Gold price history in CAD

Where do these Canadian dollar gold prices come from?

No Canadian body publishes an official annual gold price in Canadian dollars, so we built the series from two public sources and show both inputs in the table, so anyone can check our maths.

1. Gold in US dollars: the World Bank's Commodity Price Data, known as the Pink Sheet (annual file updated 2 September 2026). Its gold series is the average of daily London afternoon benchmark prices for 99.5% fine gold, switching to an average of daily spot prices from June 2025.
2. The exchange rate: the Bank of Canada's annual average USD/CAD rate, which is how many Canadian dollars one US dollar bought on average that year. For 1997 to 2016 we used the Bank's legacy annual average noon rates; for 2017 onward, its current annual average rates.

We multiplied the two: CAD price = USD gold average x USD/CAD average. This is an approximation. A true CAD average would convert each day's price at that day's rate, and the two methods can differ by a small amount in volatile years. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. We start at 1997, the first year of the Bank of Canada's annual average series we could retrieve, and we do not fill gaps with estimates.

What was the average gold price in Canada each year?

Sources: World Bank Pink Sheet annual nominal prices (US$ cents from the January 2026 edition; the September 2026 edition gives the same figures to the dollar); Bank of Canada annual average exchange rates. CA$ column calculated by GoldVetted. Prices are per troy ounce (31.1035 g) of fine gold, before dealer premiums and tax.

What about 2026 so far?

The World Bank's monthly file (updated 2 October 2026) runs to September. Converting each month at the Bank of Canada's monthly average rate gives a January to September 2026 average of about CA$6,299. The highest month was February at about CA$6,853 (US$5,020 at 1.3651), and the lowest was July at about CA$5,746 (US$4,073 at 1.4107). A full-year figure will only exist once the year ends. Our automated check on 11 October 2026 recorded spot at CA$5,978.73, below the February average.

How much did gold rise in each decade in CAD?

The two right-hand columns tell the main story of this page. In the 2000s, Canadian buyers gained far less than Americans because the loonie strengthened sharply. In the 2010s it was the reverse: the loonie weakened, so gold rose more than three times as much in CAD as in USD.

What were the key moments for gold in Canadian dollars?

1997 to 2001: the long low

Gold spent the late 1990s falling. In US dollars its annual average dropped from US$331 in 1997 to US$271 in 2001. A weakening loonie softened this for Canadians: the Bank of Canada's average rate went from 1.3844 to 1.5484, so the CAD price bottomed at CA$414 in 1999 and 2000 and was already edging up to CA$420 in 2001.

2007 to 2011: the loonie reaches par

The Canadian dollar reached parity with the US dollar in September 2007 for the first time since 1976, after rising more than 33% from its early 2002 low, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The Bank of Canada's daily noon rate first closed at or above par on 28 September 2007, and on 7 November 2007 one US dollar cost just C$0.917. The loonie was at or above par on 183 noon fixings in 2011 and 160 in 2012, and its annual average was above par in 2011 (US$1 = C$0.9891).

For gold buyers, a strong loonie acts as a discount. Between 2007 and 2011, gold's annual average rose 125% in US dollars but 107% in Canadian dollars. The CAD average peaked at CA$1,669 in 2012, the highest annual figure until 2019.

2013 to 2015: gold falls, the loonie falls faster

Gold's US dollar average fell 15.5% in 2013 and kept sliding to US$1,161 in 2015, down 30.5% from 2012. But the Canadian dollar also weakened, from 0.9996 to 1.2787 to the US dollar, so the CAD price fell only 11.1% over the same years. By 2016, CAD gold (CA$1,655) was almost back at its 2012 peak while US gold was still about 25% below its own.

2016: Canada finishes selling its gold reserves

Canada's official reserves no longer hold gold in any meaningful amount. The Department of Finance, not the Bank of Canada, generally decides on gold sales, with the Bank acting as the government's fiscal agent, according to a Canadian Press fact check. Sales began in the 1980s, the last bullion went by December 2003, and the remaining gold coins were sold off mostly in late 2015 and early 2016. The government's own reserves report shows it sold 21,851 ounces of gold coins in February 2016, leaving 77 ounces, and nine more in March, leaving 68 ounces valued at roughly zero in its US$ million table (Finance Canada, March 2016 reserves). The sales had no visible effect on the world price, as the amounts were tiny next to the global market.

2019 to 2026: records in Canadian dollars

The CAD annual average set a new high in 2019 (CA$1,848), jumped 28.5% in 2020, then rose 24.7% in 2024 and 47.1% in 2025, the biggest yearly rise in our table. Between 2023 and 2025, gold rose 83% in CAD against 77% in USD, because the loonie drifted lower to an average of 1.3978. The monthly series then peaked in February 2026 before easing in the middle of the year.

What were the biggest yearly rises and falls?

Calculated from the annual table above. 2021 shows how a stronger loonie can turn a small US gain into a Canadian loss.

What does gold price history tell Canadian buyers, and what does it not?

History shows two things clearly. Gold can rise a lot over long periods, and it can also fall for years: anyone who bought at the 2012 CAD average waited until 2019 for a higher annual average. And for Canadians, the exchange rate matters almost as much as gold itself. A strong loonie lowers the CAD price; a weak one raises it.

History does not tell you what happens next. We do not publish forecasts. Gold pays no interest or dividends, and the price you can sell at is below what you pay, because dealers charge a premium when selling and buy back under spot. If you are weighing gold against other assets, our guide to whether gold is a good investment sets out the trade-offs, and what the spot price means explains the number these averages are built on.

To value something you already own, use the gold value calculator, or see the gold price per gram in CAD for jewellery and the gold price per kilo in CAD for large bars. When you sell, half of any capital gain is generally taxable; our Canada gold tax guide explains how the CRA treats it. For dealers, premiums and buyback, start with the best places to buy gold in Canada.

This page is information, not financial advice. Past prices do not predict future returns.

Not financial advice. GoldVetted provides general information to help you compare options. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Gold prices go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay. Check tax rules with the official source or a qualified adviser before you act.