Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada (StatCan) is the national statistical office of Canada. It collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes official data on the economy, society, and environment to inform the public, governments, businesses, researchers, and media. StatCan produces flagship programs such as the Census of Population, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Labour Force Survey (LFS), gross domestic product (GDP) statistics, and many other indicators released through The Daily.

At a glance — Statistics Canada

Type	Federal agency (national statistical office)
Legal authority	Statistics Act (confidentiality, mandatory response for designated programs)
Headquarters	Ottawa–Gatineau (Tunney’s Pasture campus) with regional offices across Canada
Core outputs	Economic, social, demographic, health, environmental and geospatial statistics; microdata access
Flagship publications	The Daily (news releases) • Data tables • Analytical reports • Census products
Official site / API	statcan.gc.ca • (Developers) Web Data Service/API

Mandate and role

Statistics Canada’s mandate is to ensure Canadians have access to timely, high-quality, and relevant information about Canada’s people, economy, and environment. Data support public policy, private-sector decisions, academic research, and informed public debate. The agency operates at arm’s length and adheres to professional standards for methods, quality, ethics, and confidentiality.

What Statistics Canada produces

• Census of Population (every 5 years): population counts, families, languages, Indigenous identity, immigration, education, labour, housing, income, and more.
• CPI (inflation) – monthly price indexes and core measures (Inflation in Canada).
• Labour Force Survey (LFS) – monthly employment, unemployment rate, participation, hours worked.
• GDP and productivity – monthly GDP by industry; quarterly national accounts; productivity accounts.
• Trade, retail, manufacturing – international merchandise trade; retail trade; manufacturing shipments; wholesale trade; building permits; investment and capital stock.
• Demography & health – population estimates/projections; vital statistics; Canadian Community Health Survey; health-care and outcomes.
• Social & justice – General Social Survey; victimization and justice statistics; income and wealth measures.
• Environment & agriculture – greenhouse-gas emissions, energy statistics, crops/farm surveys, land use.
• Business & finance – Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH); business conditions; financial flows and balance sheets.
• Geospatial – boundary files, Road Network File, GeoSuite, and mapping tools to analyze data by provinces/territories, CMAs/CAs, census divisions, and census tracts.

Release calendar and “The Daily”

Most new indicators are announced at 08:30 ET on scheduled days. The Daily provides concise highlights, charts, and links to full tables and methods. Major releases include:

Program	Frequency (typical)	Notes
Labour Force Survey	Monthly (usually first Friday)	Employment, unemployment rate, wages, hours
CPI (inflation)	Monthly (mid-to-late month)	Headline and core measures
GDP by industry	Monthly (end of month)	Real GDP growth by sector
International trade	Monthly	Exports, imports, balance by product & partner
Retail trade / Manufacturing / Wholesale	Monthly	Sales volumes and prices
Quarterly national accounts	Quarterly	Expenditure-based GDP, income, saving, investment
Census products	Every 5 years	Staged topic releases over the census year

Data sources and methods

Statistics come from three main sources:

1. Surveys (household and business), using probability sampling and modern collection (online, phone, field).
2. Administrative and scanner data from governments and businesses (e.g., tax files, customs declarations, point-of-sale scanners) used alone or integrated with surveys.
3. Data integration and modelling to produce consistent, timely estimates (seasonal adjustment, benchmarking, small-area estimation).

Quality and revisions

StatCan documents accuracy (sampling and non-sampling error), comparability, timeliness, coherence, and interpretability. Many programs feature revision cycles as late data arrive or methods improve; seasonally adjusted series are periodically re-estimated.

Geography

Most indicators are available nationally and by province/territory; many are produced for census metropolitan areas (CMAs), census agglomerations (CAs), and smaller geographic units. Geospatial files enable mapping and spatial analysis.

Confidentiality and ethics

Under the Statistics Act, confidential information collected by Statistics Canada is protected. Individual responses are used only for statistical purposes; results are released in aggregated form. Disclosure control techniques (suppression, random rounding, perturbation) protect privacy while preserving data utility.

Access, tools, and microdata

• Data tables & downloaders: CSV/JSON/Excel and visualization tools on statcan.gc.ca.
• Developers’ API (Web Data Service): machine-readable access to many tables.
• Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs): anonymized microdata for teaching and research.
• Research Data Centres (RDCs): secure sites (and virtual access) for accredited researchers to analyze detailed confidential microdata under strict controls.
• Open Government Licence—Canada: most outputs are openly licensed with attribution requirements.

Bilingual publication

All releases, metadata, and tools are published in English and French, consistent with the Official Languages Act.

History (brief)

• 1918: Dominion Bureau of Statistics established.
• 1971: Statistics Canada created, merging economic and social statistics functions.
• 1990s–present: Major modernization of methods, classification systems (e.g., NAICS, NOC), data integration, and digital access; five-year census cycle reaffirmed.

How to cite Statistics Canada

Citations typically include: Statistics Canada, product title, table or catalogue number, release date, and URL (or DOI where provided). Example (generic): Statistics Canada. Year. “Title of release,” The Daily, Table xx-xx-xxxx-xx.

See also

• Economy of Canada • Inflation in Canada • Bank of Canada • Canadian dollar
• Census of Population (Canada) • Labour Force Survey • The Daily (Statistics Canada)

External links (official)

• Statistics Canada — Home: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/
• The Daily (news releases): https://www.statcan.gc.ca/ (search: “The Daily”)
• Data tables & visualizations: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/ (search: “Data tables”)
• Developers — Web Data Service/API: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/ (search: “Web Data Service”)
• Geography & boundary files: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/ (search: “Boundary files”)