Consumer Price Index, September 2014
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2014-10-17
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.0% in the 12 months to September, after increasing 2.1% in August.
Chart 1
The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index
12-month change in the major components
Prices increased in all major components in the 12 months to September. Higher prices for shelter and food contributed the most to the rise in the CPI, while the transportation index posted the smallest increase.
Chart 2
Prices increase in all major components
Shelter costs rose 2.7% in the 12 months to September, led by a 16.2% increase in natural gas prices. Consumers also paid more for homeowners' home and mortgage insurance, property taxes and electricity in September compared with the same month in 2013. Conversely, the mortgage interest cost index declined year over year.
Food prices were up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis in September. This followed a 2.2% increase in August. Prices for food purchased from stores rose 3.0% year over year in September, after advancing 2.3% the previous month. This faster rise was led by meat prices, which increased 11.5% in the 12 months to September, following a 9.3% gain in August. Food purchased from restaurants cost 2.3% more in September compared with the same month a year earlier.
The transportation index increased 0.5% in the 12 months to September, after advancing 1.2% in August. Prices for the purchase of passenger vehicles recorded a 0.5% year-over-year rise in September, following a 2.9% increase the previous month. Conversely, consumers paid 0.5% less for gasoline on a year-over-year basis in September.
Tuition fees, which are part of the recreation, education and reading major component, rose 3.2% in September compared with the same month a year earlier. Tuition fees increased the most for Ontario residents (+4.0%) and least for residents of Newfoundland and Labrador (+0.9%).
12-month change in the provinces
Consumer prices rose in every province in the 12 months to September, with Ontario and Alberta posting the largest increases.
Chart 3
Consumer prices rise the most in Ontario and Alberta
Ontario's CPI advanced 2.6% on a year-over-year basis in September, following a 2.5% rise in August. On a provincial basis, Ontario recorded the largest increase in clothing prices in the 12 months to September. Prices for natural gas and electricity also both rose more in Ontario than they did at the national level.
Consumer prices in Alberta increased 2.6% in the 12 months to September, matching the rise in August. Provincially, Alberta recorded the largest year-over-year gains in the indexes for homeowner's home and mortgage insurance and gasoline. Moreover, passenger vehicle insurance premiums rose more in Alberta than in Canada as a whole.
Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index increases
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.2% in September, after rising 0.1% in August.
Chart 4
Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index
Of the eight major components, five increased on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis in September.
The seasonally adjusted index for food (+0.7%) posted the largest monthly rise in September, followed by the clothing and footwear index (+0.4%). The shelter index, the recreation, education and reading index, as well as the index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, also rose.
On a seasonally adjusted basis in September, both the transportation index and the household operations, furnishings and equipment index declined. The index for health and personal care recorded no change.
Bank of Canada's core index
The Bank of Canada's core index rose 2.1% in the 12 months to September, matching the increase in August.
The seasonally adjusted core index increased 0.2% on a monthly basis in September, matching the rise in August.
Note to readers
A video providing an overview of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is now available on Statistics Canada's website.
A seasonally adjusted series is one from which seasonal movements have been eliminated. Users employing CPI data for indexation purposes are advised to use the unadjusted indexes. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
The Bank of Canada's core index excludes eight of the CPI's most volatile components (fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; vegetables and vegetable preparations; mortgage interest cost; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuels; gasoline; inter-city transportation; and tobacco products and smokers' supplies) as well as the effects of changes in indirect taxes on the remaining components.
For a more detailed analysis, consult the publication The Consumer Price Index. The September 2014 issue of The Consumer Price Index, Vol. 93, no. 9 (Catalogue number62-001-X), is now available from the Browse by key resource module of our website under Publications.
More information about the concepts and use of the Consumer Price Index are also available online in Your Guide to the Consumer Price Index (Catalogue number62-557-X) from the Browse by key resource module of our website under Publications.
The Consumer Price Index for October will be released on November 21.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@canada.ca).
- Date modified: