Additional Notes
The CPI compares, in percentage terms, prices in any given time period to prices in the official base period which, at present, is 2002. This is why there is a reference to 2002=100. The official time base was changed from 1992=100 to 2002=100 starting with the CPI for May 2007. The change is strictly an arithmetic conversion which alters the index levels but leaves the percentage changes between any two periods intact, except for differences in rounding. This data uses 2002 as the base year.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is not a cost-of-living index. The objective behind a cost-of-living index is to measure changes in expenditures necessary for consumers to maintain a constant standard of living. The idea is that consumers would normally switch between products as the price relationship of goods changes. If, for example, consumers get the same satisfaction from drinking tea as they do from coffee, then it is possible to substitute tea for coffee if the price of tea falls relative to the price of coffee. The cheaper of the interchangeable products may be chosen. We could compute a cost-of-living index for an individual if we had complete information about that person's taste and spending habits. To do this for a large number of people, let alone the total population of Canada, is impossible. For this reason, regularly published price indexes are based on the fixed-basket concept rather than the cost-of-living concept.
In April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2020 certain sub-indexes and components thereof were imputed using special approaches in either one, or more months. The details of these treatments are provided in technical supplements available through the Prices Analytical Series. The affected indexes include child care services; housekeeping services; air transportation; personal care services; recreational services; travel tours; spectator entertainment; use of recreational facilities; beer served in licensed establishments; wine served in licensed establishments, and liquor served in licensed establishments.
