Cost of Living
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) provides a broad measure of the cost of living in Canada. While there are other ways to measure price changes, the CPI is the most important indicator because of its widespread use, for example, to calculate changes in government payments such as the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security.
Through the monthly CPI, Statistics Canada tracks the retail price of a representative shopping basket of about 600 goods and services from an average household's expenditure: food, housing, transportation, furniture, clothing, and recreation.
Calculating the CPIPrices are measured against a base year. The base year is currently 2002, and the basket for that year is given the value of 100. In 2008 the CPI had reached 114.1, which means that what you could buy for $100 in 2002 cost $114.10 in 2008. The Bank of Canada Web site has an interactive Inflation Calculator that uses monthly CPI figures from 1914 to the present to show users the impact of inflation on purchasing power.
CPI for the District of Thunder Bay and other Canadian cities: http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/econ45a-eng.htm
Visit the Statistics Canada website for more information. |
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Sources: Statistics Canada
Bank of Canada, The Bank in Brief, March 2009
