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Value of 1938 Canadian Dollar today

$100 in 1938
$2,103.75 in 2024

The inflation rate in Canada between 1938 and today has been 2,003.75%, which translates into a total increase of $2,003.75. This means that 100 dollars in 1938 are equivalent to 2,103.75 dollars in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of $100 in 1938 equals $2,103.75 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.61%.

Inflation timeline in Canada (1938 - 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 1938-2023 1,938.16%
Cumulative inflation 1938-today 2,003.75%
Avg. Annual inflation 1938-2023 3.61%
CPI 1938 6.09
CPI 2023 124.13
CPI 2024-08 (latest official data) 127.84
CPI today 128.13

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 1938 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1938 ×
CPI2023/CPI1938
=$ 100 ×
124.13/6.09
$2,038.16

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 128.13:

Valuetoday
=Value1938 ×
CPItoday/CPI1938
=$ 100 ×
128.13/6.09
$2,103.75

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 85 years between 1938 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.6103%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=$100 × (1 + 0.036103)85
$2,038.16

Canada inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
$1 dollar in 1938 $20.38 dollars in 2023
$5 dollars in 1938 $101.91 dollars in 2023
$10 dollars in 1938 $203.82 dollars in 2023
$50 dollars in 1938 $1,019.08 dollars in 2023
$100 dollars in 1938 $2,038.16 dollars in 2023
$500 dollars in 1938 $10,190.81 dollars in 2023
$1,000 dollars in 1938 $20,381.62 dollars in 2023
$5,000 dollars in 1938 $101,908.12 dollars in 2023
$10,000 dollars in 1938 $203,816.24 dollars in 2023
$50,000 dollars in 1938 $1,019,081.22 dollars in 2023
$100,000 dollars in 1938 $2,038,162.44 dollars in 2023
$500,000 dollars in 1938 $10,190,812.2 dollars in 2023
$1,000,000 dollars in 1938 $20,381,624.39 dollars in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1938 2,003.75%
Avg. annual inflation From 1938 3.61%
CPI 1938 6.09
CPI today 128.13

Value of Dollar over time (by year)

Period Value
1938 100
1939 99.24
1940 103.46
1941 109.62
1942 114.7
1943 117.19
1944 117.95
1945 118.7
1946 122.38
1947 133.41
1948 152.43
1949 157.73
1950 161.95
1951 179.03
1952 183.68
1953 181.84
1954 183.03
1955 183.35
1956 185.84
1957 192
1958 196.54
1959 198.92
1960 201.62
1961 203.68
1962 205.84
1963 209.19
1964 213.19
1965 218.16
1966 226.49
1967 234.59
1968 244.11
1969 255.24
1970 263.78
1971 270.92
1972 284.43
1973 305.73
1974 339.35
1975 375.57
1976 403.89
1977 436.11
1978 475.24
1979 518.7
1980 571.24
1981 642.49
1982 711.68
1983 753.41
1984 785.84
1985 816.97
1986 851.24
1987 888.32
1988 924.11
1989 970.16
1990 1,016.54
1991 1,073.73
1992 1,089.73
1993 1,110.05
1994 1,111.89
1995 1,135.78
1996 1,153.62
1997 1,172.32
1998 1,184
1999 1,204.54
2000 1,237.3
2001 1,268.54
2002 1,297.19
2003 1,332.97
2004 1,357.73
2005 1,387.78
2006 1,415.57
2007 1,445.84
2008 1,480.11
2009 1,484.54
2010 1,510.92
2011 1,554.92
2012 1,578.49
2013 1,593.3
2014 1,623.68
2015 1,641.95
2016 1,665.41
2017 1,692
2018 1,730.38
2019 1,764.11
2020 1,776.76
2021 1,837.08
2022 1,962.05
2023 2,038.16
2024-08 2,099.03
Today 2,103.75

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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