Inflation Calculator (Canada, 1914 to 2026)
See what an amount of money from any year since 1914 is worth in another year, using Statistics Canada's consumer price index. You get the equivalent amount, the total change in prices and the average yearly rate. A second mode checks whether your raise beat inflation over the last 12 months or two years.
| CPI, 2002 (2002 = 100) | 100.0 |
| CPI, 2025 | 164.2 |
| Change in prices, 2002 to 2025 | +64.2% |
| Average change per year | 2.18% over 23 years |
| $100.00 in 2002 is worth, in 2025 | $164.20 |
| Latest 12-month inflation, August 2026 over August 2025 | 3.0% |
What $100 from 2002 buys in each year since. It falls as prices rise.
What $100 from 2002 is worth in each decade since
| Year | Same buying power as $100 in 2002 |
|---|---|
| 2002 | $100.00 |
| 2010 | $116.50 |
| 2020 | $137.00 |
| 2025 | $164.20 |
Show the math
Amount in the later year = amount × CPI in the later year ÷ CPI in the earlier year. The CPI is Statistics Canada's all-items consumer price index for Canada, 2002 = 100, which prices a fixed basket of goods and services every month. Each year uses the annual average of its 12 months. 2026 has no annual average yet, so the August 2026 index stands in. Average change per year = (later CPI ÷ earlier CPI) ^ (1 ÷ years) − 1, a compound rate. The latest 12-month rate is the August 2026 index over the August 2025 index. This is the Canada-wide average. A city or a household will differ.
How this calculator works
The consumer price index is Statistics Canada’s measure of what a fixed basket of goods and services costs. The basket is priced every month, and the index is set so that the 2002 average equals 100. An index reading is the price of the basket as a percentage of its 2002 price.
To move an amount from one year to another, the calculator multiplies it by the index of the later year and divides by the index of the earlier year. That is the whole rule. Each year uses the annual average of its 12 monthly readings, which is the figure in Statistics Canada’s table 18-10-0005-01. The data runs from 1914 to 2025.
The current year has no annual average until the year ends. When you pick 2026, the calculator uses the most recent monthly index, for August 2026, and labels the result as of that month.
Cumulative change is the total rise in prices over the span. Average change per year is the compound rate that turns the earlier index into the later one over that many years. It is the rate you would need every single year, not the simple average of each year’s rate.
The raise check uses the same index. The 12-month rate is the August 2026 index over the August 2025 index. The two-year rate is the 2025 annual average over the 2023 annual average. Your real change in buying power is (1 + raise) divided by (1 + inflation), minus 1.
The index at a glance
| Year | All-items CPI, Canada (2002 = 100) | $100 in 1914 is worth |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 6.0 | $100.00 |
| 1950 | 12.5 | $208.33 |
| 1975 | 29.0 | $483.33 |
| 1990 | 78.4 | $1,306.67 |
| 2000 | 95.4 | $1,590.00 |
| 2010 | 116.5 | $1,941.67 |
| 2020 | 137.0 | $2,283.33 |
| 2025 | 164.2 | $2,736.67 |
Reading the last column: $100 in 1914 bought what $2,736.67 buys in 2025. Turned around, $100 in 2025 buys what $3.65 bought in 1914.
Worked example: $1,000 in 1990, in 2025 dollars
The 1990 annual average index is 78.4. The 2025 annual average is 164.2.
| Step | Figure |
|---|---|
| Amount in 1990 | $1,000.00 |
| Index in 2025 divided by index in 1990 | 164.2 ÷ 78.4 = 2.0944 |
| Equivalent amount in 2025 | $2,094.39 |
| Total change in prices over 35 years | 109.4% |
| Average change per year | 2.13% |
So $1,000 in 1990 bought what $2,094.39 buys in 2025. Going the other way, $1,000 in 2025 buys what $477.47 bought in 1990.
Assumptions
- Inflation is the all-items consumer price index for Canada as a whole. Provinces and cities have their own indexes and will differ.
- Each year is its annual average. The current year uses the latest monthly index, which will change when the year’s average is published.
- The index measures consumer prices only. It is not a measure of wages, house prices or investment returns.
- Years before 1914 or after 2026 are moved to the nearest year in the data, and the result says so.
- Negative amounts are treated as zero.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
- What is the consumer price index?
- The consumer price index, or CPI, is Statistics Canada's measure of the price of a fixed basket of goods and services that a typical household buys, such as food, shelter, transport and clothing. The basket is priced every month and the result is expressed against a base of 2002 = 100. An index of 150 means the basket costs 50% more than it did in 2002.
- How do I calculate what money from the past is worth today?
- Multiply the old amount by today's CPI and divide by the CPI of the old year. If the CPI was 80 then and is 160 now, prices have doubled, so an old $500 has the same buying power as $1,000 today. The calculator does this with Statistics Canada's annual averages for any two years since 1914.
- Why does the calculator use an annual average instead of a single month?
- An annual average smooths out the ups and downs within a year, so $100 in 2010 means $100 spread across a typical 2010 rather than one specific month. For the current year there is no annual average yet, so the calculator uses the latest monthly index and says which month it is.
- Is inflation the same everywhere in Canada?
- No. The all-items Canada index is a national average. Statistics Canada also publishes an index for each province and for major cities, and they differ because rent, energy and food prices move differently across the country. A household that spends more of its budget on rent or groceries than the average will feel a different rate again.
- How do I know if my raise is keeping up with inflation?
- Compare the percentage raise with the percentage rise in the CPI over the same period. The real change is (1 + raise) divided by (1 + inflation), minus 1. A 3% raise when prices rose 2% leaves you about 1% ahead in buying power. A 3% raise when prices rose 4% leaves you about 1% behind, even though your pay went up.
- What is the difference between the 12-month rate and the annual rate?
- The 12-month rate compares one month's index with the same month a year earlier, for example August 2026 over August 2025. It is the figure in the news each month. The annual rate compares one year's average index with the previous year's average. The two are usually close but not identical.
- Does this include the price of housing?
- Yes. Shelter is the largest part of the CPI basket and includes rent, mortgage interest cost, property taxes, home insurance, utilities and maintenance. It does not include the purchase price of a home, which Statistics Canada treats as an asset rather than a consumer good.
- Why does a small yearly rate add up to such a large change?
- Inflation compounds. Each year's increase is applied to prices that already include every earlier increase. At 2% a year prices rise about 22% over 10 years and about 49% over 20 years, not 20% and 40%. The calculator's average yearly rate is the compound rate, so it reproduces the total change exactly.
Sources
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these primary sources. Data last verified .
- Statistics Canada – Table 18-10-0005-01, Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted (all-items, Canada, 2002=100, vector v41693271, 2025 value released 2026-01-19)
- Statistics Canada – Table 18-10-0004-01, Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted (all-items, Canada, 2002=100, vector v41690973)
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