Survey of Advanced Technology

The objective of the Survey of Advanced Technology is to collect important information about the extent to which Canadian enterprises use advanced technologies. The information compiled from the survey can be used for market analysis, by trade associations to study performance and other characteristics of their industries, and by government to develop national and regional economic policies and technology strategies. The information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.


Collection period:

October 4, 2022 to January 13, 2023


Collection methods:

Electronic questionnaire


Survey participation:

Mandatory under the Statistics Act

Confidentiality

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes.

Data sharing agreements and record linkage

Data sharing agreements

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon.

The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, as well as with the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data, and mailing it to the following address:

Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Care of Director, Investment, Science and Technology Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, ON K1A 0T6

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Record linkage

To enhance the data from this survey, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Topics covered in the survey

The survey asks questions about:

  • advanced technologies,
  • emerging technologies, and
  • business practices and innovation.

Published data

Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats. To find all the documents related to this survey, follow the links below and type the name of the survey in the search engine located at the left of your screen to filter the results.

Data: You will find tables, profiles of a community or region, thematic maps, public use microdata files, and data visualization tools.

Analysis: You will have direct access to Stats in brief (e.g., releases from The Daily, fact sheets), articles and reports, and journals and periodicals.

For more information about this survey