$1 in 1970 is worth $1.97 in 1979

Value of $1 from 1970 to 1979

$1 in 1970 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1.97 in 1979, an increase of $0.97 over 9 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 7.80% per year between 1970 and 1979, producing a cumulative price increase of 96.64%.

This means that prices in 1979 are 1.97 times as high as average prices since 1970, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1970 was 3.35%. 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 from 1970 to 1979
Cumulative price change96.64%
Average inflation rate7.80%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.97
Price difference
$1 base
$0.97
CPI in 197020.333
CPI in 197939.983
Inflation in 19703.35%
Inflation in 19799.14%
$1 in 1970$1.97 in 1979

CAD inflation since 1970
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $1 in 1970

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $1 in 1970 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $1, you would need to end with $1.97 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $1 is equivalent to $1.97 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Canadian dollar decreases over time. In other words, a dollar will pay for fewer items at the store.

This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a dollar over time. By calculating the value in 1970 dollars, the chart below shows how $1 is worth less over 9 years.

According to Statistics Canada, each of these CAD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Dollar inflation: 1970-1979
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1970$1.003.35%
1971$1.032.70%
1972$1.084.99%
1973$1.167.49%
1974$1.2911.00%
1975$1.4210.67%
1976$1.537.54%
1977$1.657.98%
1978$1.808.97%
1979$1.979.14%
1980$2.1710.13%
1981$2.4412.47%
1982$2.7010.77%
1983$2.865.86%
1984$2.984.30%
1985$3.103.96%
1986$3.234.19%
1987$3.374.36%
1988$3.504.03%
1989$3.684.98%
1990$3.854.78%
1991$4.075.63%
1992$4.131.49%
1993$4.211.87%
1994$4.220.17%
1995$4.312.15%
1996$4.371.57%
1997$4.441.62%
1998$4.491.00%
1999$4.571.73%
2000$4.692.72%
2001$4.812.53%
2002$4.922.26%
2003$5.052.76%
2004$5.151.86%
2005$5.262.21%
2006$5.372.00%
2007$5.482.14%
2008$5.612.37%
2009$5.630.30%
2010$5.731.78%
2011$5.892.91%
2012$5.981.52%
2013$6.040.94%
2014$6.161.91%
2015$6.221.13%
2016$6.311.43%
2017$6.411.60%
2018$6.562.27%
2019$6.691.95%
2020$6.740.72%
2021$6.963.40%
2022$7.446.80%
2023$7.723.81%
2024$7.811.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 3 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1970 amounts in 1979 dollars, based on the 96.64% change in prices:

Conversion: 1970 dollars in 1979
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1970$1.97 dollars in 1979
$5 dollars in 1970$9.83 dollars in 1979
$10 dollars in 1970$19.66 dollars in 1979
$50 dollars in 1970$98.32 dollars in 1979
$100 dollars in 1970$196.64 dollars in 1979
$500 dollars in 1970$983.20 dollars in 1979
$1,000 dollars in 1970$1,966.39 dollars in 1979
$5,000 dollars in 1970$9,831.97 dollars in 1979
$10,000 dollars in 1970$19,663.93 dollars in 1979
$50,000 dollars in 1970$98,319.67 dollars in 1979
$100,000 dollars in 1970$196,639.34 dollars in 1979
$500,000 dollars in 1970$983,196.72 dollars in 1979
$1,000,000 dollars in 1970$1,966,393.44 dollars in 1979

How to calculate inflation rate for $1, 1970 to 1979

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1970 and 1979:

CPI in 1979 CPI in 1970
×
1970 CAD value
=
1979 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 20.33333333 in the year 1970 and 39.98333333 in 1979:

39.9833333320.33333333
×
$1
=
$1.97

$1 in 1970 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1.97 in 1979.

To get the total inflation rate for the 9 years between 1970 and 1979, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1979 - CPI in 1970CPI in 1970
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (9 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

39.98333333 - 20.3333333320.33333333
×
100
=
97%

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: “$1 in 1970 → 1979 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 29 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/canada/inflation/1970?amount=1&endYear=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 1970 to 1979
Cumulative price change96.64%
Average inflation rate7.80%
Converted amount
$1 base
$1.97
Price difference
$1 base
$0.97
CPI in 197020.333
CPI in 197939.983
Inflation in 19703.35%
Inflation in 19799.14%
$1 in 1970$1.97 in 1979