• I. Introduction
  • A. Description
  • B. Reference period
  • C. Population
  • D. Field of study
  • E. Submission Date
• II. Instructions
  • General
  • Part A: Tuition fees for full-time students
  • Part B: Additional Compulsory fees for full-time Canadian Students
  • Part C: Living Accommodation costs at residences/housing
• III. Definitions
• IV. Suggestions
• Appendix A: CIP grouping list for TLAC

I. Introduction

A. Description

The Tuition and Living Accommodation Costs (TLAC) survey collects data for full-time students at all publicly funded universities and degree-granting colleges in Canada. This annual survey was developed to provide an overview of tuition fees, additional compulsory fees, and living accommodation costs that students can expect to pay for an academic year.

TLAC survey data:

• provides stakeholders, the public and students with average annual tuition costs and changes in tuition fees from the previous year
• contributes to a better understanding of the costs to obtain a degree
• contributes to education policy development
• contributes to the calculation of the Consumer Price Index 
• facilitates interprovincial comparisons
• facilitates comparisons between institutions
• facilitates comparisons by field of study

B. Reference period

2026/2027 academic year (September to April)

C. Population

The target population is all publicly funded degree-granting institutions (universities and colleges) in Canada that offer full-time degree programs.

The survey target population includes institutions that have degree-granting status for the academic year 2026/2027. Institutions that do not have degree-granting status are excluded even if they provide portions of programs that lead to a degree granted by another institution. The survey is limited to institutions whose operations are primarily funded by provincial governments. Institutions that do not receive grants from Education ministries or departments, and institutions that receive grants only from Health ministries and departments are excluded.

D. Fields of study

The field of study classification for both undergraduate and graduate programs are adapted from the 2021 Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), Statistics Canada's standard for field of study classification. The CIP's structure comprises several groupings developed jointly by Statistics Canada and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the USA.

TLAC CIP groupings for Undergraduate programs:

• Education
• Visual and Performing Arts, and Communications Technologies
• Humanities
• Social and Behavioural Sciences, and Legal Studies
• Law
• Business, Management and Public Administration
• Physical and Life Sciences and Technologies
• Mathematics, Computer and Information Sciences
• Engineering
• Architecture
• Agriculture, Natural Resources and Conservation
• Dentistry
• Medicine
• Nursing
• Pharmacy
• Veterinary Medicine
• Optometry
• Other Health, Parks, Recreation and Fitness
• Personal, Protective and Transportation Services
• Other

TLAC CIP groupings for Graduate programs:

Includes all of the undergraduate program groupings with the exception of Medicine and the addition of:

• Executive MBA
• Regular MBA

Refer to Appendix A: CIP

Note: Dental, Medical and Veterinary Residency Programs offered in teaching hospitals and similar locations that may lead to advanced professional certification are excluded.

E. Submission Date

The completed questionnaire must be returned by May 29, 2026 by uploading the file back into the secure internet site (Electronic File Transfer Service).

If you require further information or assistance with completing the questionnaire, please contact: statcan.tlac-fss.statcan@statcan.gc.ca.

II. Instructions

General

Tuition fee tables disseminated by Statistics Canada are based on an academic year for full-time students with a full course load in degree programs, regardless of the number of credits.

Tuition should be reported based on the academic year (8 months, September to April) or semester (4 months) regardless of the number of credits. If it is not possible to provide tuition data for a semester or academic year, tuition should be reported per credit.

Final fees should be reported for both academic years. If they have not yet been finalized for the 2026/2027 academic year, report the best estimate possible and check the box on the questionnaire to state that these are estimated fees for 2026/2027.

Part A: Tuition fees for full-time students

How to Report Tuition Fees:

1. Report tuition fees for full-time students in degree programs only. The degree must be conferred by your institution, which means that students start and complete their degree at your institution. DO NOT include associate degrees, diplomas and certificates.
2. Verify and update the previous year data (2025/2026) on each page if required.
3. Report fees with decimals, NO commas. Example 2415.45.
4. Quebec, Nova-Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario (if applicable):  Lower fees represent Canadian students that have a permanent address in the province (in-province students) and the Upper fees represent Canadian students with an out-of-province permanent address.  For Ontario respondents, please indicate in Comments section if your institution has implemented these differential fees.
5. Academic year (8 months, September to April): When tuition is reported based on the academic year, report the full cost of the program regardless of the number of credits.
6. Semester (4 months): When tuition is reported based on semester, report the full cost of the semester regardless of the number of credits. Semester fees will be multiplied by two to calculate tuition for the academic year (8 months).
7. Per Credit: Only report per credit if you cannot report based on semester or academic year regardless of the number of credits. We assume 30 credits as the minimum number of credits to calculate academic year fees. Therefore, when reporting based on per credit, tuition will be multiplied by 30 credits.
8. Report additional compulsory fees on pages 4 (undergraduate) and 5 (graduate).  Provide a breakdown of the Other compulsory fees in the Comments section.
9. NEW degree programs must be specified in the Comments section at the bottom of page 2 (undergraduate) and page 3 (graduate).
10. Undergraduate Law on page 2:  only professional designations for Law (LLB, JD, BCL), from a Faculty of Law should be reported in this grouping.
11. Graduate Law on page 3:  only professional Law degrees from a Faculty of Law (post-LLB/JD), should be reported in this grouping.
12. Tuition for legal studies degree programs leading to a non-professional law degree should be reported under "Social and Behavioural Sciences, and Legal Studies" on pages 2 and 3. See Appendix A.
13. Only Medicine (MD, doctor of medicine) program should be reported under undergraduate Medicine, page 2 of the questionnaire. See Appendix A.
14. Personal, Protective and Transportation Services includes:
    1. 43.0103 Criminal justice / law enforcement administration
    2. 43.0104 Criminal justice / safety studies
    3. 43.0406 Forensic science and technology
    4. 43.0107 Criminal justice / police science

Part B: Additional Compulsory fees for full-time Canadian Students

How to Report Additional Compulsory Fees:

In part B of the questionnaire, report additional compulsory fees for full-time Canadian students in the first row of the table where these fees do not vary according to their field of study for all full-time undergraduate students (page 4) and graduate students (page 5).

Important note: Health Plan and Dental Plan fees that students can opt out of with proof of comparable coverage should not be included. However, this information should be noted in the comments section of the questionnaire.

Please provide a breakdown of the fees included in your Other fees in the Comments section. Specifically, include the amounts charged for registration, application, and transcript fees.

Part C: Living Accommodation costs at residences/housing

Accommodation costs should be reported wherever possible for full-time students living in residence. If it is not possible to separate the room and the meal plan costs for single students only a total should be reported.

