CPI data range: 1914–2026. 2026 figure is a Bank of Canada forecast and will be revised.
$100 in 2000 has the purchasing power of
$183 in 2026
Total change: +82.8% over 26 years
Annualised inflation rate
2.35%
Reverse: $100 in 2026 ≈
$55 in 2000
CPI in 2000 (2002 = 100)
91.8
CPI in 2026
167.8
Canada has lived through three major inflation eras. 1914–1945: war-driven volatility — prices nearly doubled during WWI, deflated through the 1930s, then surged again during WWII. 1946–1991: post-war boom plus the great inflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s, peaking around 12% in 1981. The Bank of Canada raised its overnight rate above 20% to break it. 1991–present: the inflation-targeting era. The Bank adopted a 2% target and held inflation near it for three decades — until the 2021–2023 spike that pushed CPI above 8% and triggered the most aggressive rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s.
If your portfolio returned 7% last year and inflation was 3%, your real return was about 4%. Over decades the difference compounds. A $10,000 investment growing 7% nominal for 30 years becomes $76,000 — but if inflation runs 2% over that period, the real purchasing power is closer to $42,000. That's why our compound interest calculator includes an after-inflation toggle, and why long-term retirement planning should always work in real dollars first.