annual growth rate (CAGR). That’s because changes (inflation) in the CPI compounds over time.
The formula for calculating the average annual inflation rate for a period of multiple years is:
Average Annual Inflation Rate = ((End / Initial)1 / t - 1) x 100%
Where:
End = CPI in End Year
Initial = CPI in Initial Year
t = Number of Years
For example, the CPI in February 2022 was 146.8. The CPI in February 2012 was 121.2. Using this inflation formula:
Average Annual Inflation Rate = ((146.8 / 121.2)1 / 10 - 1) x 100%
Average Annual Inflation Rate = 1.94%
The average annual inflation rate in Canada between February 2012 and February 2022 was 1.94%.
Calculating The Historical Value of the Canadian Dollar
To calculate how much a dollar in a certain year would be worth today, you will need to use the CPI to find the cumulative price change since then. The steps to find the historical value of a dollar is:
- Get the CPI for the entered initial year
- Get the CPI for the entered end year
- Calculate the percentage change in CPI
- Apply that percentage change to the dollar amount
For example, let’s say that you want to find out how much $100 in February 2012 would be worth in February 2022. The CPI in February 2022 was 146.8, and the CPI in February 2012 was 121.2.
The percentage change in CPI would be:
= 21.12%
Applying that percentage increase to $100:
$100 + 21.12% = $121.12
$100 in February 2012 would be worth $121.12 in February 2022. This can be interpreted as an $100.00 item in February 2012 to now have a price of $121.12 in February 2022. Or, $121.12 in February 2022 would be needed to purchase the same amount of goods and services as $100 did in February 2012.
Calculating The Current Value of the Canadian Dollar
Just as the CPI can be used to calculate how much a dollar in the past would be worth today, you can also use the CPI to calculate how much a dollar today would have been worth in the past. This involves reversing the percentage change calculation.
For example, let’s say that you want to find out how much $100 in February 2022 would be worth in February 2012. The CPI in February 2022 was 146.8, and the CPI in February 2012 was 121.2.
The percentage change in CPI would be:
= -17.44%
Applying that percentage change to $100:
$100 - 17.44% = $82.56
$100 in February 2022 would have been worth the same as $82.56 in February 2012.
Inflation Calculator Data Sources
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from Statistics Canada is used in this inflation calculator. This includes the following sources:
- Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted (Table 18-10-0005-01)
- Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted (Table 18-10-0004-01)
- Monthly adjusted consumer expenditure basket weights (Table 18-10-0264-01)