Meet with PWL Capital: https://pages.pwlcapital.com/en-ca/contact-us?utm_source=content&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=rationalreminder_yt Is the government manipulating inflation data? Why do so many people feel like their personal costs are rising faster than official inflation numbers suggest? In this episode of the Rational Reminder Podcast, we dive deep into one of the most debated and misunderstood economic topics: inflation. Today, we are joined by Andrew Barclay, an economist and senior analyst in the Consumer Price Division at Statistics Canada, to discuss everything you need to know about inflation and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Statistics Canada is Canada’s national statistical agency dedicated to producing accurate, relevant, and timely data to help Canadians better understand their country. In our conversation, we unpack how inflation and the CPI are calculated and why it is so important. We explore the controversy around CPI calculations and the influence of inflation on government benefits, tax brackets, and the overall economy. Andrew also addresses skepticism and conspiracy theories about government inflation reporting, uncovers drivers of the perception gap, and explains how Statistics Canada ensures the accuracy and integrity of its data. Join us to hear the real story behind CPI and inflation with Andrew Barclay! Timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro 0:06:26 Why it's important for a country like Canada to accurately measure changes in the prices of consumer goods 0:08:24 How the Canadian Consumer Price Index is calculated 0:13:26 How frequently the contents of the CPI basket are updated 0:19:20 Defining quality adjustments 0:23:38 Why some people are skeptical of the use of quality adjustments 0:27:34 How CPI is adjusted during extreme periods of price changes, like COVID-19 0:32:48 Why Canada only reports one CPI measure, as opposed to different measures for different population groups 0:39:16 The difference between the price of a house and the cost of housing 0:41:10 How StatCan calculates the cost of owned housing for the CPI 0:46:57 The benefits and drawbacks of using StatCan’s approach 0:52:05 How well the CPI measure captures perceived inflation from surveys 0:57:02 The main drivers of the inflation perception gap 1:02:50 The importance of housing in explaining the perception gap 1:08:56 What StatCan does to make sure that differences between inflation perception and CPI are not reflective of “real” differences that should be captured by CPI 1:11:49 The indexes that StatCan receives the most criticism for 1:17:35 How StatCan responds to, or incorporates feedback from, that criticism 1:22:52 Andrew defines success in his life Links From Today’s Episode: Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582. Rational Reminder Website — https://rationalreminder.ca/ Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/ Rational Reminder on X — https://x.com/RationalRemind Rational Reminder on TikTok — www.tiktok.com/@rationalreminder Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/ Benjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/ Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/ Mark McGrath on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmcgrathcfp/ Mark McGrath on X — https://x.com/MarkMcGrathCFP Andrew Barclay on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-barclay-a38b6035/ Statistics Canada — https://www.statcan.gc.ca/ Canadian System of National Accounts | 'Catalogue of products' — https://publications.gc.ca/Collection/Statcan/13F0029X/13F0029XIE2000001.pdf Episode 323: Renting Versus Buying a Home in Canada 2005-2024 — https://rationalreminder.ca/podcast/323 Surveys of Consumers | University of Michigan — https://data.sca.isr.umich.edu/ Statistics Canada | The Daily — https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/dai-quo/index-eng.htm Books From Today’s Episode: The Courage to Be Disliked — https://www.amazon.com/Courage-Be-Disliked-Phenomenon-Happiness/dp/1501197274 Papers From Today’s Episode: 'The naked eye versus the CPI: How does our perception of inflation stack up against the data?' — https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/256-naked-eye-versus-cpi-how-does-our-perception-inflation-stack-against-data