If your wages don’t keep up with the cost of living, your purchasing power – or “real wages” – will decrease over time.

This tool lets you calculate whether your wages will keep up with expected inflation over the next two years.

The calculator uses the Bank of Canada’s most recent forecasts for the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Canada for this year and next year. The CPI is the most widely used measure of inflation in Canada, but it’s not perfect. Many people will face different changes in their cost of living. One way to ensure wages keep up with inflation is to bargain cost of living adjustments.