Consumer Price Index, October 2018
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Released: 2018-11-23
October 2018
2.4% 
(12-month change)
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.4% on a year-over-year basis in October, following a 2.2% increase in September. Month over month, the CPI increased 0.3%, with prices for airfares, passenger vehicles and travel tours accelerating the most.
Chart 1
The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index
Component highlights
Prices rose in all major components in the 12 months to October, with the transportation (+4.3%) and shelter (+2.5%) indexes contributing most to the increase. Gasoline prices rose 12.0% year over year in October, matching September's increase.
Chart 2
Consumer prices increase in all major components
Prices for durable goods increased 0.9% in the 12 months to October. With lower rebates and more new model-year vehicles available, the purchase of passenger vehicles index rose 1.7% on a year-over-year basis, after increasing 0.6% in September.
The price of services rose 2.7% on a year-over-year basis in October. Prices for travel tours were up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis, after decreasing 4.4% in September. On a month-over-month basis, air transportation prices rose 4.6%. Mortgage interest costs increased 7.0% in the 12 months to October, reflecting interest rate increases in the past year.
Regional highlights
Prices rose in every province on a year-over-year basis in October.
Increases in the property tax and other special charges index (priced annually in October) were larger in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia compared with the previous year, but smaller in Ontario and Western Canada. Property tax rates decreased in New Brunswick (-0.1%) and in Quebec (-1.7%), where Bill 166 harmonized Quebec's provincial school taxes and introduced a property owner's exemption.
Prices for fuel oil and other fuels rose at a faster rate in Atlantic Canada in October, as colder temperatures set in. In Central and Western Canada, where natural gas is more commonly used for home heating, the impact of higher prices for fuel oil was smaller. Canadian consumers paid 3.9% less for natural gas compared with October 2017.
In Ontario, energy prices fell 2.4% on a month-over-month basis, following the termination of the carbon cap and trade program introduced in January 2017. Prices for gasoline (-4.0%) and natural gas (-1.0%) declined month over month in October.
Chart 3
Consumer prices rise at a faster rate in eight provinces
Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI all-items index rose 0.3% in October, following a 0.1% decrease in September. The recreation, education and reading index (+1.0%) reported the largest increase.
Note to readers
Upcoming methodology change
The release of the November 2018 Consumer Price Index will reflect changes in methodology for the telephone services index, as well as the introduction of new data sources for pricing smartphones, to improve the overall quality and relevance of the index.
Users should note that changing methodological elements of any index may result in variations in the series. As such, the interpretation of the 12-month price change indicator should be made with caution, particularly in the year following the implementation of a new methodology.
Real-time data tables
Real-time data table 18-10-0259-01 will be updated on December 10.
Next release
The Consumer Price Index for November will be released on December 19.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is available in The Canadian Consumer Price Index Reference Paper (62-553-X).
For information on the history of the CPI in Canada, consult the publication Exploring the First Century of Canada's Consumer Price Index (62-604-X).
Two videos, "An Overview of Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI)" and "The Consumer Price Index and Your Experience of Price Change," are available on Statistics Canada's YouTube channel.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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