III. Definitions

Tuition Fees

Tuition that is charged to a full-time student with a full course load, regardless of the number of credits.

Additional Compulsory fees

Additional compulsory fees collected by the TLAC survey are those that all students must pay regardless of the field of study (TLAC grouping).

These fees cover services that vary from institution to institution, year to year, faculty to faculty, or school to school within the same institution.

Additional compulsory fees may include: general fees (admission, application, registration, examination, internship, etc.), technology fees, student services fees, student association fees, contributions to student activities, copyright fees, premiums for compulsory insurance plans, fees for athletics and recreational facilities/activities, and other fees such as transcript, degree, laboratory, uniform, u-pass, etc.

TLAC Additional Compulsory Fee Breakdown

Athletics fees

Mandatory fees that support intercollegiate athletics, they cover athletics facilities and campus recreational activities (intramurals, fitness and recreation courses, etc.)

Health Services fees

Mandatory fees support the on-campus clinic facilities providing services of doctors and nurses. Health and dental plan fees: if students can opt out of these plans with proof of comparable coverage, these fees should be excluded from the survey.

Student Association fee

Mandatory fees support the general operating expenses of the association.

Other fees

If compulsory fees are reported in "Other please specify" you must provide further details on the types of fees reported. For example, u-pass, transcript, application, registration, laboratory, technology fee, etc.

IV. Suggestions

Statistics Canada would welcome any suggestions for changes in the survey which you may wish to propose: statcan.tlac-fss.statcan@statcan.gc.ca

Appendix A: Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)

