Contents
- Canadian household budget shares statistics: what the 2023 spending shares measure
- Canadian household budget shares statistics by income quintile: 2023 category shares
- Canadian household budget shares statistics by province: spending shares across the provinces
- Canadian household budget shares statistics by household tenure: owner and renter spending
- Canadian household budget shares statistics: CPI basket shares by major category
- Canadian household budget shares statistics: CPI basket shares for selected food, shelter and transport items
- Sources
Canadian household budget shares statistics: what the 2023 spending shares measure
Canadian household budget shares statistics need a clear denominator. The Survey of Household Spending (SHS) figures below describe the share of total current consumption spent on a category by households in Canada’s 10 provinces. The survey’s 2023 results were published on May 21, 2025, and use 2016 Census-based weights. They are historical estimates for the 2023 reference year, not current-year measurements. The survey defines total current consumption through current expenditure categories; its average category spending includes households with and without an expense in that category unless otherwise specified. Dollar estimates are in current dollars, include sales taxes and are not adjusted for inflation. Statistics Canada: Survey of Household Spending, 2023 · Statistics Canada: User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2023
The average Canadian household spent $76,750 on goods and services in 2023. That average was up 14.3% from 2021. Statistics Canada reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 10.9% over the same period, providing inflation context for the spending change; the two percentages measure different things. Shelter represented 32.1% of total consumption, followed by transportation at 15.8% and food at 15.7%. These percentages describe consumption shares, not the share of income devoted to each category. Statistics Canada: Survey of Household Spending, 2023
Food spending adds detail to the broad category share. In 2023, average household spending on food was $12,046. Within the reported food spending measures, average spending on food purchased from stores was $8,659, up 7.4% from 2021, while food purchased from restaurants averaged $3,351. These are average dollar amounts, not category shares, and the general SHS definition means the category average includes households that reported no spending in it. Average recreation spending was $5,231. Statistics Canada: Survey of Household Spending, 2023
The national average offers context for the subgroup comparisons that follow, but it does not describe every household. Income quintile, province and tenure classify households in different ways, and the figures in those sections retain the source’s stated denominator. They should be read as separate views of 2023 household consumption rather than interchangeable measures. Statistics Canada: User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2023
Canadian household budget shares statistics by income quintile: 2023 category shares
The income quintile infographic reports selected category shares of total current consumption for households in the lowest and highest national before-tax income quintiles. The comparison shows shelter taking a larger share in the lowest quintile, while the food share is also higher there. The table reproduces every checked value for these two quintiles; it is not a complete distribution across all five quintiles. Statistics Canada: Shares of total current consumption on selected major categories by income quintile, Canada, 2023
| Category | Lowest income quintile | Highest income quintile |
|---|---|---|
| Shelter | 34.8% | 32.2% |
| Food | 17.9% | 14.6% |
| Transportation | 13.3% | — |
| Household operations, furnishings and equipment | 12.6% | — |
| Health care and personal care | 6.4% | — |
| Recreation | 5.4% | — |
| Education | 1.3% | — |
| Other expenditures | 8.3% | — |
The lowest-quintile profile includes six additional categories beyond shelter and food. Transportation accounted for 13.3% of consumption, and household operations, furnishings and equipment for 12.6%. Health care and personal care represented 6.4%, recreation 5.4%, education 1.3%, and other expenditures 8.3%. The source’s selected-category description does not provide corresponding highest-quintile values for these rows, so they are shown only for the lowest quintile. Statistics Canada: Shares of total current consumption on selected major categories by income quintile, Canada, 2023
Among the two categories with values reported for both ends of the income distribution, shelter represented 34.8% for the lowest quintile and 32.2% for the highest. Food represented 17.9% and 14.6%, respectively. These are within-quintile shares, not dollar spending comparisons: they do not show how much either group spent in dollars or the full mix of categories for the other three quintiles. The quintiles are defined by national before-tax income, and the estimates cover the 10 provinces. Statistics Canada: Shares of total current consumption on selected major categories by income quintile, Canada, 2023
Canadian household budget shares statistics by province: spending shares across the provinces
Provincial figures use the share of average household goods-and-services spending allocated to each major category. Selected values show how shelter, food and transportation shares differ across provinces. The figures below are not a complete province-by-category matrix; they present only the measured series with reported values in the checked observations. Statistics Canada: Average spending on goods and services and shares of spending of major categories by province, 2023
| Province | Shelter share | Food share | Transportation share |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 34.8% | 14.7% | 15.2% |
| Ontario | 35.8% | — | — |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | — | 19.9% | 19.7% |
| New Brunswick | 25.5% | — | — |
| Alberta | — | — | 16.5% |
In British Columbia, shelter accounted for 34.8% of average goods-and-services spending, transportation 15.2% and food 14.7%. The province’s average household goods-and-services spending was $82,657 in 2023 current dollars. The dollar average and the shares are different measures: the first describes spending per household, while the others describe its distribution across categories. Statistics Canada: Average spending on goods and services and shares of spending of major categories by province, 2023
Ontario’s shelter share was 35.8%. In Newfoundland and Labrador, food represented 19.9% and transportation 19.7% of goods-and-services spending. New Brunswick’s shelter share was 25.5%, and Alberta’s transportation share was 16.5%. These observations highlight category-specific provincial patterns, but they do not establish why the shares differ. The table is selective and should not be used to infer unreported values for other province-category combinations. Statistics Canada: Average spending on goods and services and shares of spending of major categories by province, 2023
