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Table 1  The Consumer Price Index and major components, Canada

1. 2005 Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket weights at April 2007 prices, Canada.
2. Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding.
3. The measure of core consumer price index (CPI) excludes from the all-items CPI the effect of changes in indirect taxes and eight of the most volatile components identified by the Bank of Canada: fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; vegetables and vegetable preparations; mortgage interest cost; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuels; gasoline; inter-city transportation; and tobacco products and smokers' supplies. For additional information on core CPI, please consult the Bank of Canada Web site: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/inflation/index.htm.

Table 2  The Consumer Price Index, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. Data for Iqaluit are on a December 2002=100 base (200212=100) and the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2001. Previous to April 1, 1999, the town of Iqaluit formed part of the Northwest Territories. Subsequent to April 1, 1999, the town of Iqaluit formed part of the newly-created territory of Nunavut.

Table 3  The Consumer Price Index and major components, selected sub-groups and special aggregates, Canada

Table 3-1 

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. Food expenditure information below the aggregate level of "food purchased from stores" was unavailable after 2001. To obtain 2005 basket weights for food categories under this aggregate, expenditures of 2001 for each food category were adjusted to reflect price movements to 2005. However data from the 2005 Survey of Household Spending were used to update the weight at the major component level of "food" compare to all other components.

Table 3-2 

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. In July 2004, the 2001 basket weights introduced with the January 2003 data were adjusted; the weights for mortgage interest cost were re-evaluated.
3. Due to changes in the Ontario electricity market that became effective May 1, 2002, it was necessary to adjust the treatment of electricity prices in the consumer price index (CPI) for that province. A question and answer fact sheet that explains those changes is now available. To obtain the fact sheet on the treatment of electricity prices in Ontario, please contact Client Services Unit, Prices Division, telephone: (613) 951-9606, toll-free: 1-866-230-2248, fax: (613) 951-1539, e-mail: prices-prix@statcan.gc.ca.

Tables 3-3  to 3-6  and 3-8 

1. Not seasonally adjusted.

Table 3-7 

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. From April 2006, Statistics Canada changed its implementation of the price index formula used for traveller accommodation. As a result, data from April 2006 are not strictly comparable to earlier time periods.

Table 3-9 

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. Goods are physical or tangible commodities usually classified according to their life span into non-durable goods, semi-durable goods and durable goods. Non-durable goods are those goods that can be used up entirely in less than a year, assuming normal usage. For example, fresh food products, disposable cameras and gasoline are non-durable goods. Semi-durable goods are those goods that may last less than 12 months or greater than 12 months depending on the purpose to which they are put. For example, clothing, footwear and household textiles are semi-durable goods. Durable goods are those goods which may be used repeatedly or continuously over more than a year, assuming normal usage. For example, cars, audio and video equipment and furniture are durable goods.
3. A service in the consumer price index (CPI) is characterized by valuable work performed by an individual or organization on behalf of a consumer, for example, car tune-ups, haircuts and city public transportation. Transactions classified as a service may include the cost of goods by their nature. Examples include food in restaurant food services and materials in clothing repair services.
4. The special aggregate "energy" includes: "electricity", "natural gas", "fuel oil and other fuels", "gasoline", and "fuel, parts and supplies for recreational vehicles".

Table 4  The Consumer Price Index for Canada, all-items, historical data

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. The annual index level is the average of the 12 individual monthly indexes. The percentage change for a given calendar year is calculated using the annual average indexes.

Table 5  The Consumer Price Index for Canada major components and special aggregates, historical data

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. Goods are physical or tangible commodities usually classified according to their life span into non-durable goods, semi-durable goods and durable goods. Non-durable goods are those goods that can be used up entirely in less than a year, assuming normal usage. For example, fresh food products, disposable cameras and gasoline are non-durable goods. Semi-durable goods are those goods that may last less than 12 months or greater than 12 months depending on the purpose to which they are put. For example, clothing, footwear and household textiles are semi-durable goods. Durable goods are those goods which may be used repeatedly or continuously over more than a year, assuming normal usage. For example, cars, audio and video equipment and furniture are durable goods.
3. A service in the consumer price index (CPI) is characterized by valuable work performed by an individual or organization on behalf of a consumer, for example, car tune-ups, haircuts and city public transportation. Transactions classified as a service may include the cost of goods by their nature. Examples include food in restaurant food services and materials in clothing repair services.
4. The special aggregate "energy" includes: "electricity", "natural gas", "fuel oil and other fuels", "gasoline", and "fuel, parts and supplies for recreational vehicles".
5. The annual index level is the average of the 12 individual monthly indexes. The percentage change for a given calendar year is calculated using the annual average indexes.

