Today, Canadians, governments across Canada, businesses, researchers and communities rely on Statistics Canada to provide objective, high-quality information that helps them understand the country and make decisions.
The world is changing rapidly, and the role of official statistics is changing with it.
Why Statistics Canada is transforming
As the pace of change accelerates, expectations for our data are also evolving. Canadians increasingly need information that is more timely, detailed and accessible to navigate a complex world, and we must transform how we create and deliver value to meet these changing expectations.
We must respond to declining survey response rates, rapid advances in technology, the growing influence of misinformation and disinformation, and ongoing fiscal pressures, all while continuing to deliver the high-quality statistics Canadians rely on.
Our mandate remains unchanged: to provide Canadians with objective, high-quality official statistics they can trust. However, to continue fulfilling that mandate in a rapidly changing world, we must continuously modernize how we produce and deliver those statistics.
Transformation is about more than adopting new technologies. It is about fundamentally rethinking how we work, from the way we produce statistics to how we deliver insights, so that Statistics Canada remains a trusted and resilient national statistical office for generations to come.
Our vision for the future: StatCan 2030
StatCan 2030 sets the long-term direction for our transformation:
Deliver enhanced, more connected, and trusted insights for Canadians when it matters most.
This vision sets our long-term direction and reflects our commitment to ensuring Canadians continue to have access to reliable information in an increasingly complex world. Our mandate remains unchanged. What is changing is how we deliver it.
Our transformation is centred on three long-term outcomes that define the agency we are building.
Deliver enhanced insights
We are transforming how official statistics are produced by modernizing our methods, making greater use of technology and automation, and simplifying the way we work. As the information landscape evolves, we will continue to strengthen our statistical approaches while maintaining the rigour and quality that Canadians expect from their national statistical office. These changes will enable us to produce more timely, relevant and responsive insights, provide a deeper understanding of emerging issues, and allow our employees to focus on work that delivers greater value for Canadians.
Deliver more connected insights
Canada's challenges are increasingly interconnected and cannot be fully understood when viewed separately. We are strengthening our ability to bring together data, expertise and perspectives from across the agency and across the National Statistical System to provide a more complete understanding of Canada's economy, society and environment. By improving how information is connected and shared, we will make our data easier to access and use while delivering richer insights that better support decision making.
Deliver trusted insights
Trust is the foundation of everything we do. Throughout our transformation, we remain committed to protecting the confidentiality of the information entrusted to us, maintaining the highest standards of quality and objectivity, and ensuring data are used responsibly. As new technologies, including artificial intelligence, become part of our operations, they will be implemented in ways that strengthen—not compromise—the integrity, transparency and reliability of Canada's official statistics.
Turning vision into action
Statistics Canada's 2026–2029 strategic plan translates StatCan 2030 into three concrete priorities for action over the next three years. These priorities will guide decisions, investments and transformation efforts across the agency:
- First, we are building a future-ready statistical workforce by investing in the skills, leadership and culture needed to thrive in an evolving data environment.
- Second, we are safeguarding quality while transforming our statistical programs to ensure they continue to meet the needs of Canadians and align with international standards.
- Finally, we are simplifying and transforming how statistics are produced by reducing complexity, adopting modern approaches and technologies, and building a more integrated and scalable statistical system.
Together, these priorities provide the foundation for a more agile, resilient and modern Statistics Canada, enabling the agency to better respond to changing needs while maintaining the trust and quality that define official statistics. The impact of this transformation will be measured not only by how we work differently, but by the value of the information we provide for Canadians and our partners.
What this means for Canadians and our partners
For Canadians and our partners, this transformation will make it easier to access and use our data and insights. Users can expect more timely information, better connected analysis across topics; and statistical products that are easier to find, understand and integrate into their own work. Survey respondents will benefit from continued efforts to reduce response burden through greater use of existing data and more efficient collection methods.
While how we work is evolving, what Canadians can expect from Statistics Canada remains unchanged: objective, independent and high-quality official statistics, produced with rigorous methods and protected by some of the strongest privacy and confidentiality safeguards in the world.
Statistics Canada's transformation is an investment in the future of official statistics—ensuring Canadians continue to have access to trusted, relevant and timely information in a rapidly changing world.