TLAC CIP

• 01 - Education
  • 13. Education
    • 13.01 Education, General
    • 13.02 Bilingual, Multilingual and Multicultural Education
    • 13.03 Curriculum and Instruction
    • 13.04 Educational Administration and Supervision
    • 13.05 Educational/Instructional Technology
    • 13.06 Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Research
    • 13.07 International and Comparative Education
    • 13.09 Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
    • 13.10 Special Education and Teaching
    • 13.11 Student Counselling and Personnel Services
    • 13.12 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
    • 13.13 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas
      • 13.1301 Agricultural teacher education
      • 13.1302 Art teacher education
      • 13.1303 Business and innovation/entrepreneurship teacher education
      • 13.1304 Driver and safety teacher education
      • 13.1305 English/English language arts teacher education
      • 13.1306 Aboriginal and foreign language teacher education
      • 13.1307 Health teacher education
      • 13.1308 Family and consumer sciences/home economics teacher education
      • 13.1309 Technology teacher education/industrial arts teacher education
      • 13.1310 Sales and marketing operations/marketing and distribution teacher education
      • 13.1311 Mathematics teacher education
      • 13.1312 Music teacher education
      • 13.1314 Physical education teaching and coaching
      • 13.1315 Reading teacher education
      • 13.1316 Science teacher education/general science teacher education
      • 13.1317 Social science teacher education
      • 13.1318 Social studies teacher education
      • 13.1319 Technical teacher education
      • 13.1320 Trade and industrial teacher education
      • 13.1321 Computer teacher education
      • 13.1322 Biology teacher education
      • 13.1323 Chemistry teacher education
      • 13.1324 Drama and dance teacher education
      • 13.1325 French language/French language arts teacher education
      • 13.1326 German language teacher education
      • 13.1327 Health occupations teacher education
      • 13.1328 History teacher education
      • 13.1329 Physics teacher education
      • 13.1330 Spanish language teacher education
      • 13.1331 Speech teacher education
      • 13.1332 Geography teacher education
      • 13.1333 Latin teacher education
      • 13.1334 School librarian/school library media specialist
      • 13.1335 Psychology teacher education
      • 13.1337 Earth science teacher education
      • 13.1338 Environmental teacher education
      • 13.1339 Communication arts and literature teacher education
    • 13.14 Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language
    • 13.99 Education, Other
• 02 - Visual and Performing Arts, and Communications Technologies
  • 50. Visual and Performing Arts
    • 50.01 Visual, Digital and Performing Arts, General
    • 50.02 Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry
    • 50.03 Dance  
    • 50.04 Design and Applied Arts
      • 50.0401 Design and visual communications, general
      • 50.0402 Commercial and advertising art
      • 50.0404 Industrial and product design
      • 50.0406 Commercial photography
      • 50.0407 Fashion/apparel design
      • 50.0408 Interior design
      • 50.0409 Graphic design
      • 50.0410 Illustration
      • 50.0411 Game and interactive media design
    • 50.05 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
    • 50.06 Film/Video and Photographic Arts
    • 50.07 Fine Arts and Art Studies
    • 50.09 Music
    • 50.10 Arts, entertainment, and media management
    • 50.99 Visual and Performing Arts, Other
  • 10. Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services
    • 10.01 Communications Technology/Technician
    • 10.02 Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians
    • 10.03 Graphic Communications
    • 10.99 Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services, Other
• 03 - Humanities
  • 16. Indigenous and foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics
    • 16.01 Linguistic, Comparative and Related Language Studies and Services
    • 16.02 African Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.03 East Asian Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.04 Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.05 Germanic Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.06 Modern Greek Language and Literature
    • 16.07 South Asian Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.08 Iranian/Persian Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.09 Romance Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.10 Indigenous languages, literatures, and linguistics of the Americas
    • 16.11 Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.12 Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.13 Celtic Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.14 Southeast Asian and Australasian/Pacific Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.15 Turkic, Ural-Altaic, Caucasian and Central Asian Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
    • 16.16 Sign Language
    • 16.17 Second Language Learning
    • 16.18 Armenian languages, literatures, and linguistics
    • 16.99 Indigenous and foreign languages, literatures and linguistics, other
  • 23. English Language and Literature/Letters
    • 23.01 English Language and Literature, General
    • 23.13 English Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
    • 23.14 English Literature
    • 23.99 English Language and Literature/Letters, Other
  • 24. Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
    • 24.01 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
  • 30. Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary Studies
    • 30.13 Medieval and Renaissance Studies
    • 30.21 Holocaust and Related Studies
    • 30.22 Classical and Ancient Studies
    • 30.29 Maritime Studies
  • 38. Philosophy and Religious Studies
    • 38.00 Philosophy and Religious Studies, General
    • 38.01 Philosophy, Logic and Ethics
    • 38.02 Religion/Religious Studies
    • 38.99 Philosophy and Religious Studies, Other
  • 39. Theology and Religious Vocations
    • 39.02 Bible/Biblical Studies
    • 39.03 Missions/Missionary Studies and Missiology
    • 39.04 Religious Education
    • 39.05 Religious music and worship
    • 39.06 Theological and Ministerial Studies
    • 39.07 Pastoral Counselling and Specialized Ministries
    • 39.08 Religious institution administration and law
    • 39.99 Theology and Religious Vocations, Other
  • 54. History
    • 54.01 History
  • 55. French Language and Literature/Letters
    • 55.01 French Language and Literature, General
    • 55.13 French Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
    • 55.14 French Literature
    • 55.99 French Language and Literature/Letters, Other
• 04 - Social and Behavioural Sciences, and Legal Studies
  • 05. Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies
    • 05.01 Area Studies
    • 05.02 Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender and Group Studies
    • 05.99 Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender and Group Studies, Other
  • 09. Communication, Journalism and Related Programs
    • 09.01 Communication and Media Studies
    • 09.04 Journalism
    • 09.07 Radio, Television and Digital Communication
      • 09.0701 Radio and television
      • 09.0702 Digital communication and media/multimedia
      • 09.0799 Radio, television and digital communication, other
    • 09.09 Public Relations, Advertising and Applied Communication
      • 09.0900 Public relations, advertising and applied communication, general
      • 09.0901 Organizational communication, general
      • 09.0902 Public relations/image management
      • 09.0903 Advertising
      • 09.0904 Political communication
      • 09.0905 Health communication
      • 09.0906 Sports communication
      • 09.0907 International and intercultural communication
      • 09.0908 Technical and scientific communication
      • 09.0909 Communication management and strategic communications
      • 09.0999 Public relations, advertising and applied communication, other
    • 09.10 Publishing
    • 09.99 Communication, Journalism and Related Programs, Other
  • 19. Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
    • 19.01 Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General
    • 19.02 Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services
    • 19.04 Family and Consumer Economics and Related Services
    • 19.05 Foods, Nutrition and Related Services
    • 19.06 Housing and Human Environments
    • 19.07 Human Development, Family Studies and Related Services
    • 19.09 Apparel and Textiles
    • 19.10 Work and family studies
    • 19.99 Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, Other
  • 30. Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary Studies
    • 30.05 Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
    • 30.10 Biopsychology
    • 30.11 Gerontology
    • 30.14 Museology/Museum Studies
    • 30.15 Science, Technology and Society
    • 30.17 Behavioural Sciences
    • 30.20 International/globalization studies
    • 30.23 Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies
    • 30.25 Cognitive Science
    • 30.26 Cultural studies/critical theory and analysis
    • 30.28 Dispute resolution
    • 30.31 Human computer interaction
    • 30.33 Sustainability studies
    • 30.46 History and Political Science
      30.33 Sustainability studies
  • 42. Psychology
    • 42.01 Psychology (general)
      • 42.0101 Psychology, general
    • 42.27 Research and experimental psychology
      • 42.2701 Cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics
      • 42.2702 Comparative psychology
      • 42.2703 Developmental and child psychology
      • 42.2704 Experimental psychology
      • 42.2705 Personality psychology
      • 42.2706 Behavioural neuroscience
      • 42.2707 Social psychology
      • 42.2708 Psychometrics and quantitative psychology
      • 42.2709 Psychopharmacology
      • 42.2799 Research and experimental psychology, other
    • 42.28 Clinical, counselling and applied psychology
      • 42.2801 Clinical psychology
      • 42.2802 Community psychology
      • 42.2803 Counselling psychology
      • 42.2804 Industrial and organizational psychology
      • 42.2805 School psychology
      • 42.2806 Educational psychology
      • 42.2807 Clinical child psychology
      • 42.2808 Environmental psychology
      • 42.2809 Geropsychology