Canadian household budget shares statistics by household tenure: owner and renter spending
Housing tenure separates households with different shelter arrangements. In 2023, homeowners with mortgages spent 37.2% of their total consumption on shelter, the highest proportion recorded for that group since 2010. The measure is a share of total consumption, while the amounts below are average dollars spent on shelter or a specific shelter cost. Statistics Canada: Survey of Household Spending, 2023
| Household tenure or cost | 2023 average spending |
|---|---|
| Homeowners without mortgages: shelter | $13,750 |
| Homeowners with mortgages: shelter | $38,718 |
| Renters: shelter | $18,333 |
| Homeowners with mortgages: mortgage payments | $21,342 |
| Renters: rent | $15,272 |
| Homeowners: condo fees | $1,118 |
Homeowners without mortgages spent an average of $13,750 on shelter, up 7.5% from 2021. Homeowners with mortgages spent $38,718 on shelter, up 16.9% from 2021; mortgage payments averaged $21,342 and accounted for more than half of that group’s shelter spending. Homeowners’ average condo fees were $1,118. These figures describe different housing costs and household groups, so they should not be treated as equivalent line items. Statistics Canada: Survey of Household Spending, 2023
Renters spent an average of $18,333 on shelter in 2023. Of that shelter total, $15,272 went to rent, up 16.9% from 2021. The tenure figures give context to the shelter share in the national and income-quintile results, but the supplied observations do not provide comparable total-consumption shares for every tenure group. The mortgage-holder share of 37.2% therefore should not be generalized to renters or homeowners without mortgages. Statistics Canada: Survey of Household Spending, 2023
Canadian household budget shares statistics: CPI basket shares by major category
CPI basket weights are another way to describe expenditure shares, but they are not the same statistic as SHS consumption shares. The 2026 CPI basket update reports weights based on 2025 expenditures: proportions of household consumption expenditures within the CPI’s scope, valued in the weight reference period. CPI weights draw primarily on national household final consumption expenditure data, with SHS and other sources also used; scanner data is the primary source for food purchased from stores. The CPI basket figures below are therefore 2025 reference-period weights, not 2023 SHS estimates. Statistics Canada: An Analysis of the 2026 Consumer Price Index Basket Update, Based on 2025 Expenditures
| Major category | Share of CPI basket, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Shelter | 28.51% |
| Transportation | 17.87% |
| Food | 16.83% |
| Household operations, furnishings and equipment | 13.16% |
| Recreation, education and reading | 9.96% |
| Health and personal care | 5.40% |
| Clothing and footwear | 4.50% |
| Alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and recreational cannabis | 3.77% |
Shelter had a 28.51% share of the CPI basket in 2025, followed in the listed major categories by transportation at 17.87% and food at 16.83%. Household operations, furnishings and equipment accounted for 13.16%, while recreation, education and reading represented 9.96%. The remaining listed weights were 5.40% for health and personal care, 4.50% for clothing and footwear, and 3.77% for alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and recreational cannabis. Statistics Canada: An Analysis of the 2026 Consumer Price Index Basket Update, Based on 2025 Expenditures
These weights are used to represent expenditure patterns within the CPI’s defined scope. Their percentages should not be substituted for the SHS figures: the SHS measures current consumption among households in the 10 provinces for 2023, while CPI weights reflect the CPI-scope expenditure basket and a 2025 reference period. Their different source bases, scopes and periods matter when comparing the numbers. Statistics Canada: An Analysis of the 2026 Consumer Price Index Basket Update, Based on 2025 Expenditures · Statistics Canada: User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2023
Canadian household budget shares statistics: CPI basket shares for selected food, shelter and transport items
Selected components show how major CPI categories are represented in more detail. In the 2025 all-items CPI basket, food purchased from stores accounted for 10.82%, while food purchased from restaurants accounted for 6.02%. These are basket shares for separate components, not average household dollar amounts. Statistics Canada: An Analysis of the 2026 Consumer Price Index Basket Update, Based on 2025 Expenditures
| CPI component | Share of all-items basket, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Food purchased from stores | 10.82% |
| Food purchased from restaurants | 6.02% |
| Rent | 7.45% |
| Mortgage interest cost | 5.23% |
| Homeowners’ replacement cost | 4.56% |
| Gasoline | 3.30% |
| Passenger vehicle insurance premiums | 2.45% |
| Public transportation | 1.88% |
| Private transportation | 15.99% |
Within shelter-related components, rent represented 7.45% of the all-items basket, mortgage interest cost 5.23%, and homeowners’ replacement cost 4.56%. Transportation detail includes gasoline at 3.30%, passenger vehicle insurance premiums at 2.45%, public transportation at 1.88%, and private transportation at 15.99%. The component labels retain the report’s definitions; private transportation is a broader component than any single listed cost such as gasoline. Statistics Canada: An Analysis of the 2026 Consumer Price Index Basket Update, Based on 2025 Expenditures
The component percentages use the all-items CPI basket as their denominator and 2025 as the expenditure weight reference period. They provide more granularity than the major-category table, but they do not change the underlying scope: CPI weights represent household consumption expenditures in scope of the index. Alongside the 2023 SHS figures, they offer distinct snapshots of Canadian household spending patterns, each tied to its own definition, population coverage and period. Statistics Canada: An Analysis of the 2026 Consumer Price Index Basket Update, Based on 2025 Expenditures
Sources
- The Daily — Survey of Household Spending, 2023
- Shares of total current consumption on selected major categories by income quintile, Canada, 2023
- Average spending on goods and services and shares of spending of major categories by province, 2023
- User Guide for the Survey of Household Spending, 2023
- An Analysis of the 2026 Consumer Price Index Basket Update, Based on 2025 Expenditures