2018 Alberta Spatial Price Survey A Place-to-Place Price Comparison Survey Introduction Survey Background The 2018 Alberta Spatial Price Survey (ASPS) was conducted from October In total, 35 Alberta communities 2018 to January 2019. Prices were collected on various items in select were surveyed for the 2018 cycle of major communities across the province. The 2018 survey was funded by the the ASPS. Table 1 lists the surveyed Government of Alberta (GOA) through the Office of Statistics and Information communities and their respective (OSI) and the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism. Statistics population estimates. Since one Canada and the OSI developed the survey methodology for the ASPS, while of main goals of the survey was the bulk of survey operations, including index development were carried out by to measure and compare relative Statistics Canada. price levels (rather than actual price Statistics Canada, on behalf of the GOA, collected prices for a basket of levels), a price index was developed goods containing items from food to gasoline and a variety of other goods using Edmonton as the index and services purchased by Alberta consumers in select communities across base. This means that Edmonton the province. By keeping the item basket consistent across the surveyed is benchmarked at 100.0 and communities, Statistics Canada was able to develop a price index for the serves as the basis of comparison. basket and its components so that prices can be compared across each of the As such, communities having an communities. index value above (or below) 100.0 experienced higher (or lower) prices Previous iterations of the Alberta Spatial Price Survey- called the Alberta Place-to-Place Price Comparison Survey were collected in-house by the Government of Alberta up to 2010. As of 2016, OSI began contracting Statistics Canada to collect than Edmonton for a particular and process data. Historical reports and data developed from these surveys are available on the OSI website basket of commodities. Even though Edmonton is the reference location, Table 1: Communities sampled in the 2018 Alberta Spatial Price Survey by 2018 population index values can easily be adjusted (Statistics Canada) so that any other community can serve as the base. Community Population Community Population Similar to the Consumer Price Index Athabasca 2,948 Jasper 4,795 (CPI), items included in the basket Barrhead 4,720 Lethbridge 98,960 of goods and services for the ASPS Bonnyville 6,082 Lloydminster 20,220 are not weighted equally. Instead, Brooks 14,903 Medicine Hat 65,426 the items are weighted according to Calgary 1,311,833 Olds 9,468 relative importance. For example, Camrose 19,232 Peace River 7,152 if the average Alberta consumer Canmore 14,761 Pincher Creek 3,715 spends more money on gasoline Cold Lake 15,205 Ponoka 7,375 than on butter, then gasoline will Drayton Valley 7,389 Red Deer 104,493 be weighted higher in the overall basket. Thus, for the all-items Drumheller 8,065 Rocky Mountain House 6,670 basket, differences in gasoline prices Edmonton 1,004,947 Slave Lake 7,018 will have a larger effect on the all- Fort McMurray* 71,905 St. Paul 5,929 items price index than differences Grande Cache 3,503 Stettler 5,975 in butter prices. Some of the more Grande Prairie 67,085 Taber 8,778 important or more heavily weighted High Level 3,297 Vegreville 5,873 goods and services in the all-items High Prairie 2,664 Wainwright 6,372 basket include household services, High River 14,263 Whitecourt 10,259 recreation and leisure, transportation Hinton 10,140 Total Population Coverage 2,961,420 and shelter costs. Although individual food items have a relatively small * The Specialized Municipality of Wood Buffalo. 2018 Alberta Spatial Price Survey | Treasury Board and Finance Page 1 September 19, 2019 impact on the all-items index, their on housing were collected such as, Analysis combined value is relatively large. age of dwelling, square footage, Overall, all-items price indices ranged Note that there is a difference in lot size, number of bedrooms from a high of 142.9 in Canmore to the key objectives of the ASPS and and bathrooms, as well as other a low of 89.3 in Wainwright. This CPI. The objective of the ASPS is to characteristics. For the 2018 cycle, means that the overall price level in compare price differences across OSI also collected information on Canmore was 42.9% greater than various locations at a specific point a number of goods and services Edmonton’s, while Wainwright’s was in time, whereas the Consumer through phone interviews and 10.7% less than Edmonton’s for Price Index (CPI) compares price publicly available sources including the all-items basket of goods. Fort differences over time across the childcare, hair care, internet, cable, McMurray (11.1% above Edmonton) province. In addition, the basket of telephone, dental services, veterinary