      • 42.2810 Health/medical psychology
      • 42.2811 Family psychology
      • 42.2812 Forensic psychology
      • 42.2813 Applied psychology
      • 42.2814 Applied behaviour analysis
      • 42.2815 Performance and sport psychology
      • 42.2899 Clinical, counselling and applied psychology, other
    • 42.99 Psychology, other
      • 42.9999 Psychology, Other
  • 45. Social Sciences
    • 45.02 Anthropology
    • 45.03 Archeology
    • 45.04 Criminology
    • 45.05 Demography
    • 45.06 Economics
    • 45.07 Geography and Cartography (Geomatics BA/BSc, Geographic Information Systems/Science BA/BSc)
    • 45.09 International Relations and National Security Studies
    • 45.10 Political Science and Government
    • 45.11 Sociology
    • 45.12 Urban Studies/Affairs
    • 45.13 Sociology and anthropology
    • 45.99 Social Sciences, Other
  • 22. Legal Professions and Studies
    • 22.00 Non-professional legal studies
    • 22.03 Legal Support Services
    • 22.99 Legal professions and studies, other
• 05 - Law
  • 22. Legal Professions and Studies
    • 22.0101 Law (LLB, JD, BCL)
    • 22.0201 Advanced legal research/studies, general
    • (LLM, MCL, MLI, MSL, LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0202 Programs for foreign lawyers (LLM, MCL)
    • 22.0203 American/US law/legal studies/jurisprudence (LLM,
    • MCJ, LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0204 Canadian law/legal studies/jurisprudence (LLM, MCJ,
    • LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0205 Banking, corporate, finance and securities law (LLM,
    • LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0206 Comparative law (LLM, MCL, LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0207 Energy, environment and natural resources law (LLM,
    • MS, MSc, LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0208 Health law (LLM, MJ, LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0209 International law and legal studies (LLM, LLD,
    • JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0210 International business, trade and tax law (LLM, LLD,
    • JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0211 Tax law/taxation (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0212 Intellectual property law (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0213 Patent law (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
      22.0215 Arts and entertainment law (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
      22.0217 Criminal law and procedure (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
      22.0219 Family/child/elder law (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
      22.0220 Human resources law/labour and employment law (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
      22.0222 Real estate and land development law (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
      22.0223 Transportation law (LLM, LLD, JSD/SJD)
    • 22.0299 Legal research and advanced professional studies,
    • other (post-LLB/JD)
• 06 - Business, Management and Public Administration
  • 30. Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary Studies
    • 30.16 Accounting and Computer Science
  • 44. Public Administration and Social Service Professions
    • 44.00 Human Services, General
    • 44.02 Community Organization and Advocacy
    • 44.04 Public Administration
    • 44.05 Public Policy Analysis
      • 44.0580 Cannabis-related public policy analysis
    • 44.07 Social Work
    • 44.99 Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other
  • 52. Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services (excluding the MBA programs)
    • 52.01 Business/Commerce, General
    • 52.02 Business Administration, Management and Operations
    • 52.03 Accounting and Related Services
    • 52.04 Business Operations Support and Assistant Services
    • 52.05 Business/Corporate Communications
    • 52.06 Business/Managerial Economics
    • 52.07 Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
    • 52.08 Finance and Financial Management Services
    • 52.09 Hospitality Administration/Management
    • 52.10 Human Resources Management and Services
    • 52.11 International Business/Trade/Commerce
    • 52.12 Management Information Systems and Services
    • 52.13 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
    • 52.14 Marketing
    • 52.15 Real Estate
    • 52.16 Taxation
    • 52.17 Insurance
    • 52.18 General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations
      • 52.1880 Cannabis-related selling skills and sales operations
    • 52.19 Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations
      • 52.1980 Cannabis-related marketing and marketing operations
    • 52.20 Construction Management
    • 52.21 Telecommunications Management
    • 52.99 Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services, Other
• 07 - Physical and Life Sciences and Technologies
  • 26. Biological and Biomedical Sciences
    • 26.01 Biology, General
    • 26.02 Biochemistry/Biophysics and Molecular Biology
    • 26.03 Botany/Plant Biology
    • 26.04 Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences
    • 26.05 Microbiological Sciences and Immunology
    • 26.07 Zoology/Animal Biology
    • 26.08 Genetics
    • 26.09 Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences
    • 26.10 Pharmacology and Toxicology
    • 26.11 Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology
    • 26.12 Biotechnology
    • 26.13 Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology
    • 26.14 Molecular Medicine
    • 26.15 Neurobiology and Neurosciences
    • 26.99 Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
  • 30. Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary Studies
    • 30.01 Biological and Physical Sciences
    • 30.18 Natural Sciences
    • 30.19 Nutrition Sciences
    • 30.27 Human biology
    • 30.32 Marine sciences
  • 40. Physical Sciences
    • 40.01 Physical Sciences, General
    • 40.02 Astronomy and Astrophysics
    • 40.04 Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
    • 40.05 Chemistry
    • 40.06 Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
    • 40.08 Physics
    • 40.10 Materials Sciences
    • 40.11 Physics and astronomy
    • 40.99 Physical Sciences, Other
• 08 - Mathematics, Computer and Information Sciences
  • 11. Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services
    • 11.01 Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, General
    • 11.02 Computer Programming
      • 11.0204 Computer game programming
    • 11.03 Data Processing and Data Processing Technology/Technician
    • 11.04 Information Science/Studies
    • 11.05 Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst
    • 11.06 Data Entry/Microcomputer Applications
    • 11.07 Computer Science
    • 11.08 Computer Software and Media Applications
    • 11.09 Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
    • 11.10 Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management
    • 11.99 Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Other
  • 25. Library Science
    • 25.01 Library Science and Administration
    • 25.03 Library and archives assisting
    • 25.99 Library Science, Other
  • 27. Mathematics and Statistics
    • 27.01 Mathematics
    • 27.03 Applied Mathematics
    • 27.05 Statistics
    • 27.06 Applied statistics
    • 27.99 Mathematics and Statistics, Other
  • 30. Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary Studies
    • 30.06 Systems Science and Theory
    • 30.08 Mathematics and Computer Science
    • 30.30 Computational science
    • 30.35 Climate science
      30.41 Environmental geosciences
      30.70 Data Science
      30.71 Data Analytics
• 09 - Engineering
  • 14. Engineering
    • 14.01 General engineering
    • 14.02 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical/Space Engineering
    • 14.03 Agricultural Engineering
    • 14.04 Architectural Engineering
    • 14.05 Biomedical/medical engineering
    • 14.06 Ceramic Sciences and Engineering
    • 14.07 Chemical Engineering
    • 14.08 Civil Engineering
    • 14.09 Computer Engineering
    • 14.10 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
    • 14.11 Engineering Mechanics
    • 14.12 Engineering Physics/Applied Physics
    • 14.13 Engineering Science
    • 14.14 Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
    • 14.18 Materials Engineering
    • 14.19 Mechanical Engineering
    • 14.20 Metallurgical Engineering
    • 14.21 Mining and Mineral Engineering
    • 14.22 Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
    • 14.23 Nuclear Engineering
    • 14.24 Ocean Engineering
    • 14.25 Petroleum Engineering
    • 14.27 Systems Engineering
    • 14.28 Textile Sciences and Engineering
    • 14.32 Polymer/Plastics Engineering
    • 14.33 Construction Engineering
    • 14.34 Forest Engineering
    • 14.35 Industrial Engineering
    • 14.36 Manufacturing Engineering
    • 14.37 Operations Research
    • 14.38 Surveying Engineering (geomatics, geodetic)
    • 14.39 Geological/Geophysical Engineering
    • 14.40 Paper science and engineering
    • 14.41 Electromechanical engineering
    • 14.42 Mechatronics, robotics, and automation engineering
    • 14.43 Biochemical engineering
    • 14.44 Engineering chemistry
    • 14.45 Biological/biosystems engineering
    • 14.47 Electrical and computer engineering
    • 14.48 Energy systems engineering
    • 14.99 Engineering, Other
  • 15. Engineering/engineering-related technologies/technicians
    • 15.00 General engineering technologies/technicians
    • 15.01 Architectural engineering technology/technician
    • 15.02 Civil engineering technology/technician
    • 15.03 Electrical/electronic engineering technologies/technicians
      • 15.0307 Audio/sound engineering technology/technician
    • 15.04 Electromechanical technologies/technicians
    • 15.05 Environmental control technologies/technicians
    • 15.06 Industrial production technologies/technicians
    • 15.07 Quality control and safety technologies/technicians
    • 15.08 Mechanical engineering related technologies/technicians
    • 15.09 Mining and petroleum technologies/technicians
    • 15.10 Construction engineering technology/technician
    • 15.11 Engineering-related technologies/technicians
    • 15.12 Computer engineering technologies/technicians
    • 15.13 Drafting/design engineering technologies/technicians
    • 15.14 Nuclear engineering technology/technician
    • 15.15 Engineering-related fields
    • 15.16 Nanotechnology
