Canadian CPI Basket of Goods and Services

This is the content of the basket of goods and services that the government (Statistics Canada) uses to generate the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and inflation rates. Next to each item you will see the weight (out of 100) assigned to it based on the average Canadian’s spending. Note that both the content of the basket and the weight of each component have both been updated in 2015. The basket’s content is updated every 4 years and the weights are updated every 2 years.

Quick Canadian Basket Overview (1986 to 2015)

This table shows the evolution of the weight of each basket category from 1986 to 2015.

**Average Canadian’s Spending by Category (% of wallet)**
Component	1986	1992	1996	2001	2005	2009	2011	2013	2015
Food	18.1	18.0	17.8	16.8	16.9	16.1	16.35	16.6	16.4
Shelter	25.7	27.6	27.1	26.3	25.7	27.5	25.9	26.3	26.8
Household Operations, Furnishings and Equipment	10.7	10.4	10.7	11.1	11.4	11.8	12.6	12.7	13.1
Clothing and Footwear	8.7	6.8	6.3	6.0	5.6	5.6	6.2	5.8	6.1
Transportation	18.3	17.2	18.6	19.4	19.6	19.3	20.0	20.0	19.1
Health and Personal Care	4.2	4.4	4.6	4.6	4.8	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.7
Recreation, Education and Reading	8.8	10.2	11.3	12.5	13.0	11.8	11.2	11.0	10.9
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Products	5.6	5.5	3.5	3.3	3.1	3.0	2.8	2.8	2.9

*Components may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

Detailed Canadian Basket Overview (2009 to 2015)

This table offers a more detailed view including all items within the main categories.

