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Prices and pay in Canada: what the latest official figures show

Canadian consumer prices were 3.09% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier, while the latest earnings figure showed weekly pay 3.18% higher in July 2026, and the growth in pay has slowed since April.

Published 2 min read

  • 2026-062.8%
  • 2026-073.03%
  • 2026-083.03%
  • 2026-093.09%
Canada consumer price inflation (12-month change) · Statistics Canada

Canada Consumer price inflation →

What is the short answer for a household?

Prices and pay are both still higher than a year ago. Consumer prices were 3.09% higher in September 2026 than in September 2025. Average weekly earnings were 3.18% higher in July 2026 than a year earlier. The rise in prices has picked up a little over the summer. The rise in pay has slowed.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

What do the official figures show, month by month?

Consumer price inflation is measured as the 12-month change. It was 2.8% in June 2026, 3.03% in July and 3.03% again in August. It then edged up to 3.09% in September.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

Average weekly earnings are also measured as the 12-month change. Growth was 3.67% in April 2026 and 3.33% in May. It moved up slightly to 3.39% in June. It then fell to 3.18% in July, the latest month available.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

How does pay growth line up with price growth in the same months?

The two series overlap for June and July 2026. In June, earnings were up 3.39% over 12 months and consumer prices were up 2.8%. In July, earnings were up 3.18% and consumer prices were up 3.03%. These are two different statistics, one on pay and one on prices, so the gap between them is only a rough guide to purchasing power.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

Read that way, the gap between the two narrowed from June to July. Earnings growth came down while price growth went up. There is no earnings figure yet for August or September, so the data cannot say how the two compared after July.

Sources for this paragraph (6)

What does this mean for people living in Canada?

Some everyday costs have their own measures. Food prices were 2.18% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier. Shelter prices in the consumer price index were 1.75% higher over the same 12 months. Each of these is a separate measure and covers a different part of the household budget.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

For people watching the housing market, the new housing price index was 2.04% lower in September 2026 than a year earlier, a change of -2.04%. This index covers newly built homes only.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

For anyone facing a mortgage renewal or holding a variable-rate loan, the Bank of Canada's policy rate stood at 2.25% at the end of September 2026. The figures show the level of the rate, not what any household should do about it.

Sources for this paragraph (1)
  • C14 Canada central bank policy rate (month-end) · 2.25% · 2026-09 · Bank of Canada

On jobs, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.5% in September 2026.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

What can the data not tell us?

The earnings figures stop in July 2026, while the price figures run to September. That leaves two months where only one side of the comparison is known.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

Average weekly earnings are an average across workers. They do not show how pay changed for any particular job, region or income group. The price figures likewise describe an average basket, not any one household's spending. The facts here also do not explain why prices or pay moved the way they did.

Sources for this paragraph (8)

Scenarios to watch

  • Scenario, not a forecast If upcoming earnings figures for August and September show growth holding near the July level while consumer price inflation stays around its September level, the rough gap between pay and prices would stay narrow.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If earnings growth keeps slowing as it did from June to July while price growth keeps edging up, the rough gap could close, meaning pay would no longer be clearly outpacing prices.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If price growth eases in the coming months while earnings growth steadies, households would see more room between what they earn and what they pay.

What to check next

  • Average weekly earnings for August and September 2026, to fill the gap after July
  • Consumer price inflation for October 2026, to see whether the edge up in September continues
  • Food and shelter price measures in the next consumer price release
  • The Bank of Canada's next policy rate decision, for those with a mortgage renewal coming up
  • The monthly seasonally adjusted unemployment rate

Verified data used in this report

IndicatorValuePeriodSourcesAccessed
F1Canada consumer price inflation (12-month change)2.8%2026-06Statistics Canada
F2Canada consumer price inflation (12-month change)3.03%2026-07Statistics Canada
F3Canada consumer price inflation (12-month change)3.03%2026-08Statistics Canada
F4Canada consumer price inflation (12-month change)3.09%2026-09Statistics Canada
F5Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change)3.67%2026-04Statistics Canada
F6Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change)3.33%2026-05Statistics Canada
F7Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change)3.39%2026-06Statistics Canada
F8Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change)3.18%2026-07Statistics Canada
C12Canada food price inflation (12-month change)2.18%2026-09Statistics Canada
C13Canada new housing price index (12-month change)-2.04%2026-09Statistics Canada
C14Canada central bank policy rate (month-end)2.25%2026-09Bank of Canada
C15Canada shelter prices (CPI, 12-month change)1.75%2026-09Statistics Canada
C16Canada unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)6.5%2026-09Statistics Canada
C18Canada GDP growth (annual %)1.74%2025World Bank
C19Canada Unemployment, total (% of labour force, ILO modelled estimate)6.91%2025World Bank
C20Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman)1.252024World Bank
C21Canada Population aged 65 and above (% of total population)20.26%2025World Bank
C22Canada Population growth (annual %)0.94%2025World Bank

Sources

  • Source: Statistics Canada. Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada — license
  • Source: Bank of Canada — license
  • Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) — license

How this report was checked

  • Data: the newest reference period cited is 2026-09.
  • Figures were collected from the source on
  • Written by an AI model (claude-opus-5-5) using only the official figures listed in this report.
  • Automatic checks passed: every number matches a cited figure, every paragraph names its evidence, and there is no investment advice or copied source text.
  • A separate quality-check model found no unsupported or speculative sentences.
  • No person reviewed this report before publication. Automatic checks confirm the numbers, not every interpretation.

The source has since revised figures cited here (as collected → current):

  • Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change) · 2026-07: 3.18% → 3.2%
Update history
  • 2026-10-28 12:00 UTC — created
  • 2026-10-28 12:00 UTC — approved+published

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