Inter-city indexes of price differentials of consumer goods and services, annual^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8}

This table shows estimates of price differences between 15 Canadian cities in all provinces and territories, as of October 2018. These estimates are based on a selection of products (goods and services) purchased by consumers in each of the 15 cities.

These estimates should not be interpreted as a measure of differences in the cost of living between cities. The indexes provide price comparisons for a selection of products only, and are not meant to give an exhaustive comparison of all goods and services purchased by consumers.

The weights used for aggregating the various components of the city indexes to obtain the all-items indexes are based on the proportions of consumer expenditure of households living in the 14 of the 15 cities tracked. Iqaluit has only the food major component index and its selected sub-groups published. As a result, an all-items index is not available for this city. The expenditure weights for the basket of goods and services used in the calculation of the inter-city price indexes are based on estimates from the 2015 Survey of Household Spending (SHS).

The timing of price comparison and the relative rate of price change occurring in each location can significantly affect city-to-city price relationships. Since the prices used in this study are final consumer prices, sale taxes and levies 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.

The diverse nature of shelter means that accurate matches between cities are often difficult to make. To account for some of these difficulties, a rental equivalence approach is used to construct the inter-city price indexes for owned accommodation for all cities except Whitehorse, Yukon, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Iqaluit, Nunavut. Such an approach uses market rents as an approximation to the cost of the shelter services consumed 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.

Additional information can also be obtained from the Consumer Prices Division at (613) 951-9606, 1-866-230-2248 (toll-free) or by email.

As of reference year 2016, the inter-city price indexes have been estimated for 12 cities. A new geographic stratum, Calgary, Alberta, was introduced into this table. As of reference year 2017, the inter-city price indexes have been estimated for 14 cities. Two new geographic strata, Whitehorse, Yukon and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, were introduced into this table. As of reference year 2018, the inter-city price indexes have been estimated for 15 cities. A new geographic stratum, Iqaluit, Nunavut, was introduced into this table. As a result, caution should be exercised when comparing these data with previous years' estimates.

The relatively small size of the housing market in Whitehorse and Yellowknife makes it difficult to construct reliable price indexes for rented accommodation and owned accommodation. To compensate, housing information is collected using different pricing frequencies and collection methods than in the rest of the country. Consequently, users are advised to exercise caution when using the indexes for rented accommodation and owned accommodation for these two cities.