CPI Basket Category and its Contents	2011	2013	2015
All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) Basket Content (Canada)	100.00	100.00	100.00
Category 1: Food	16.35	16.60	16.41
Food from stores	11.48	11.61	11.62
Meat	2.09	2.19	2.28
Fresh or frozen meat (excl. poultry)	0.83	0.87	0.92
Fresh or frozen beef	0.54	0.58	0.59
Fresh or frozen pork	0.22	0.23	0.26
Other fresh or frozen meats (excl. poultry)	0.06	0.06	0.07
Fresh or frozen poultry	0.48	0.51	0.53
Fresh or frozen chicken	0.40	0.43	0.47
Other fresh or frozen poultry meats	0.08	0.08	0.06
Processed meat	0.78	0.80	0.83
Ham and bacon	0.12	0.11	0.11
Other processed meat	0.66	0.69	0.72
Fish, seafood and other marine products	0.44	0.43	0.45
Fish	0.29	0.29	0.31
Fresh or frozen fish (including portions and fish sticks)	0.22	0.22	0.26
Canned and other preserved fish	0.07	0.08	0.05
Other Seafood	0.15	0.14	0.14
Dairy and eggs	1.76	1.76	1.69
Dairy products	1.62	1.60	1.54
Fresh milk	0.47	0.47	0.42
Butter	0.08	0.08	0.07
Cheese	0.58	0.56	0.54
Ice cream and similar	0.11	0.11	0.11
Other dairy	0.38	0.37	0.41
Eggs	0.14	0.16	0.15
Bakery and cereal	1.81	1.85	1.73
Bakery products	1.12	1.14	1.10
Bread (including rolls and buns)	0.55	0.57	0.53
Biscuits	0.24	0.24	0.23
Other Bakery	0.33	0.33	0.34
Cereal products	0.69	0.71	0.63
Rice and Rice-based products	0.09	0.08	0.07
Breakfast cereal and other similar products	0.43	0.45	0.40
Pasta products	0.11	0.11	0.11
Flour and flour based products	0.06	0.06	0.04
Fruits and nuts	1.32	1.37	1.38
Fresh fruit	0.82	0.85	0.90
Apples	0.12	0.13	0.12
Oranges	0.10	0.09	0.12
Bananas	0.10	0.10	0.11
Other types of fresh fruits	0.50	0.52	0.55
Preserved fruits, juices and preparations	0.37	0.37	0.32
Fruit juices	0.22	0.22	0.20
Other preserved fruits and preparations	0.14	0.14	0.12
Nuts (all types)	0.13	0.15	0.15
Vegetables and vegetable preparations	1.29	1.26	1.37
Fresh vegetables	0.96	0.93	1.06
Potatoes	0.10	0.10	0.09
Tomatoes	0.11	0.12	0.16
Lettuce	0.08	0.08	0.08
Other fresh vegetable	0.67	0.63	0.73
Preserved vegetables and vegetable preparations	0.33	0.33	0.31
Frozen and dried vegetables	0.08	0.09	0.08
Canned vegetables and other vegetable preparations	0.25	0.24	0.23
Other food products and beverages (Excl. Alcohol)	2.77	2.75	2.73
Sugar and confectionery	0.49	0.49	0.47
Sugar and syrup	0.08	0.08	0.08
Confectionery	0.41	0.41	0.39
Fats and oils	0.14	0.14	0.13
Margarine	0.05	0.05	0.05
Other edible fats and oils	0.09	0.09	0.08
Coffee and tea	0.26	0.27	0.25
Coffee	0.21	0.22	0.19
Tea	0.05	0.05	0.06
Condiments, spices and vinegars	0.38	0.38	0.38
Other food preparations	0.99	1.00	1.03
Soup	0.13	0.13	0.11
Infant and baby foods	0.08	0.08	0.07
Pre-cooked frozen food preparations	0.27	0.27	0.32
All other food preparations	0.51	0.52	0.53
Non-alcoholic drinks & beverages	0.50	0.47	0.48
Food from restaurants	4.88	4.99	4.79
Food from table-service restaurants	2.88	2.94	2.84
Food from fast food and take-out restaurants	1.24	1.26	1.21
Food from cafeterias and other restaurants	0.76	0.78	0.74
Category 2: Shelter	25.86	26.26	26.80
Rented housing	5.92	5.98	5.85
Rent	5.76	5.81	5.70
Renter's nsurance premiums	0.09	0.08	0.08
Renter's maintenance and other expenses	0.07	0.08	0.06
Owned housing	15.54	15.81	16.38
Mortgage interest cost	4.13	4.11	4.10
Homeowners' replacement cost	4.25	4.34	4.55
Property taxes (including special charges)	3.26	3.36	3.46
Homeowners' home and mortgage insurance	1.21	1.23	1.42
Homeowners' maintenance and repairs	1.20	1.25	1.26
Other owned accommodation expenses	1.49	1.52	1.60
Water, fuel and electricity	4.40	4.48	4.57
Electricity	2.40	2.48	2.50
Water	0.59	0.65	0.69
Natural gas	1.06	0.99	1.08
Fuel oil and other fuels	0.35	0.36	0.30
Category 3: Household operations, furniture and equipment	12.57	12.66	13.14
Household operations	8.83	9.01	9.69
Communications	3.31	3.36	3.67
Telephone services	2.37	2.39	2.55
Postal and other communications services	0.08	0.09	0.10
Internet access services and subscriptions to online content providers	0.78	0.81	0.96
Telephone equipment	0.07	0.07	0.06
Child care and housekeeping services	1.13	1.16	1.19
Child care services	0.81	0.83	0.86
Housekeeping services	0.32	0.33	0.33
Household cleaning products	0.42	0.43	0.37
Detergents and soaps (other than personal care)	0.17	0.17	0.17
Other household cleaning products	0.26	0.26	0.19
Paper, plastic and foil supplies	0.59	0.60	0.55
Paper supplies	0.48	0.49	0.45
Plastic and foil supplies	0.11	0.11	0.10
Other household goods and services	3.38	3.45	3.92
Pet food and supplies	0.70	0.70	0.58
Seeds, plants and cut flowers	0.37	0.36	0.41
Other horticultural goods	0.11	0.11	0.10
Other household supplies	0.19	0.20	0.21
Other household services	1.33	1.35	1.62
Financial services (200212=100)	0.68	0.74	0.99
Household Furniture and other equipment	3.74	3.66	3.44
Furniture and household textiles	1.47	1.43	1.31
Furniture	1.17	1.13	1.01
Upholstered furniture	0.46	0.47	0.44
Wooden furniture	0.30	0.28	0.27
Other furniture	0.41	0.39	0.30
Household textiles	0.30	0.30	0.30
Window curtains	0.10	0.10	0.09
Bedding and other household textiles	0.13	0.13	0.15
Area rugs and mats	0.07	0.07	0.05
Household equipment	1.93	1.89	1.74
Household appliances	0.82	0.80	0.81
Cooking appliances	0.17	0.17	0.16
Refrigerators and freezers	0.17	0.17	0.13
Laundry and dishwashing appliances	0.24	0.23	0.20
Other household appliances	0.25	0.24	0.31
Non-electrical kitchen utensils, tableware and cookware	0.24	0.22	0.20
Tools and other household equipment	0.87	0.86	0.74
Household tools (including lawn, garden and snow removal equipment)	0.44	0.44	0.42
Other household equipment	0.43	0.42	0.32
Services related to household furnishings and equipment	0.23	0.22	0.26
Other household furnishings and equipment	0.11	0.11	0.13
Category 4: Clothing and footwear	6.20	5.82	6.08
