The Canadian dollar has lost 96% its value since 1914
Updated: December 11, 2024$100 in 1914 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,692.93 today, an increase of $2,592.93 over 111 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.01% per year between 1914 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 2,592.93%.
This means that today's prices are 26.93 times as high as average prices since 1914, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index. A dollar today only buys 3.713% of what it could buy back then.
The inflation rate in 1914 was NaN%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 0.61%. If this number holds, $100 today will be equivalent in buying power to $100.61 next year.
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| Cumulative price change | 2,592.93% |
| Average inflation rate | 3.01% |
| Converted amount $100 base | $2,692.93 |
| Price difference $100 base | $2,592.93 |
| CPI in 1914 | 6.008 |
| CPI in 2025 | 161.800 |
| Inflation in 1914 | 0.00% |
| Inflation in 2025 | 0.61% |
| $100 in 1914 | $2,692.93 in 2025 |
Buying power of $100 in 1914
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1914 (price index tracking began in 1914).
For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $2,692.93 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When $100 is equivalent to $2,692.93 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 1914 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 111 years.
According to Statistics Canada, each of these CAD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:
This conversion table shows various other 1914 amounts in today's dollars, based on the 2,592.93% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| $1 dollar in 1914 | $26.93 dollars today |
| $5 dollars in 1914 | $134.65 dollars today |
| $10 dollars in 1914 | $269.29 dollars today |
| $50 dollars in 1914 | $1,346.46 dollars today |
| $100 dollars in 1914 | $2,692.93 dollars today |
| $500 dollars in 1914 | $13,464.63 dollars today |
| $1,000 dollars in 1914 | $26,929.26 dollars today |
| $5,000 dollars in 1914 | $134,646.32 dollars today |
| $10,000 dollars in 1914 | $269,292.65 dollars today |
| $50,000 dollars in 1914 | $1,346,463.25 dollars today |
| $100,000 dollars in 1914 | $2,692,926.49 dollars today |
| $500,000 dollars in 1914 | $13,464,632.46 dollars today |
| $1,000,000 dollars in 1914 | $26,929,264.91 dollars today |
How to calculate inflation rate for $100 since 1914
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1914 and today:
CPI today CPI in 1914
×
1914 CAD value
=
Today's value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 6.008333333 in the year 1914 and 161.8 in 2025:
161.86.008333333
×
$100
=
$2,692.93
$100 in 1914 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $2,692.93 in 2025.
To get the total inflation rate for the 111 years between 1914 and 2025, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2025 - CPI in 1914CPI in 1914
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (111 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
161.8 - 6.0083333336.008333333
×
100
=
2,593%
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: “Value of 1914 Canadian dollars today | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 24 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/canada/inflation/1914.
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.
| Cumulative price change | 2,592.93% |
| Average inflation rate | 3.01% |
| Converted amount $100 base | $2,692.93 |
| Price difference $100 base | $2,592.93 |
| CPI in 1914 | 6.008 |
| CPI in 2025 | 161.800 |
| Inflation in 1914 | 0.00% |
| Inflation in 2025 | 0.61% |
| $100 in 1914 | $2,692.93 in 2025 |