Table 6  The Consumer Price Index, major components, selected sub-groups and special aggregates, provinces and territories

Tables 6-1  to 6-5  and 6-7  to 6-11 

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. The special aggregate "energy" includes: "electricity", "natural gas", "fuel oil and other fuels", "gasoline", and "fuel, parts and supplies for recreational vehicles".
3. Food expenditure information below the aggregate level of "food purchased from stores" was unavailable after 2001. To obtain 2005 basket weights for food categories under this aggregate, expenditures of 2001 for each food category were adjusted to reflect price movements to 2005. However data from the 2005 Survey of Household Spending were used to update the weight at the major component level of "food" compare to all other components.

Table 6-6 

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. The special aggregate "energy" includes: "electricity", "natural gas", "fuel oil and other fuels", "gasoline", and "fuel, parts and supplies for recreational vehicles".
3. Food expenditure information below the aggregate level of "food purchased from stores" was unavailable after 2001. To obtain 2005 basket weights for food categories under this aggregate, expenditures of 2001 for each food category were adjusted to reflect price movements to 2005. However data from the 2005 Survey of Household Spending were used to update the weight at the major component level of "food" compare to all other components.
4. Due to changes in the Ontario electricity market that became effective May 1, 2002, it was necessary to adjust the treatment of electricity prices in the consumer price index (CPI) for that province. A question and answer fact sheet that explains those changes is now available. To obtain the fact sheet on the treatment of electricity prices in Ontario, please contact Client Services Unit, Prices Division, telephone: (613) 951-9606, toll-free: 1-866-230-2248, fax: (613) 951-1539, e-mail: prices-prix@statcan.gc.ca.

Table 6-12 

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. The special aggregate "energy" includes: "electricity", "natural gas", "fuel oil and other fuels", "gasoline", and "fuel, parts and supplies for recreational vehicles".
3. Food expenditure information below the aggregate level of "food purchased from stores" was unavailable after 2001. To obtain 2005 basket weights for food categories under this aggregate, expenditures of 2001 for each food category were adjusted to reflect price movements to 2005. However data from the 2005 Survey of Household Spending were used to update the weight at the major component level of "food" compare to all other components.
4. Part of the increase first recorded in the shelter index for Yellowknife for December 2004 inadvertently reflected rent increases that actually occurred earlier. As a result, the change in the shelter index was overstated in December 2004, and was understated in the previous two years. The shelter index series for Yellowknife has been corrected from December 2002. In addition, the Yellowknife all-items consumer price index (CPI) and some Yellowknife special aggregate index series have also changed. Data for Canada and all other provinces and territories were not affected.

Table 7  The all-items Consumer Price Index, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit, historical data

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. Data for Iqaluit are on a December 2002=100 base (200212=100) and the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2001. Previous to April 1, 1999, the town of Iqaluit formed part of the Northwest Territories. Subsequent to April 1, 1999, the town of Iqaluit formed part of the newly-created territory of Nunavut.
3. The annual index level is the average of the 12 individual monthly indexes. The percentage change for a given calendar year is calculated using the annual average indexes.

Table 8  The Consumer Price Index and selected sub-groups, by urban centre

and

Table 9  The all-items Consumer Price Index by urban centre, historical data

1. Not seasonally adjusted.
2. With the introduction of the 1992 basket in January 1995, emphasis was shifted from urban centre data to provincial data. Urban centre all-items series were continued since many users had come to rely on this service, but the method of calculation was changed. Shelter indexes are calculated for each urban centre. This recognizes the importance of shelter in the basket, the significant and persistent differences in price movements between urban centres, and the availability of local data. For the other seven major components, the movement of the provincial counterpart is used except in the cases of Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver, where a sub-provincial counterpart is used. The major components are aggregated using the urban centre's expenditure pattern to arrive at each urban centre's all-items index.
3. Users of the urban centre indexes should note that, effective July 2007, Statistics Canada has corrected the weights of some urban centres that were in error in the Consumer Price Index 2005 basket update. The weights of St. John's, Charlottetown, Halifax, Saint John, Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Victoria were adjusted, while those of Toronto, Vancouver, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit were not. With this correction, the July 2007 level of each urban centre index has been restored to reflect the correct movement for May 2007 and June 2007. The published urban centre indexes for May and June 2007 will remain unchanged. The calculation of urban centre indexes is separate from the calculation of the provincial and national indexes. Therefore, the correction made to the urban centre weights has no effect at all on the provincial or national indexes. Published weight documentation was also not affected.

