Figure7-7The CPI, 1914–2011 Since 1914, the CPI has generally risen steadily. But the annual percentage increases in recent years have been much smaller than those of the 1970s and early 1980s. Since the mid-1990s, the inflation rate has fluctuated around 2%, partly owing to the 2% inflation rate target set by the Bank of Canada. (The vertical axis is measured on a logarithmic scale so that equal percent changes in the CPI have the same slope.)