and Jasper (6.8% above Edmonton) goods and services surveyed for the services and fitness memberships. followed Canmore for the highest ASPS is less comprehensive than the More details about the ASPS survey all-items levels, while Brooks (8.0% CPI. This is mainly due to challenges design and background, including below Edmonton) and Pincher Creek in finding all of the required items in the conceptual and methodological (7.6% below Edmonton) followed some of the smaller communities. approaches, can be found in Wainwright for lowest. Calgary Thus, it is not recommended to Statistic Canada’s 2018 ASPI Report, and Red Deer were within 2% of combine ASPS and CPI data for available on the OSI website. Edmonton, while Lethbridge was determining price growth within 5.5% below Edmonton (Appendix Types of Indices Map 1 and Table 2). specific communities. Three aggregate and sixteen sub- aggregate indices were developed by In Canmore, high prices were driven Data Sources by shelter costs (e.g., housing/rental For many of the basket items, Statistics Canada. The aggregated indices are: costs, property taxes, 141.3% higher such as food, gasoline and major than Edmonton; Appendix Table 5), appliances, Statistics Canada 1. An all-items index; transportation (e.g., gasoline and collected prices in the selected 2. A food index; and vehicle purchase and leasing, 19.4% communities from October 2018 3. A non-food index. higher than Edmonton; Appendix to January 2019. While some of The sixteen category-specific indices Table 4) and to a lesser extent, food the data were collected through are allocated to two major groupings prices (11.7% higher than Edmonton; visits to local retail outlets in each as follows: Appendix Table 2). In general, of the selected communities, Canmore had higher index values Food Indices: price information was also taken than Edmonton on all goods and from Statistics Canada’s internal • Dairy Products services other than dairy. Canmore’s databases, which is used for the CPI • Fats and Oils high shelter costs were largely driven program. • Cereals and Bread by its high housing costs (mortgage Price data for certain items were • Processed Fruits and Vegetables payments-interest payments), as acquired from other surveys and • Fresh Fruit and Vegetables average housing costs were 121.6% sources. For rental costs, information • Meat, Fish, Poultry and above Edmonton’s. However, its was taken from the Apartment Substitutes rental costs were actually 9.8% below Vacancy and Rental Cost Survey • Frozen and Packaged Food Edmonton’s. These costs could be (conducted annually by Alberta • Restaurant Meals influenced by increased demand for Seniors and Housing) and Canada recreational and retirement properties. Non-Food Indices: Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Fort McMurray’s food and shelter (CMHC) Rental Market Report and • Personal Care Products indices were above Edmonton’s (8.9% Housing Market Outlook. For owned • Household Supplies and 26.0%, respectively; Appendix accommodations, OSI contracted • Household Services Tables 2 and 5) but not to the same a real estate representative to • Household Equipment extent as Canmore. Most goods collect housing prices from real • Recreation and Leisure were somewhat higher priced. For estate listings that were sold • Transportation instance, personal care products and within 6 months prior to the ASPS • Shelter household supplies were 3.3% and collection period. Several details • Utilities 2.5% above Edmonton, respectively 2018 Alberta Spatial Price Survey | Treasury Board and Finance Page 2 September 19, 2019 (Appendix Table 4). Services, In general, shelter costs across Everyday expenditures also varied including restaurant meals (13.9% Alberta were low relative to Edmonton, considerably. Average gas prices above Edmonton’s; Appendix Table 3) with 27 of the 35 communities varied from $1.50 per litre in High and household services (20.0% below Edmonton. Although prices Level to $1.23 in Vegreville; water above Edmonton’s; Appendix Table 4) for goods and services in smaller and sewage ranged from $1,656 in were considerably higher. This could communities were often higher than in Olds to $563 in Pincher Creek; and be influenced by competition for Edmonton, shelter costs often acted electricity varied from $163 a month labor from the oil sector and the as a counterbalance. For instance, in High Level to $79 in Medicine Hat. remoteness of the community. Barrhead had higher index values for Most food prices were also quite Unlike Canmore and Fort McMurray, all goods (excluding restaurant meals), variable. Eggs ranged from an Jasper’s shelter index was only but a lower all-items index due to average of $4.19 in Grand Cache slightly above Edmonton’s (1.9%; its low shelter costs (40.6% below to $2.80 in Pincher Creek; potatoes Appendix Table 5). However, it had Edmonton’s; Appendix Table 5).