Clothing	3.98	3.66	3.83
Women's clothing	2.09	1.88	2.11
Men's clothing	1.37	1.31	1.25
Children's clothing (including infants)	0.52	0.47	0.48
Footwear	1.25	1.17	1.23
Women's footwear	0.43	0.40	0.45
Men's footwear	0.22	0.21	0.22
Children's footwear (excl. athletic)	0.11	0.10	0.09
Athletic footwear	0.49	0.47	0.47
Clothing accessories, watches and jewellery	0.68	0.69	0.75
Leather clothing accessories	0.11	0.11	0.12
Other clothing accessories	0.17	0.15	0.18
Watches	0.10	0.09	0.09
Jewellery	0.31	0.34	0.35
Clothing material, notions and services	0.29	0.29	0.27
Clothing material and notions	0.05	0.05	0.06
Laundry services	0.09	0.10	0.08
Dry cleaning services	0.11	0.12	0.09
Other clothing services	0.04	0.04	0.03
Category 5: Transportation	20.05	19.98	19.10
Private transportation	18.06	17.99	16.94
Purchase, leasing and rental of passenger vehicles	7.64	7.73	7.39
Purchase and leasing of passenger vehicles	7.55	7.65	7.30
Purchase of passenger vehicles	6.64	6.72	6.70
Leasing of passenger vehicles	0.92	0.93	0.60
Rental of passenger vehicles	0.09	0.09	0.09
Operation of passenger vehicles	10.42	10.25	9.55
Gasoline	4.85	4.62	3.84
Passenger vehicle parts, maintenance and repairs	1.76	1.80	1.88
Passenger vehicle parts, accessories and supplies	0.68	0.70	0.70
Passenger vehicle maintenance and repair services	1.08	1.10	1.18
Other passenger vehicle operating expenses	3.81	3.83	3.82
Passenger vehicle insurance premiums	2.92	2.91	2.89
Passenger vehicle registration fees	0.26	0.27	0.28
Drivers' licences	0.11	0.11	0.11
Parking fees	0.35	0.36	0.35
All other passenger vehicle operating expenses	0.18	0.17	0.20
Public transportation	1.99	1.99	2.16
Local and commuter transportation	0.64	0.66	0.70
City bus and subway transportation	0.50	0.52	0.49
Taxi and other local and commuter transportation services	0.14	0.14	0.20
Inter-city transportation	1.22	1.20	1.33
Air transportation	1.14	1.12	1.24
Rail, highway bus and other inter-city transportation	0.08	0.08	0.09
Other public transportation	0.13	0.13	0.13
Category 6: Health and personal care	4.95	4.93	4.73
Health care	2.94	2.90	2.71
Health care goods	1.85	1.79	1.59
Medicinal and pharmaceutical products	1.47	1.41	1.23
Prescribed medicines	0.88	0.83	0.77
Non-prescribed medicines	0.59	0.58	0.46
Eye care goods	0.30	0.30	0.32
Other health care goods	0.08	0.08	0.03
Health care services	1.09	1.11	1.12
Eye care services	0.08	0.08	0.08
Dental care	0.63	0.64	0.64
Other health care services	0.38	0.38	0.40
Personal care	2.02	2.03	2.02
Personal care supplies and equipment	1.28	1.29	1.16
Personal soap	0.09	0.09	0.08
Toiletry items and cosmetics	0.64	0.63	0.63
Oral-hygiene products	0.10	0.10	0.09
Other personal care supplies and equipment	0.45	0.46	0.36
Personal care services	0.73	0.74	0.86
Category 7: Recreation, education and reading	11.26	10.96	10.89
Recreation	8.32	7.92	7.74
Recreational equipment and services	1.52	1.41	1.55
Sporting and athletic equipment	0.17	0.16	0.22
Toys, games (excl. consoles and video games) and hobby supplies	0.28	0.27	0.31
Digital computing equipment and devices	0.66	0.59	0.61
Computer equipment, software and supplies	0.55	0.49	0.42
Multi-purpose digital devices	0.11	0.10	0.19
Photographic equipment and supplies	0.09	0.07	0.07
Other recreational equipment	0.16	0.15	0.16
Recreational services	0.16	0.17	0.18
Purchase and operation of recreational vehicles	1.40	1.38	1.24
Purchase of recreational vehicles and outboard motors	1.03	1.01	0.93
Operation of recreational vehicles	0.37	0.37	0.31
Fuel, parts and accessories for recreational vehicles	0.11	0.11	0.07
Insurance, licences and other services for recreational vehicles	0.26	0.26	0.24
Home entertainment equipment, parts and services	0.86	0.74	0.54
Audio equipment	0.18	0.15	0.09
Video equipment	0.46	0.36	0.28
Rental of video discs, tapes and videogames	0.03	0.03	0.01
Purchase of electronic media	0.18	0.17	0.14
Other home entertainment equipment, parts and services	0.02	0.02	0.02
Travel services	2.28	2.05	1.93
Traveller accommodation	1.33	1.26	1.02
Travel tours	0.95	0.80	0.90
Other cultural and recreational services	2.27	2.34	2.49
Spectator entertainment (excl. cable television and satellite services)	0.30	0.30	0.39
Cable television and satellite services (including pay per view television)	1.22	1.28	1.20
Use of recreational facilities and services	0.63	0.63	0.75
All other cultural and recreational services	0.12	0.13	0.14
Education and reading	2.94	3.04	3.14
Education	2.52	2.64	2.82
School Tuition Costs	1.85	1.95	2.16
School textbooks and supplies	0.31	0.32	0.23
Other lessons, courses and education services	0.36	0.37	0.43
Reading material and other printed matter	0.41	0.41	0.33
Newspapers	0.06	0.06	0.04
Magazines	0.07	0.07	0.04
Books and other printed matter (excl. textbooks)	0.26	0.25	0.23
Other reading material and other printed material (excl. textbooks)	0.02	0.02	0.01
Category 8: Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products	2.76	2.79	2.86
Alcoholic beverages	1.60	1.62	1.64
Alcoholic beverages in bars, restaurants and licensed establishments	0.39	0.39	0.44
Beer in bars, restaurants and licensed establishments	0.20	0.20	0.23
Wine in bars, restaurants and licensed establishments	0.08	0.08	0.09
Other Liquor in licensed establishments	0.11	0.11	0.12
Alcoholic beverages from stores	1.22	1.22	1.20
Beer from stores	0.54	0.55	0.53
Wine from stores	0.38	0.38	0.38
Liquor from stores	0.28	0.28	0.27
Other liquor and alcoholic beverages in stores	0.01	0.01	0.01
Tobacco products and smokers' supplies	1.16	1.18	1.22
Cigarettes	1.10	1.12	1.15
Other tobacco products and supplies	0.06	0.06	0.07
N.B.: The numbers above may not add up to 100 due to rounding. The basket was last updated in 2013. Next update is due in February 2015. Data provided by Statistics Canada.