    • 15.17 Energy systems technologies/technicians
    • 15.99 Engineering/engineering-related technologies/technicians, other
• 10 - Architecture
  • 04. Architecture and Related Services
    • 04.02 Architecture
    • 04.03 City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
    • 04.04 Environmental Design/Architecture
    • 04.05 Interior Architecture
    • 04.06 Landscape Architecture (BS, BSc, BSLA, BLA, MSLA, MLA, PhD)
    • 04.08 Architectural history, criticism, and conservation
    • 04.09 Architectural Sciences and Technology
      • 04.0902 Architectural and building sciences/technology (BArch, BA, BS, BSc, MArch, MA, MS, MSc, DArch, PhD)
    • 04.99 Architecture and Related Services, Other
  • 30. Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary Studies
    • 30.1201 Historic preservation and conservation, general
    • 30.1202 Cultural resource management and policy analysis
• 11 - Agriculture, Natural Resources and Conservation
  • 01. Agricultural and veterinary sciences/services/operations and related fields
    • 01.00 Agriculture, General
    • 01.01 Agricultural Business and Management
    • 01.02 Agricultural Mechanization
    • 01.03 Agricultural Production Operations
    • 01.04 Agricultural and Food Products Processing
      • 01.0480 Cannabis product processing and inspection
    • 01.05 Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services
    • 01.06 Applied Horticulture/Horticultural Business Services
      • 01.0680 Cannabis production operations and management
    • 01.07 International Agriculture
    • 01.08 Agricultural Public Services
    • 01.09 Animal Sciences
    • 01.10 Food Science and Technology
    • 01.11 Plant Sciences
      • 01.1180 Cannabis product development and plant breeding
    • 01.12 Soil Sciences
    • 01.99 Agriculture, Agriculture Operations and Related Sciences, Other
  • 03. Natural Resources and Conservation
    • 03.01 Natural Resources Conservation and Research
      • 03.0103 Environmental Studies
      • 03.0104 Environmental Science
    • 03.02 Natural Resources Management and Policy
    • 03.03 Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management
    • 03.05 Forestry
    • 03.06 Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management
    • 03.99 Natural Resources and Conservation, Other
• 12 - Medicine
  • 51. Health Professions and Related Programs
    • 51.1201 Medicine (MD)
• 13 - Other health, Parks, Recreation and Fitness
  • 31. Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies
    • 31.01 Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies
    • 31.03 Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management
      • 31.0302 Golf course operation and grounds management
    • 31.05 Health and Physical Education/Fitness
      • 31.0501 Health and Physical Education, General
      • 31.0505 Kinesiology and Exercise Science
      • 31.0508 Sports Studies
    • 31.99 Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies, Other
  • 51. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences
    • 51.00 General health services/allied health/health sciences
    • 51.01 Chiropractic (DC)
    • 51.02 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
      • 51.0201 Communication sciences and disorders, general
      • 51.0202 Audiology/Audiologist
      • 51.0203 Speech language pathology/pathologist
      • 51.0204 Audiology/audiologist and speech-language pathology/pathologist
    • 51.07 Health and Medical Administrative Services
    • 01.82 Veterinary administrative services
    • 51.09 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention and Treatment Professions
      • 51.0912 Physician assistant/associate
    • 51.10 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
    • 51.14 Medical clinical sciences/graduate medical studies
      • 51.1401 Medical science/scientist (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.15 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions
      • 51.1505 Marriage and family therapy/counselling
      • 51.1580 Cannabis abuse/cannabis addiction counselling
      • 51.1202 Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (DO)
      • 51.1203 Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry (DPM)
    • 51.22 Public Health
      • 51.2280 Cannabis-related public health
    • 51.23 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
    • 51.27 Medical Illustration and Informatics
    • 51.31 Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services
      • 51.3101 Dietetics/dietitian (RD)
      • 51.3102 Clinical nutrition/nutritionist
    • 51.32 Bioethics/Medical Ethics
    • 51.33 Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems
    • 51.34 Alternative and Complementary Medical Support Services
    • 51.35 Somatic Bodywork and Related Therapeutic Services
    • 51.36 Movement and Mind-Body Therapies
    • 51.37 Energy-based and Biologically-based Therapies
    • 51.99 Health professions and related programs, other
      • 51.9980 Cannabis-related health professions and clinical sciences, other
• 14 - Personal, Protective and Transportation Services
  • 43. Security and Protective Services
    • 43.0103 Criminal justice/law enforcement administration
    • 43.0104 Criminal justice/safety studies
    • 43.0406 Forensic science and technology
    • 43.0107 Criminal justice/police science
    • 43.0402 Criminalistics and criminal science
    • 43.0403 Cyber/computer forensics and counterterrorism
    • 43.0405 Financial forensics and fraud investigation
    • 43.0302 Crisis/emergency/disaster management
    • 43.0399 Security and protective services, specialized programs, other
  • 49. Transportation and Materials Moving
    • 49.01 Air Transportation
    • 49.02 Ground Transportation
    • 49.03 Marine Transportation
    • 49.99 Transportation and Materials Moving, Other
• 15 – Other
  • 30.9999 Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary studies, Other
• 16 - Dentistry
  • 51. Health Professions and Related Programs
    • 51.04 Dentistry (DDS, DMD)
    • 51.05 Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.06 Dental Therapy
• 17 - Nursing
  • 51. Health Professions and Related Programs
    • 51.3203 Nursing education
    • 51.3801 Registered nursing/registered nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, BScN, MSN, MScN)
    • 51.3802 Nursing administration (Cert., MSN, MS, MScN, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.3803 Adult health nurse/nursing
    • 51.3804 Nurse anesthetist
    • 51.3805 Primary health care nurse/nursing and family practice nurse/nursing
    • 51.3806 Maternal/child health and neonatal nurse/nursing
    • 51.3807 Nurse midwife/nursing midwifery
    • 51.3808 Nursing science (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.3809 Pediatric nurse/nursing
    • 51.3810 Psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing
    • 51.3811 Public health/community nurse/nursing
    • 51.3812 Perioperative/operating room and surgical nurse/nursing
    • 51.3813 Clinical nurse specialist
    • 51.3814 Critical care nurse/nursing
    • 51.3815 Occupational and environmental health nurse/nursing
    • 51.3816 Emergency room/trauma nurse/nursing
    • 51.3818 Nursing practice
    • 51.3819 Palliative care nurse/nursing
    • 51.3820 Clinical nurse leader
    • 51.3821 Geriatric nurse/nursing
    • 51.3822 Women's health nurse/nursing
    • 51.3823 Registered psychiatric nurse/nursing
    • 51.3899 Registered nursing, nursing administration, nursing research and clinical nursing, other
• 18 - Pharmacy
  • 51. Health Professions and Related Programs
    • 51.2001 Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
    • 51.2002 Pharmacy administration and pharmacy policy and regulatory affairs (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.2003 Pharmaceutics and drug design (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.2004 Medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.2005 Natural products chemistry and pharmacognosy (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.2006 Clinical and industrial drug development (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.2007 Pharmacoeconomics/pharmaceutical economics (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.2008 Clinical, hospital and managed care pharmacy (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.2009 Industrial and physical pharmacy and cosmetic sciences (MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 51.2010 Pharmaceutical sciences
    • 51.2011 Pharmaceutical marketing and management
    • 51.2099 Pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration, other
• 19 - Veterinary Medicine
  • 01. Agricultural and veterinary sciences/services/operations and related fields
    • 01.8001 Veterinary medicine (DVM)
    • 01.8101 Veterinary sciences/veterinary clinical sciences, general (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8102 Comparative and laboratory animal medicine (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8103 Large animal/food animal and equine surgery and medicine (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8104 Small/companion animal surgery and medicine (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8105 Veterinary anatomy (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8106 Veterinary infectious diseases (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8107 Veterinary microbiology and immunobiology (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8108 Veterinary pathology and pathobiology (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8109 Veterinary physiology (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8110 Veterinary preventive medicine, epidemiology and public health (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8111 Veterinary toxicology and pharmacology (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
    • 01.8199 Veterinary biomedical and clinical sciences, other (Cert., MS, MSc, PhD)
• 20 - Executive MBA (graduate programs)
  • 52. Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services
    • 52.0201 Business administration and management, general
    • (Specifically the MBA compressed graduate programs for executives)
• 21 - Regular MBA (graduate programs)
  • 52. Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services
    • 52.0201 Business administration and management, general
    • (Specifically Graduate MBA programs in the regular stream)
• 22 - Optometry
  • 51. Health Professions and Related Programs
    • 51.17 Optometry (OD)

