Consumer Price Index, July 2017

Released: 2017-08-18

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.2% on a year-over-year basis in July, following a 1.0% gain in June.

Chart 1 
The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index

12-month change in the major components

Prices were up in six of the eight major components in the 12 months to July, with the transportation and shelter indexes contributing the most to the year-over-year rise in the CPI. The household operations, furnishings and equipment index and the clothing and footwear index declined on a year-over-year basis.

Chart 2 
Consumer prices increase in six of the eight major components

Transportation costs rose 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in July, following a 0.6% increase in June. Gasoline prices contributed most to the gain in prices, as well as to their acceleration, rising 4.6% in the 12 months to July, after posting a 1.4% decline in June. The purchase of passenger vehicles index increased 0.2% year over year in July, after declining 0.2% the previous month. At the same time, passenger vehicle insurance premiums rose at a slower rate in the 12 months to July than they did in June.

The shelter index increased 1.3% year over year in July, after rising 1.6% in June. Homeowners' replacement costs contributed the most to the gain in prices, rising 4.1% in the 12 months to July. Prices for natural gas (+9.7%) increased at a slower year-over-year rate than they did in June. Meanwhile, the electricity index recorded its largest decrease since April 2003, down 9.1% year over year in July, following a 5.3% decline in June. The decline at the national level largely reflected legislated price declines in Ontario.

Consumer prices for food rose 0.6% on a year-over-year basis in July, matching the gain in June.

The health and personal care index increased 2.2% in the 12-month period ending in July, its largest gain since May 2011. This increase is partly attributable to the non-prescribed medicines index, which grew 4.4% on a year-over-year basis in July, after a 1.2% increase in June.

In July, the household operations, furnishings and equipment index declined on a year-over-year basis for the first time since August 2006, down 0.1%. The furniture index contributed the most to this decline, down 2.9% in the 12 months to July. The telephone services index increased 0.1% year over year in July, after rising 2.0% in June. On a monthly basis in July, telephone services prices fell 1.8%. Prices for household appliances (-2.0%) declined less, year over year, in July than in June.

Clothing and footwear prices decreased 0.1% in the 12 months to July, after a 1.7% decline in June. Prices for men's clothing and women's clothing declined less on a year-over-year basis in July than in June. At the same time, prices for footwear rose 1.6% in July, following a 0.3% increase in June.

12-month change in the provinces

Consumer prices rose more on a year-over-year basis in seven provinces in July than they did in June, while they decelerated in three. The deceleration in Newfoundland and Labrador and in New Brunswick partly reflects the ending of the 12-month period that followed the increase of the Harmonized Sales Tax in July 2016 in these provinces.

Chart 3 
Consumer prices rise at a faster rate in seven provinces

In New Brunswick, the CPI increased 1.4% on a year-over-year basis in July, after rising 2.0% in June. The purchase of passenger vehicles index rose less in the 12 months to July (+0.2%) than it did in June (+1.4%). Food purchased from restaurants rose 1.0% in July, after rising 3.1% in June. Traveller accommodation costs in New Brunswick rose 24.3% in the 12-month period ending in July, the largest increase on record; this price growth is partly attributable to additional demand observed throughout the Maritime region in recent months, and may also be influenced by celebrations of, and travel related to, Canada's 150th birthday.

The CPI in Ontario was up 1.2% in the 12 months to July. Homeowners' replacement costs contributed the most to this growth, up 6.3% year over year in July, the smallest gain since July of last year. Among the provinces, year-over-year growth in the prices for fresh fruit accelerated the most in Ontario. Electricity costs fell 25.5% on a year-over-year basis in July, mainly reflecting the effects of the Ontario Fair Hydro Plan Act.

While the gasoline index was the main contributor to the acceleration in the 12-month change in consumer prices at the national level, its impact was greater in the Prairie provinces. It partly reflected large monthly declines in July 2016, as gasoline prices adjusted following supply disruptions in the previous months.

Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.2% in July, after posting no change in June.

Chart 4 
Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index

In July, five major components increased on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, while two decreased. The recreation, education and reading index was unchanged.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis in July, the clothing and footwear index (+0.5%) posted the largest gain, while the household operations, furnishings and equipment index (-0.2%) posted the largest decline.

In celebration of the country's 150th birthday, Statistics Canada is presenting snapshots from our rich statistical history.

The growing popularity of craft beer among Canadians reflects changing consumer tastes, as craft beer is generally associated with a wider variety of flavours. Even with all this popularity, there are still some large regional differences.

In British Columbia, craft beer sales accounted for 18% of the beer market in 2014, the largest share among the provinces. Small-scale breweries in the province posted sales increases of approximately 50% from 2014 to 2015 (source: Agriculture and Agri-food Canada). Over the course of 2014, prices for beer purchased from stores fell almost 8% in the province, while they rose over 4% at the national level, reflecting, perhaps, this increased market competition.

Other provinces that have a fairly large craft beer presence are Quebec and Ontario, which have recorded slower price growth from July 2009 to July 2017 than provinces with a smaller craft brewery market share. Over this period, Quebec beer prices increased 2.5%, while those in Ontario rose 9.1%. At the national level, beer prices rose 12.0%.

Chart 5 
Beer purchased from stores index, Canada and British Columbia, July 2009 to July 2017

Products

The July 2017 issue of The Consumer Price Index, Vol. 96, no. 7 (Catalogue number62-001-X) is now available.

More information about the concepts and use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is available in The Canadian Consumer Price Index Reference Paper (Catalogue number62-553-X).

For information on the history of the CPI in Canada, consult the publication Exploring the First Century of Canada's Consumer Price Index (Catalogue number62-604-X).

Two videos, "An Overview of Canada's Consumer Price Index (CPI)" and "The Consumer Price Index and Your Experience of Price Change," are available on Statistics Canada's YouTube channel.

Contact information

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