Canada inflation rate (CPI)
Year-over-year change in the total Consumer Price Index, with the Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures.
Total CPI (12-month change)
3.0%
Data for: August 1, 2026
Previous: 3.0% (July 1, 2026)
CPI-trim
1.9%
Data for: August 1, 2026
Previous: 1.9% (July 1, 2026)
CPI-median
2.0%
Data for: August 1, 2026
Previous: 2.0% (July 1, 2026)
What it is
The CPI measures price changes of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by Canadian consumers. CPI-trim and CPI-median filter out the most extreme price moves each month to show underlying inflation.
Why it matters
The Bank of Canada aims to keep inflation at 2% within a 1% to 3% range. CPI also indexes the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and federal tax brackets.
Recent history
| Date | Total CPI (12-month change) | CPI-trim | CPI-median |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 1, 2026 | 3.0% | 1.9% | 2.0% |
| July 1, 2026 | 3.0% | 1.9% | 2.0% |
| June 1, 2026 | 2.8% | 1.9% | 1.9% |
| May 1, 2026 | 3.2% | 2.0% | 2.1% |
| April 1, 2026 | 2.8% | 2.0% | 2.1% |
| March 1, 2026 | 2.4% | 2.2% | 2.3% |
| February 1, 2026 | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| January 1, 2026 | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.5% |
| December 1, 2025 | 2.4% | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| November 1, 2025 | 2.2% | 2.9% | 2.8% |
| October 1, 2025 | 2.2% | 3.0% | 2.9% |
| September 1, 2025 | 2.4% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| August 1, 2025 | 1.9% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
| July 1, 2025 | 1.7% | 3.1% | 3.0% |
| June 1, 2025 | 1.9% | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| May 1, 2025 | 1.7% | 3.0% | 2.9% |
| April 1, 2025 | 1.7% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| March 1, 2025 | 2.3% | 2.9% | 2.7% |
| February 1, 2025 | 2.6% | 2.9% | 2.7% |
| January 1, 2025 | 1.9% | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| December 1, 2024 | 1.8% | 2.5% | 2.4% |
| November 1, 2024 | 1.9% | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| October 1, 2024 | 2.0% | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| September 1, 2024 | 1.6% | 2.6% | 2.5% |
How to read
Latest: 3.0%
Where it comes from
Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index (published through the Bank of Canada Valet API)
Careful
Information, not advice
What to do
Compare with the related indicators
Reading the canada inflation rate (cpi) figure
What the latest canada inflation rate (cpi) reading says
The most recent value on this page is 3.0%, for August 1, 2026. Against the previous reading of 3.0%, that is 0.0% — effectively flat. Monthly, about three weeks after the month is how often Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index (published through the Bank of Canada Valet API) publishes it, so a single reading is a snapshot and not a trend. The 24 observations in the table above, from September 1, 2024 onwards, are what gives the figure context.
Where the canada inflation rate (cpi) figure sits in its own history
Across the 24 readings loaded here, the series moved between 1.6% and 3.2%. The latest value sits inside that range, so nothing in this window is exceptional. A window this short cannot show a cycle. It shows the direction of travel and the size of the usual swing, which is enough to tell a normal move from an unusual one, and no more than that.
Who sets the canada inflation rate (cpi) and who it affects in Canada
Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index (published through the Bank of Canada Valet API) publishes the canada inflation rate (cpi) series, and the page links the exact dataset and its licence below. Nothing here is a second-hand copy: the figure above is read from that source and shown with the date the source gave it. People reach this page searching for "canada inflation rate", and the honest answer is the published figure plus its date. A national figure is an average: your own rate, bill or salary in Canada will sit above or below it.
Glossary
Policy rate
The interest rate a central bank sets to steer the economy, and the floor under most other rates in that currency. It moves only when the rate-setting committee decides, so its history is a series of steps rather than a continuous line.
Year-on-year inflation
The change in a price index against the same month a year earlier. It can fall while prices are still rising, because it measures the speed of the increase, not the level of prices.
Basis point
One hundredth of a percentage point. Central banks and markets talk in basis points because "a 0.25 point cut" and "a 25 basis point cut" are the same thing, and the second wording leaves no room for doubt.
Real rate
An interest rate after inflation is taken out, roughly the quoted rate minus the inflation rate. A savings account paying less than inflation has a negative real rate, which means the money loses purchasing power.
Revision
A later correction of a published figure, as the statistics office receives more complete data. Values marked provisional or estimated are the ones most likely to change, which is why the page keeps the source flag.
National average
A figure averaged over a whole country, and therefore not a quote for you. Your own mortgage rate, salary or grocery bill depends on your region, your lender or your shop and will sit above or below the average.
Yield
The annual return an investor earns by lending money through a bond, expressed as a percentage of its price. Price and yield move in opposite directions: when a bond gets cheaper, its yield rises.
Source: Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index (published through the Bank of Canada Valet API)
Licence: Statistics Canada Open Licence
Update frequency: Monthly, about three weeks after the month
Information only, not financial advice. Figures come from the official source shown and may be revised.