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Consumer Price Index, April 2018

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Text - Selected CANSIM tables Related information Release schedule Previous release PDF (234 KB)

Released: 2018-05-18

Consumer Price Index

April 2018

2.2% increase

(12-month change)

Source(s): CANSIM table 326-0020.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.2% on a year-over-year basis in April, following a 2.3% increase in March.

Chart 1  Chart 1: The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the services index
The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the services index

Chart 1: The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the services index

12-month change in the components

Seven of eight major components increased on a year-over-year basis in April. The recreation, education and reading index (-0.2%) was the lone major component to decline year over year.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Consumer prices increase in seven of eight major components
Consumer prices increase in seven of eight major components

Chart 2: Consumer prices increase in seven of eight major components

The price of services (+2.3%) increased more slowly on a year-over-year basis in April, after posting a 2.7% increase in March. This was largely a result of price decreases in travel services, which declined 6.0% year over year. A smaller year-over-year increase in the cost of air transportation (+11.9%) coincided with the price decrease in travel services.

Prices for non-durable goods (+2.7%) increased less in the 12 months to April than they did in March (+3.0%). Year-over-year gains in prices for gasoline in April (+14.2%) were less than those recorded in March (+17.1%).

Prices for semi-durable goods increased 2.3% in April, following an increase of 0.2% in March. This was the largest increase in semi-durable goods since March 2015, and was largely the result of a 2.5% year-over-year increase in the clothing index in April.

12-month change in the provinces

Prices rose less on a year-over-year basis in five provinces in April compared with the previous month.

At the national level, consumers paid 6.3% more for energy year over year in April. Gasoline prices were the largest contributor to the increase in energy prices in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador. This increase was partly attributable to temporary supply disruptions at oil refineries, as they transitioned to summer fuel blends. Electricity prices in Alberta grew 38.9% year over year in April, as higher market prices led to increases in residential electricity rates.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Consumer prices rise at a slower rate in five provinces
Consumer prices rise at a slower rate in five provinces

Chart 3: Consumer prices rise at a slower rate in five provinces

Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1% in April, matching the increase in March. Five of eight major components increased, with the clothing and footwear index (+1.2%) rising the most. The recreation, education and reading index (-1.5%) registered the largest decline.

Chart 4  Chart 4: Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index
Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index

Chart 4: Seasonally adjusted monthly Consumer Price Index
Table 1
Consumer Price Index, major components and special aggregates, Canada – Not seasonally adjusted

Table 2
Consumer Price Index for the provinces and for Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit – Not seasonally adjusted

Table 3
Consumer Price Index, major components and special aggregates – Seasonally adjusted

Table 4
Consumer Price Index statistics, preferred measures of core inflation – Bank of Canada definitions, year-over-year percent change, Canada,

Table 5
Main contributors to the 12-month and 1-month change in the CPI

  Note to readers

Upcoming changes to the table "Inter-city indexes of price differentials of consumer goods and services": Addition of two new geographic strata

Data on inter-city indexes of price differentials of consumer goods and services will be updated to October 2017 with the release of the June 2018 Consumer Price Index (CPI) (to be published on July 20, 2018). As well, the geographic strata "Whitehorse, Yukon" and "Yellowknife, Northwest Territories" will be introduced into the table, reflecting data for the all-items index and its eight major components and selected sub-groups.

Real-time CANSIM tables

Real-time CANSIM table 326-8023 will be updated on June 4. For more information, consult the document Real-time CANSIM tables.

Next release

The CPI for May will be released on June 22.

Products

The April 2018 issue of The Consumer Price Index, Vol. 97, no. 4 (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

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; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).

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