The reductions identified in the Government of Canada’s Budget 2025 and the Comprehensive Expenditure Review confirmed Statistics Canada’s need to streamline operations while continuing to deliver the trusted data Canadians rely on. These government-wide measures are intended to reduce spending on operations while protecting priority programs and investing in areas that support Canada’s economic and social well-being.

In response, Statistics Canada entered a workforce adjustment period in January 2026 and has made targeted adjustments to programs to ensure the long-term sustainability of Canada’s national statistical system. Our most critical programs, such as the Census of Population, the Consumer Price Index, gross domestic product, trade, and employment statistics, continue without interruption. These core indicators remain priorities and will continue to be available to governments, businesses, and communities across the country.

Most changes affect how data are collected and produced, rather than the availability of data. To reduce duplication and focus resources where they have the greatest impact, some surveys and statistical programs will be discontinued where the data can be obtained through alternative sources or methods. Statistics Canada will continue to deliver trusted data by increasing the use of administrative data, modelling, automation and artificial intelligence, and by adjusting release frequency or level of detail where appropriate, while maintaining the quality, integrity, and continuity of Canada’s key national indicators.

Throughout this period of change, Statistics Canada remains committed to responsible stewardship of public resources and to fulfilling its mandate under the Statistics Act. Whether we collect administrative, alternative, or survey data, one thing remains certain—Statistics Canada continues to operate in accordance with governing instruments and frameworks, including those guiding the use of automation and artificial intelligence, and our commitment to protecting privacy and safeguarding the confidentiality of data remains unwavering. As Canada’s national statistical agency, Statistics Canada continues to provide high-quality, objective, and trusted data that support informed decision-making and public confidence in official statistics.

The Canadian international merchandise trade program

Introduction

The objective of this text is to provide a general overview of the balance of payments-basis data produced by the Canadian International Merchandise Trade (CIMT) Program, with special reference to concepts and definitions.

Conceptual framework

1. Objectives and coverage: The objective of balance of payments-basis CIMT statistics is to measure the change in economic transactions that involve merchandise trade between residents and non-residents. Information on imports and exports are inputs into the Macroeconomic Accounts, and are used in the formulation of trade and economic policies. Governments, importers, exporters, manufacturers and shipping companies use international merchandise trade statistics to:

• monitor import penetration and export performance;
• monitor commodity price and volume changes; and
• examine transport implications.

2. Trade statistics (customs-basis/balance of payments-basis): Merchandise trade statistics are presented on two different bases: customs and balance of payments.

Statistics for Canada’s imports as well as exports to non-US destinations are compiled from Customs declarations filed with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Data for Canada’s exports to the United States are derived from the administrative import records of the United States Customs and Border Protection and exchanged under the terms of a memorandum of understanding between Canada and the United States. Statistics developed from these Customs administrative records are commonly referred to as customs-basis trade statistics.

Customs-basis data are adjusted to conform to the National Accounts concepts and definitions. The adjustments to derive balance of payments-basis trade data include adjustments related to trade definition, valuation and timing. The principal difference between the two trade concepts is that customs-basis merchandise trade statistics cover the physical movement of goods as they are reflected in Customs documents while balance of payments-basis data are intended to cover economic transactions that involve merchandise trade between residents and non-residents.

It is possible for the accuracy of customs-basis statistics to be affected by undercoverage and/or country misallocation. Undercoverage occurs when trade is not captured in customs documents. Examples of undercoverage include transactions where the value is below the threshold required for reporting to customs authorities, and the informal or illegal movement of goods across borders. Estimates for undercoverage are included in balance of payments-basis statistics. Country misallocation occurs when the last known destination reported on the customs export documentation does not reflect the ultimate destination for the goods. This occurs most frequently when goods are routed through an intermediary country before continuing to their final destination with the intermediary country being reported as the final destination of the goods.

3. Valuation: For Customs purposes, imports are recorded at values established according to the provisions of the Customs Act, which reflects valuation methods based on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Valuation Code System. In general, the value for duty of imported goods must be equivalent to the transaction value or the price actually paid.

The transaction value of imported goods includes all transportation and associated costs incurred up to the point of direct shipment to Canada. Therefore, Canada's imports are valued Free on Board (FOB), place of direct shipment to Canada. It excludes freight and insurance costs in bringing the goods to Canada from the point of direct shipment.

Exports are recorded at the value declared on Customs documents, which reflect the transaction value (i.e., actual selling price or, in the case of a non-arm's length transaction, the transfer price used for company accounting purposes). Canada's exports are valued at FOB port of exit from Canada, including domestic freight charges to that point but net of discounts and allowances.

4. Statistical period: In theory, the statistical period for balance of payments-basis trade statistics reflects the month during which change of ownership occurred. Since this can be difficult to determine, in practice, the statistical period for balance of payments-basis statistics reflects the month during which the goods cleared Customs. The closing of the statistical month for imports and exports is defined as the last calendar day of the month based on the date of clearance from Customs. Documents received too late for incorporation in the current month are assigned to the month the transaction took place and are published the following statistical month.

5. Trading partner attribution (country of origin/destination): On a custom basis, imports are attributed to the country of origin, that is the country in which the goods were grown, extracted or manufactured in accordance with the rules of origin administered by the CBSA. On a balance of payments-basis, imports are attributed to the country of export instead of the country of origin to reflect the change in ownership of the goods.

Both customs- and balance of payments-basis exports are attributed to the country that is the last known destination of the goods at the time of export. 

