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Value of 1978 Canadian Dollar today

$100 in 1978
$442.19 in 2024

The inflation rate in Canada between 1978 and today has been 342.19%, which translates into a total increase of $342.19. This means that 100 dollars in 1978 are equivalent to 442.19 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $100 in 1978 equals $442.19 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.28%.

Inflation timeline in Canada (1978 - 2024)

The following chart depicts the equivalence of $100 due to compound inflation and CPI changes. All values are equivalent in terms of purchasing power, which means that for each year the same goods or services could be bought with the indicated amount of money.

All calculations are performed in the local currency (CAD) and using 6 decimal digits. Results show only up to 2 decimal digits to favour readability. Inflation data is provided by governments and international institutions on a monthly basis. Today's values were extrapolated from the latest 12-month rolling average official data.

The following table contains relevant indicators:

Indicator Value
Cumulative inflation 1978-2023 328.87%
Cumulative inflation 1978-today 342.19%
Avg. Annual inflation 1978-2023 3.29%
CPI 1978 28.94
CPI 2023 124.13
CPI 2024-10 (latest official data) 127.84
CPI today 127.99

How to calculate today's value of money after inflation?

There are several ways to calculate the time value of money. Depending on the data available, results can be obtained by using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) formula or the compound interest formula.

Using the CPI formula

When we have both the start and end years, we can use the following formula:

Valuet =Value0 ×
CPIt/CPI0

To obtain the values equivalent in buying power between 1978 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1978 ×
CPI2023/CPI1978
=$ 100 ×
124.13/28.94
$428.87

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 127.99:

Valuetoday
=Value1978 ×
CPItoday/CPI1978
=$ 100 ×
127.99/28.94
$442.19

Alternative: Using the compound interest formula

Given that money changes with time as a result of an inflation rate that acts as compound interest, we can use the following formula: FV = PV × (1 + i)n, where:

  • FV: Future Value
  • PV: Present Value
  • i: Interest rate (inflation)
  • n: Number of times the interest is compounded (i.e. # of years)

In this case, the future value represents the final amount obtained after applying the inflation rate to our initial value. In other words, it indicates how much are $100 worth today. There are 45 years between 1978 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.2884%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=$100 × (1 + 0.032884)45
$428.87

Canada inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
$1 dollar in 1978 $4.29 dollars in 2023
$5 dollars in 1978 $21.44 dollars in 2023
$10 dollars in 1978 $42.89 dollars in 2023
$50 dollars in 1978 $214.43 dollars in 2023
$100 dollars in 1978 $428.87 dollars in 2023
$500 dollars in 1978 $2,144.34 dollars in 2023
$1,000 dollars in 1978 $4,288.67 dollars in 2023
$5,000 dollars in 1978 $21,443.36 dollars in 2023
$10,000 dollars in 1978 $42,886.72 dollars in 2023
$50,000 dollars in 1978 $214,433.61 dollars in 2023
$100,000 dollars in 1978 $428,867.22 dollars in 2023
$500,000 dollars in 1978 $2,144,336.11 dollars in 2023
$1,000,000 dollars in 1978 $4,288,672.22 dollars in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1978 342.19%
Avg. annual inflation From 1978 3.28%
CPI 1978 28.94
CPI today 127.99

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1978 100
1979 109.14
1980 120.2
1981 135.19
1982 149.75
1983 158.53
1984 165.35
1985 171.91
1986 179.12
1987 186.92
1988 194.45
1989 204.14
1990 213.9
1991 225.93
1992 229.3
1993 233.58
1994 233.96
1995 238.99
1996 242.74
1997 246.68
1998 249.14
1999 253.46
2000 260.35
2001 266.92
2002 272.95
2003 280.48
2004 285.69
2005 292.02
2006 297.86
2007 304.23
2008 311.44
2009 312.37
2010 317.93
2011 327.18
2012 332.14
2013 335.26
2014 341.65
2015 345.5
2016 350.43
2017 356.03
2018 364.1
2019 371.2
2020 373.86
2021 386.56
2022 412.85
2023 428.87
2024-10 441.67
Today 442.19

All available years

Today's value of canadian dollar by year:

1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |

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