Table 11  Average retail prices, monthly, Canada

1. Prices are expressed in dollars, except for the price of gasoline which is expressed in cents per litre.

Average retail prices for food, household supplies, personal care items and cigarettes

Table 11  shows, for the current month and the two previous months, average prices for selected food, household supply and personal care items and for cigarettes.

Prices for these items are collected as part of the regular monthly CPI survey. Prices for the selected food, household supply and personal care items are observed in food supermarkets, while prices for cigarettes are collected in supermarkets, department stores, drug stores and tobacco shops. Average prices for each commodity are calculated as a weighted average of the average prices in the observed urban centres using the population of these urban centres as weights.

The commodities which are priced can vary in quality between outlets or between urban centres. This is the reason why average prices are not published for each of those urban centres. Brands and outlets can also vary from month to month. Therefore, average prices may not necessarily be fully comparable from one month to another and should not be used as an appropriate measure of pure price change through time. A matched commodity and outlet sample is used for the CPI to determine the pure price movement of commodities through time.

Table 12  Inter-city indexes of retail price differentials, as of October 2005, for selected groups of consumer goods and services

Table 12  shows consumer price differentials prevailing amongst 11 Canadian cities situated in all 10 provinces for a selection of commodities and services at the specified point in time.

Price data for the current inter-city retail price comparison was drawn to a large extent from the extensive volume of price information collected for the production of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October 2004. To obtain the October 2005 comparison, October 2004 prices for each product category were adjusted using the CPI to reflect the price movements over the year ending in October 2005.

Reliable inter-city price comparisons require that the sampled commodities be identical in different locations. This ensures that variations in index levels between cities, are due to price differences and not to differences in product attributes. In order to optimize comparability, price comparisons were initially made by pairing cities that are geographically close. This resulted in the following pairings:

Within each city pair, price quotations were matched at the item level on the basis of identical detailed descriptions, including brand names whenever possible and also with some regard for comparability of retail outlets and merchandising practices.

Price level comparisons can be extended to include any pair of cities using a chaining procedure.

The weights used for aggregating the various components of the city indexes to obtain the all-items index are based on the expenditure proportions of the consumers living in the 11 cities overall. The weights are currently based on 2001 consumer expenditure data and price updated to September 2005. The base, for which the index is equal to 100, is also the combined city average. Therefore, an index value of 102 means that prices in that city are 2 percent higher than the combined city average.

It should be noted, especially in periods when prices are highly volatile, that the timing of price comparison and the relative rate of price change occurring in each location could significantly affect city-to-city retail price relationships. Furthermore, since the retail prices used in this study are final prices faced by consumers, they include applicable sales and excise taxes. Therefore, provincial sales tax rates in effect in the various cities at the time of price comparison can be of importance in explaining inter-city price differentials for items or groups of items that are subject to such taxes.

Shelter, as an expenditure category, was absent from the Intercity index program prior to 1999 because of methodological and conceptual issues associated with its measurement. For many products, adjusting for quality differences to ensure comparability across areas is relatively straightforward and can be done using traditional quality adjustment techniques. In the case of shelter however, its very diverse nature means that comparable matches across cities are difficult to make. Hedonic regression methods were used to adjust for quality differences among cities and produce more reliable inter-city comparisons of rental prices.

A rental equivalence approach is used to construct the inter-city price indexes for shelter services consumed by homeowners. Such an approach uses market rents as an approximation of the cost of shelter services faced by homeowners. This approach may not be suitable for the needs of all users. For instance, since the rental equivalence approach does not represent an out-of-pocket expenditure, the indexes should not be used for measuring differences in the purchasing power of homeowners across cities. Furthermore, since the observed rents used in this index are those faced by existing renters and since the industry is regulated, they may not be indicative of rental prices faced by new renters.

Footnotes for table 12 

1. The weights shown are rounded 2001 basket weights at June 2004 prices for Canada. They are provided for illustration only; the weights actually used are combined city weights with adjustments for price change up until September 2005.
2. Includes the following sub-groups: sugar and syrups, confectionery items, margarine, other edible fat and oil items, coffee, tea, condiments, spices and vinegar, soup, infant and junior foods, pre-cooked frozen food preparations, non-alcoholic beverages and all other food preparations.