6. Principal Trading Partners (PTPs): The list of PTPs is based on their annual share of total trade — merchandise imports plus exports — with Canada in 2012. The countries included in the list of PTPs are the following:

List of Canada's Principal Trading Partners

• United States
• European Union
  • Germany
  • Netherlands
  • France
  • Italy
  • Belgium
  • Spain
• China
• United Kingdom
• Mexico
• Japan
• South Korea
• Hong Kong
• Brazil
• Algeria
• Norway
• India
• Switzerland
• Saudi Arabia
• Turkey
• Taiwan
• Peru
• Australia
• Iraq
• Indonesia
• Singapore
• Russian Federation
• Other OECD countries
• All other countries

7. Legal framework: Import and export statistics with countries other than the United States are derived from information contained in administrative records collected by the CBSA under the Customs Act. Copies of these documents (or information therefrom) are sent to Statistics Canada in accordance with Section 25 of the Statistics Act. It follows that the disclosure of trade statistics is governed by both the Customs Act and the Statistics Act and is subject to the provisions of Section 17(2)(a) of the latter. Disclosure of statistics for trade with the United States is governed by a memorandum of understanding that provides for the exchange of detailed import statistics between Canada and the United States.

Contact information

Telephone: 1-800-263-1136 
Facsimile: 1-877-287-4369
Email: infostats@statcan.gc.ca

Overview

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) plays a key role in the Bank of Canada's conduct of monetary policy.

In 1991, the Bank of Canada and the Government of Canada jointly established an inflation-targeting framework for the conduct of monetary policy. This framework is reviewed every five years, with the most recent renewal occurring in October 2016. Based on this framework, the Bank of Canada conducts monetary policy aimed at keeping inflation, as measured by the change in the All-items CPI, at 2 per cent, the midpoint of an inflation-control range of 1 to 3 per cent.

To help it achieve this target, the Bank of Canada uses a set of measures of core inflation. The purpose of these measures is to capture persistent price movements by eliminating transitory or sector-specific fluctuations in some components of the CPI. From 2001 until the most recent renewal of the inflation control target, the Bank of Canada's focal measure of core inflation was the All-items CPI excluding eight of its most volatile components (as defined by the Bank of Canada) as well as the effect of changes in indirect taxes on the remaining components (CPIX). For more information, see the Bank of Canada Review article (Macklem (2001)).

As discussed in the Renewal of the Inflation-Control Target – Background Information, the Bank of Canada has identified three preferred measures of core inflation to help assess underlying inflation in Canada.^Note 1 The Bank of Canada chose these three measures based primarily on analysis conducted in 2015 by its researchers (Khan, Morel and Sabourin (2015)). While the Bank's emphasis will be on these three measures, Statistics Canada will continue to calculate and publish CPIX.

Although no measure of core inflation was superior across all the evaluation criteria, three measures showed the best performance. Based on the results of this analysis, the Bank of Canada decided to change its approach by jointly using all three measures: i) a measure based on the trimmed mean (CPI-trim); ii) a measure based on the weighted median (CPI-median); and, iii) a measure based on the common component (CPI-common). For more information on how the three measures were chosen, see the background document on the renewal of the inflation-control target (Bank of Canada (2016)). In the rest of this document, we will present detailed information on the methodologies and data used to produce these measures of core inflation.^Note 2

Reference period

These measures are expressed as a year-over-year percentage change (i.e., comparing any month in a given year to the same month in the previous year). Accordingly, they are not available in the form of an index level and do not have a reference period (e.g., 2002=100).

Data sources and methodologies

The three preferred measures of core inflation are computed by Statistics Canada using data from the CPI Survey. For more information on the data sources, error detection, imputation rules, estimation and calculation of price indexes, quality evaluation of the data collected, and data disclosure control for the CPI survey, see the description of this survey. Below, we will describe the CPI data used and the methods for calculating these three measures of core inflation.

The three measures require historical series of consumer price indexes based on the disaggregation of the All-items CPI into a fixed number of components. These components are exhaustive and mutually exclusive. Therefore, the sum of their respective weights in the CPI basket is equal to 100. These measures are based on a 55-component disaggregation of the CPI basket; a complete list of these components is provided in Table A1 in the appendix of this document. These historical series are available on a monthly basis. Owing to data limitations, these 55 components are calculated since January 1989.^Note 3 Since we use price indexes calculated at the national level, the three measures are only calculated at that level of detail.

The consumer price indexes of the 55 components are first adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes.

Measure of core inflation based on the trimmed mean (CPI-trim)

CPI-trim excludes from the 55 components those whose monthly rates of change in the CPI are located in the tails of the distribution of the monthly rates of change of all the price indexes in a given month. This measure is calculated as a weighted arithmetic average of the price changes of the non-excluded components. The weight of a component corresponds to its weight in the CPI basket at the basket link month. The procedure for calculating CPI-trim every month can be described as follows.

Step 1: The historical series of price indexes for the 55 components, adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes, are seasonally adjusted. For more information on the seasonal adjustment methodology, see the "Revisions and seasonal adjustment" section below.

Step 2: We obtain the distribution of all monthly inflation rates calculated for the 55 components based on the percentage changes in price indexes for the current month versus those for the previous month. These monthly inflation rates are then sorted in ascending order (i.e., from lowest to highest). By ranking all the components' weights and monthly inflation rates together in this order, components with the lowest inflation rates are excluded, which accounts for 20 per cent^Note 4 of the total CPI basket. The same process is used to exclude components with the highest inflation rates, up to 20 per cent^Note 5 of the basket.

Step 3: We calculate a monthly trimmed inflation rate, ${\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{m/m}$, defined as the weighted arithmetic average of monthly inflation rates for components not excluded in Step 2, which make up 60 per cent of the total CPI basket. The weight of the excluded components will always be 40 per cent of the total CPI basket, but the excluded components are not necessarily the same from month to month.

Step 4: We produce the annual inflation rate for a given month, ${\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{y/y}$, using the cumulative monthly trimmed inflation rates for the 12-month period ending in the current month. The following formula is used for this purpose:

$${\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{y/y}=\left(\left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-trim}}_{t-11}^{m/m}}{100}\right)\times \left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-trim}}_{t-10}^{m/m}}{100}\right)\times \dots \times \left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{m/m}}{100}\right)-1\right)\times 100.$$

In other words, the annual inflation rate, ${\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{y/y}$, measured for a given month $t$ is calculated as the cumulative monthly trimmed inflation rates over the 12-month period ending in month $t$.

Measure of core inflation based on the weighted median (CPI-median)

CPI-median represents, for a given month, the price change corresponding to the 50th percentile (in terms of CPI basket weights) of the distribution of price changes of the 55 components. As with CPI-trim, the weight of a component is represented by its weight in the CPI basket at the basket link month. The method for processing data for the CPI-median is similar to that for CPI-trim. The procedure for calculating CPI-median every month can be described as follows.

