Canadian inflation rate in 1979: 9.14%

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Inflation in 1979 and its effect on dollar value

$1 in 1978 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1.09 in 1979. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 9.14% per year between 1978 and 1979, producing a cumulative price increase of 9.14%. Purchasing power decreased by 9.14% in 1979 compared to 1978. On average, you would have to spend 9.14% more money in 1979 than in 1978 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1979 are 1.09 times as high as average prices since 1978, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1978 was 8.97%. The inflation rate in 1979 was 9.14%. The 1979 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 3.11% per year between 1979 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the consumer price index (CPI). The CPI in 1979 was 39.98. It was 36.63 in the previous year, 1978. The difference in CPI between the years is used by Statistics Canada to officially determine inflation.

⌃
Inflation from 1978 to 1979
Average inflation rate9.14%
Converted amount
$1 base		$1.09
Price difference
$1 base		$0.09
CPI in 197836.633
CPI in 197939.983
Inflation in 19788.97%
Inflation in 19799.14%
$1 in 1978$1.09 in 1979
Recent CAD inflation
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
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How to calculate inflation rate for $1, 1978 to 1979

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1978 and 1979:

CPI in 1979 CPI in 1978
×
1978 CAD value
=
1979 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 36.63333333 in the year 1978 and 39.98333333 in 1979:

39.9833333336.63333333
×
$1
=
$1.09

$1 in 1978 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1.09 in 1979.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1978 and 1979, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1979 - CPI in 1978CPI in 1978
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

39.98333333 - 36.6333333336.63333333
×
100
=
9%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Canada's annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1914 and computed by Statistics Canada (StatCan).

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “Inflation Rate in 1979 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 12 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/CAD-inflation-rate-in-1979.

Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.

in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.

Ian Webster

About the author

Ian Webster is an engineer and data expert based in San Mateo, California. He has worked for Google, NASA, and consulted for governments around the world on data pipelines and data analysis. Disappointed by the lack of clear resources on the impacts of inflation on economic indicators, Ian believes this website serves as a valuable public tool. Ian earned his degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

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Inflation from 1978 to 1979
Average inflation rate9.14%
Converted amount
$1 base		$1.09
Price difference
$1 base		$0.09
CPI in 197836.633
CPI in 197939.983
Inflation in 19788.97%
Inflation in 19799.14%
$1 in 1978$1.09 in 1979