More info on the Canadian CPI Basket of Goods and Services

cpibasket Each government’s statistical department builds a basket of goods and services that best represents the daily spendings of their citizens. The items of the basket are split in eight major components. These components are : “food”, “shelter”, “household operations, furnishings and equipment”, “clothing and footwear”, “transportation”, “health and personal care”, “recreation, education and reading”, and “alcoholic beverages and tobacco products”.

The government then tracks the price changes in each element in the basket to come up with the CPI (Consumer Price Index) which is used to measure the inflation rate. In Canada, Statistics Canada is in charge of maintaining this basket, which it updates every 4 years. The weight assigned to each element in the basket (out of 100) is based on the average spending of all Canadians combined.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is different from the Cost of Living index. The CPI maintains fixed weights between goods and services during the life of a given basket. The content of the basket and weight of each of its items are updated periodically to take into account changes in the Canadian consumer’s daily spending patterns. The basket is currently reflecting the 2013 spending patterns replaced the 2011 basket starting with data released in March 2011. The CPI is maintained by “linking” the corresponding indexes obtained from consecutive baskets. The CPI is calculated as a weighted average of specified goods and services price indexes. The weights of the items comprised in the basket are derived from the Survey of Household Spending data. When reconstructing or re-aggregating published CPI series, the changes in weights and the linking procedures must be taken into account. The process of linking is to apply the price movements calculated from the new basket to the series published previously.

Region	Monthly	Yearly
Canada	0.0%	1.9%
Quebec	-0.1%	1.5%
Ontario	0.0%	1.8%
Alberta	0.1%	2.8%
B.C.	0.1%	2.3%
View other provinces & regions

Region	CPI
Canada	161.8
Quebec	157.8
Ontario	163.5
Alberta	170.2
B.C.	156.3
View other provinces & regions