Step 1: The historical series of price indexes for the 55 components, adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes, are seasonally adjusted. For more information on the seasonal adjustment methodology, see the "Revisions and seasonal adjustment" section below.

Step 2: We obtain the distribution of all monthly inflation rates calculated for the 55 components based on the percentage changes in price indexes for the current month versus those for the previous month. These monthly inflation rates are then sorted in ascending order (i.e., from lowest to highest). By ranking all the components' weights and inflation rates together in this order, we identify the monthly inflation rate located at the 50th percentile^Note 6 (in terms of CPI basket weights) of the distribution of the monthly inflation rates for the 55 components. This value represents the monthly inflation rate based on the weighted median, ${\text{CPI-median}}_t^{m/m}$. The component corresponding to the weighted median value is not necessarily the same from month to month. This approach is similar to that for CPI-trim because it eliminates all the weighted monthly price variations at both the bottom and top of the distribution of price changes in any given month, except the price change for the component that is the midpoint of that distribution.

Step 3: We produce the annual inflation rate, ${\text{CPI-median}}_t^{y/y}$, for a given month, using the cumulative monthly inflation rates based on the weighted median for the 12-month period ending in the current month. The following formula is used for this purpose:

$${\text{CPI-median}}_t^{y/y}=\left(\left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-median}}_{t-11}^{m/m}}{100}\right)\times \left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-median}}_{t-10}^{m/m}}{100}\right)\times \dots \times \left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-median}}_t^{m/m}}{100}\right)-1\right)\times 100.$$

In other words, the value of the annual inflation rate, ${\text{CPI-median}}_t^{y/y}$, in a given month $t$ is calculated as the cumulative monthly inflation rates based on the weighted median over the 12-month period ending in month $t$.

Measure of core inflation based on the common component (CPI-common)

CPI-common is a measure that tracks common price changes across the 55 components in the CPI basket.

As with CPI-trim and CPI-median, the input data for CPI-common are the CPI series for the 55 components adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes. In addition, we use the historical series of the All-items CPI adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes to scale CPI-common to the inflation rate. Unlike CPI-trim and CPI-median, this measure is based on year-over-year percentage changes in price indexes. Therefore, the price index series are not seasonally adjusted when calculating CPI-common.

This measure is based on a factor model. Factor models are statistical methods that represent the variation in a set of variables as the sum of one or more factors representing co-movements across variables and an idiosyncratic term capturing the part unexplained by this (those) common factor(s). In the context of estimating core inflation, these models are used to separate the common source underlying the changes in CPI series from idiosyncratic elements that are related to sector-specific events (Khan, Morel and Sabourin (2013)).^Note 7 For each of the 55 components, $i=1,2,\mathrm{...},55$, the model is written as follows (in the case of one common factor):

$${\pi }_{i,t}={\Lambda }_i{F}_t+{\epsilon }_{i,t};i=1,2,\mathrm{...},55;t=1,2,\mathrm{...},T,$$

where $T$ represents the total number of time periods available, ${\pi }_{i,t}$ represents the inflation rate of component $i$ for the period $t$, which is related to the common factor $F_t$ through factor loading ${\Lambda }_i$, and ${\epsilon }_{i,t}$ is an idiosyncratic error term representing sector-specific disturbances that are uncorrelated with the common factor. In this model, the measure of core inflation is then defined as follows:

$${\tilde{\pi }}_t=\Lambda F_t\text{ ,}$$

where $\Lambda$ is the matrix of factor loadings. For more information, see Khan et al. (2013).

In practice, CPI-common is calculated using the entire historical data of price index series and by following the steps below.

Step 1: We calculate annual inflation rates for the 55 components and for the All-items CPI excluding the effect of changes in indirect taxes. In a given month, the annual inflation rate for a given component is defined as the year-over-year percentage change in the price index for that month.

Step 2: The historical series of annual inflation rates for the 55 components are standardized. In other words, the historical series of annual inflation rates for each component is centred with respect to its average and then divided by its standard deviation.

Step 3: A factor model is estimated using data from the 55 historical series of annual standardized inflation rates. The principal components method is used for this purpose (Stock and Watson (2002a, 2002b)). This method involves creating 55 new variables, called principal components, each explaining a fraction of the variation found in all 55-historical series of annual inflation rates. The first principal component, which is associated with the highest eigenvalue, is the one that best explains the variation in the 55 historical series of annual inflation rates over the entire observation period. Only the first principal component is used in calculating CPI-common.^Note 8

Step 4: The final step is to scale the first principal component to the inflation rate. The measure of core inflation based on the common component, CPI-common, is defined and calculated as the series of predicted values from the simple linear regression of the annual inflation rates of the All-items CPI excluding the effect of changes in indirect taxes (obtained in Step 1) on an intercept and on the first principal component calculated in Step 3.

Since CPI-common is based on a factor model, a standardization and a linear regression requiring all data available, the historical values for this measure are subject to revisions. An analysis of the magnitude of the revisions, reported in a Bank of Canada's Staff Working Paper (Khan et al. (2013)), suggests that revisions are relatively negligible.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

These three measures of core inflation, CPI-trim, CPI-median and CPI-common, are subject to revision. For CPI-median and CPI-trim, this results from the fact that these measures are based on seasonally adjusted price index series. For CPI-common, revisions are due to the statistical technique used as the factor model is estimated over all available historical data.

When Statistics Canada introduces the CPI-trim and CPI-median measures in its November 2016 CPI release, 44 of the 55 historical series will be identified as seasonally adjusted, whereas others do not present any identifiable seasonal pattern. Since the technical parameters for seasonal adjustment are updated once a year, the number of series that are seasonally adjusted may change in the future depending on the historical series available that have (or do not have) an identifiable seasonal pattern. As with other CPI series, the approach used for seasonal adjustment involves each series to be seasonally adjusted separately. For more information, see the section "Revisions and seasonal adjustment" in the CPI detailed information document.

The seasonally adjusted CPI series are subject to revision. With each January data release, seasonally adjusted data are revised back three years.^Note 9 For all other months, revisions apply to one historical month.  However, the models underlying the seasonal adjustment procedure are regularly revisited; as a result, they will be revised and updated when necessary.

Data accuracy

As with the CPI in general, statistical reliability is difficult to evaluate for the three preferred measures of core inflation. First, a statistical reliability indicator is not available for the price index series used as inputs to these measures. In addition, calculating these measures is complex, which makes it more difficult to evaluate their statistical reliability. For more information on the evaluation of the CPI data accuracy, see this Statistics Canada publication. In practice, since the three measures are based on price index series calculated at the national level, their level of accuracy should be relatively comparable to that of All-items CPI.