Government of Yukon

Whitehorse CPI Based Inflation Calculator

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What is the CPI?

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the rate of price change for goods and services bought by Canadian consumers. It is the most widely used indicator of price changes in Canada.

The Canadian CPI began with a study conducted by the Department of Labour in the early 1900s. The study was based on a hypothetical family budget that represented weekly expenditures of an urban working class family of five. Retail prices of 29 food items and five fuel and lighting items were collected in approximately 60 cities. In addition, information was obtained on the rent for a representative worker’s dwelling. Since then, the CPI has grown in comprehensiveness and detail to keep pace with increases in its use. Today, the CPI directly or indirectly affects nearly all Canadians.

Consider the following:

  • Old Age Security pensions, Canada Pension Plan payments, and other forms of social and welfare payments are adjusted periodically to take account of changes in the CPI.
  •  Rental agreements, spousal and child support payments and other forms of contractual and price-setting arrangements are frequently tied in some manner to movements in the CPI.
  • Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) clauses link wage increases to movements in the CPI. Labour contracts governing the wages of many Canadian workers include COLA clauses.

The CPI is relevant to all those who earn and spend money. When prices rise, the purchasing power of money drops. When prices drop, it means the purchasing power of money increases. The CPI is frequently used to estimate the extent to which this purchasing power of money changes in Canada.

For these reasons, it is a widely used measure of inflation (or deflation). Think of the CPI as a measure of the percentage change over time in the average cost of a large basket of goods and services purchased by Canadians. The quantity and quality of the goods and services in the basket remain the same. Therefore, changes in the cost of the basket over time are not due to changes in the quantity and/or quality of the goods and services observed. The CPI is defined, more precisely, as an indicator of the changes in consumer prices experienced by Canadians. It is obtained by comparing, through time, the cost of a fixed basket of commodities purchased by Canadian consumers in a particular year. Since the basket contains commodities of unchanging or equivalent quantity and quality, the index reflects only pure price movements.

Detailed CPIs are published simultaneously for Canada, the ten provinces, Whitehorse, Iqaluit and Yellowknife. Whitehorse represents the Yukon, Iqaluit  represents Nunavut and Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories.

Yukon Bureau of Statistics CPI reports for Whitehorse can be found here


Whitehorse CPI 2002=100
YearCPI
2008113.4
2007109.5
2006106.8
2005105.3
2004103.0
2003101.9
2002100.0
200199.3
200097.5
199995.3
199894.3
199793.4
199691.3
199589.9
199488.7
199386.9
199285.0
199184.2
199079.1
198976.0
198873.2
198771.2
198669.0
198566.5
198464.4
198362.0