Economy · Live tracker · updated after each StatCan CPI release
Canada's inflation rate (CPI): latest, by province, by category
The headline number, the Bank of Canada's core-inflation measures, and how inflation splits by province and category — all pulled straight from Statistics Canada's CPI tables. Data as of Aug 2026 (released 14 September 2026); prices fell 0.1% month over month.
Canada's annual inflation rate was 3.0% in Aug 2026, unchanged from Jul 2026, and at the top of the Bank of Canada's 1-3% control range. That headline number is running above the Bank of Canada's core-inflation measures (CPI-trim 1.9%, CPI-median 2.0%). Stripping out food and energy, the most volatile parts of the basket, all-items inflation excluding food and energy was 2.1% in Aug 2026, and all-items excluding gasoline was 2.4%. On a month-over-month basis, prices fell 0.1% in Aug 2026 versus Jul 2026, not seasonally adjusted.
Headline vs. core inflation
CPI-trim and CPI-median are the Bank of Canada's core-inflation measures (Statistics Canada Table 18-10-0256-01). The shaded band is the Bank's 1-3% control range; the dashed line is its 2% target.
Inflation by province
Red = at least 0.5pt above the Canada rate · blue = within 0.5pt of it · green = at least 0.5pt below.
Inflation by category
Red = 3% YoY or higher · blue = between 1% and 3% · green = 1% YoY or lower.
How broad is current inflation?
Breadth (diffusion) methodology: Second-level branches of the CPI classification, one level below Statistics Canada's 8 major components, excluding the cross-cutting Goods/Services split. 20 components have a complete, gap-free history and are used here. This is an unweighted count of components, not weighted by their share of the CPI basket, and mirrors the kind of diffusion measure the Bank of Canada watches — built here from the published component list rather than an official Bank of Canada series.
Goods vs. services inflation
Goods and Services are Statistics Canada's own CPI aggregates, used here only as an informal proxy for flexible- vs. sticky-price inflation — not an official StatCan or Bank of Canada "sticky/flexible" classification.
| Province | Latest YoY (Aug 2026) | Prior month YoY | Year ago YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia | 5.1% | 5.0% | 2.2% |
| New Brunswick | 4.6% | 4.6% | 1.6% |
| Manitoba | 4.4% | 4.2% | 2.0% |
| Prince Edward Island | 4.4% | 4.0% | 1.1% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 4.3% | 4.2% | 1.3% |
| Alberta | 3.8% | 4.2% | 1.4% |
| Saskatchewan | 3.5% | 4.1% | 1.7% |
| Quebec | 3.1% | 3.3% | 2.7% |
| British Columbia | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1.8% |
| Ontario | 2.4% | 2.0% | 1.7% |
What is Canada's inflation rate right now?
Canada's Consumer Price Index rose 3.0% year over year in Aug 2026, the most recent month Statistics Canada has published, unchanged from Jul 2026. On a month-over-month basis, prices fell 0.1% in Aug 2026, not seasonally adjusted.
How does inflation vary by province?
Provincial inflation ranged from 2.4% in Ontario to 5.1% in Nova Scotia in Aug 2026, against a national rate of 3.0%.
What is Ontario's inflation rate?
Ontario's CPI rose 2.4% year over year in Aug 2026.
How does core inflation compare with headline inflation?
The Bank of Canada's core-inflation measures, CPI-trim and CPI-median, were 1.9% and 2.0% respectively in Aug 2026, versus headline CPI inflation of 3.0%. Both aim to filter out short-term noise so the Bank can read underlying inflation pressure: CPI-trim removes the components with the most extreme price changes each month before averaging the rest, while CPI-median takes the price change of whichever component sits at the middle of the weighted distribution.
Is inflation broad or narrow right now?
In Aug 2026, 6 of 20 tracked CPI components (an unweighted count, 30%) had year-over-year price growth above 3%, and 7 (35%) were below 1%. A high share above 3% points to broad-based price pressure rather than a few outlier categories.
How does goods inflation compare with services inflation?
Goods prices rose 3.4% year over year in Aug 2026, versus 2.8% for services. This is Statistics Canada's own Goods/Services split, not an official 'sticky vs. flexible' classification, but services prices tend to move more slowly and are often used as an informal proxy for stickier inflation.
Nova Scotia: 5.1% year over year in Aug 2026, the highest of any province.
New Brunswick: 4.6% year over year in Aug 2026.
Manitoba: 4.4% year over year in Aug 2026.
Prince Edward Island: 4.4% year over year in Aug 2026.
Newfoundland and Labrador: 4.3% year over year in Aug 2026.
Alberta: 3.8% year over year in Aug 2026.
Saskatchewan: 3.5% year over year in Aug 2026.
Quebec: 3.1% year over year in Aug 2026.
British Columbia: 3.0% year over year in Aug 2026.
Ontario: 2.4% year over year in Aug 2026, the lowest of any province.
Methodology. All-items and category figures are year-over-year percent changes in the not-seasonally-adjusted Consumer Price Index, Statistics Canada Table 18-10-0004-01. CPI-trim and CPI-median are published directly by Statistics Canada as year-over-year percent changes, Table 18-10-0256-01. The breadth measure is computed here from the same 18-10-0004-01 table, described above. Vector IDs are resolved live from StatCan's cube metadata rather than hardcoded, so the page survives StatCan renumbering its series. The page checks Statistics Canada after each scheduled CPI release and updates automatically; earlier months change when StatCan revises them.