Impacts on Statistics Canada travel and tourism data resulting from replacement of E311 declaration cards with Primary Inspection Kiosks

Prepared by Tourism and Centre for Education Statistics Division and Household Survey Methods Division, Statistics Canada

Version 1.0

September 10, 2018

Introduction

Data for Statistics Canada's Frontier Counts (FC) program are produced using administrative data received from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on all international travellers who have been cleared for entry or re-entry into Canada. This includes residents of Canada, the United States and overseas entering Canada from abroad.

In March 2017, the CBSA began introducing the electronic Primary Inspection Kiosk (PIK) system at major airports in Canada to collect information from commercial air travellers arriving in Canada. In the airports where it is deployed, the PIK system replaces the paper E311 Declaration Cards that are completed by international travellers to Canada and submitted to airport border services officers upon arrival in Canada.

This guide is intended for users of travel and tourism data. It provides an overview of how the change in data collection, with PIK replacing E311 cards, has resulted in changes to individual travel statistics. It contains information on how to use and interpret the PIK-based data as well as how to compare the current data with historical data that were based on the E311 cards.

Definitions and concepts

Data collection and processing

Overall, the paper E311 cards and electronic PIK represent different means of collecting a similar set of information on international travellers entering Canada by air.

The E311 cards are normally distributed in-flight to travellers arriving in Canada, who complete the form before submitting them to airport border services officers. In comparison, travellers reporting using PIK do so upon arrival in Canada at the touch-screen kiosks in the airport before proceeding to border services officers. Some travellers make use of CBSA's eDeclaration mobile app that allows them to prepare declaration information in advance and load it when arriving at the kiosks, but these currently represent a small minority. Whether using the kiosk or the eDeclaration app, travellers who report using PIK follow instructions on a series of screens to input their information.

All completed E311 cards are forwarded to Statistics Canada for processing, data capture, and quality evaluation. Given the high number of cards received on a yearly basis prior to PIK (more than 22 million) and resource and time constraints, a sample design was developed for processing the cards and arriving at estimates of international traveller counts. For PIK, electronic data files representing all completed PIK declarations are forwarded to Statistics Canada, therefore no sampling of PIK data files is required.

Data on international travellers received from CBSA, including both E311 cards and PIK, are distributed by Statistics Canada into categories of flows which are:

  • Canadian residents returning to Canada from the United States,
  • Canadian residents returning to Canada from countries other than the United States (direct or via the United States),
  • United States residents entering Canada,
  • Residents of countries other than the United States entering Canada (direct or via the United States), and
  • "Other" travellers, which consist of a) foreign and resident crew members, and b) diplomats, military personnel, immigrants and former residents.

As with other administrative data received from CBSA, the E311 and PIK data are verified, validated, and integrated into the Frontier Counts system. Several edits and verifications are performed, E311 cards are weighted where a sampling design was conducted, and estimates are produced for each port of entry by combining these data with other sources covering the target population of international travellers (E63, NEXUS, CANPASS) at the airports.

For more information regarding Frontier Counts data sources and methodology, please consult the Definitions, data sources and methods, 5005 – Frontier Counts.

Deployment of PIK

The following is a list of the 19 airports from which Statistics Canada has been receiving and processing E311 Declaration Cards and, where applicable, the dates when PIK was deployed.

  • Gander
  • St. John's
  • Halifax (PIK deployed October 24, 2017)
  • Québec City (PIK deployed December 11, 2017)
  • Montréal (PIK deployment started November 7, 2017)
  • Mirabel
  • Mont-Tremblant
  • Ottawa (PIK deployed March 17, 2017)
  • London
  • Toronto Terminal 1 (PIK deployment forthcoming)
  • Toronto Terminal 3 (PIK deployed June 21, 2017)
  • Toronto Island (PIK deployed May 8, 2018)
  • Winnipeg (PIK deployed June 12, 2018)
  • Saskatoon
  • Regina
  • Edmonton (PIK deployed September 12, 2017)
  • Calgary (PIK deployment forthcoming)
  • Vancouver (PIK deployed April 19, 2017)
  • Victoria

Sources of difference between E311- and PIK-based results

Between alternate methods of collecting data to measure a given subject, differences in the nature and accuracy of data can result from a variety of reasons, many of which apply to the switch from paper E311 cards to electronic PIK kiosks. There are two sets of sources for these differences. First, they can originate from changes in wording or concept, changes in the format of the questions or the questionnaire (e.g., paper vs electronic), changes in who is reporting the information, and changes in interpretation on the part of the respondent. Second, differences can originate from changes in sample design, coverage and accuracy of data processing.

This document focuses on the changes to individual concepts measured by the Frontier Counts that originate from the first set of sources. With regards to sample design, where the census of PIK information replaces samples of E311 cards, the resulting PIK-based data will necessarily be more statistically accurate. However, due to high sampling proportions, E311-based estimates were already accurate, with coefficients of variation (CV) varying from less than 1% to 5%. Similarly, data processing methods are not expected to be an important source of difference between E311 and PIK. The degree of processing error associated with E311 cards is assumed to be negligible given the safeguards and analyses that are already in place, while a similar or greater degree of processing accuracy is assumed to exist with PIK data, as there is no processing required to capture and convert it into electronic form.

Coverage error, however, is recognized as an overall source of difference between E311-based estimates and PIK-based counts. Prior to the deployment of PIK, coverage error associated with E311 cards was considered to be insignificant because travellers were obligated to hand in their E311 cards/printouts to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers. Since the start of PIK, CBSA has identified that some travellers at PIK airports may bypass both PIK and E311 (unaccompanied minors, travellers with a non-machine-readable travel document, foreign representatives and their families, travellers who arrive during a kiosk outage) and make their declarations directly to border services officers. These declarations are not currently recorded, however CBSA estimates the total amounts to be in the range of one to two percent or less. Statistics Canada is currently working with CBSA to account for travellers who undergo this form of in-person processing.

Response error occurs when a respondent reports an incorrect response, often from misunderstanding the question being asked. Changes in respondent behaviour are known to occur when the mode of collection changes, such as from a paper to an electronic format in the case of E311 to PIK. Indeed, comparison of data from the E311 cards and the PIK indicates that there are changes in the degree of response error in certain categories of travel questions. These changes in response error occurred because of the differences in question format and wording, and whether the information was provided by the traveller, the border services officer or another administrative source. The degree of response error associated with E311 cards and PIK cannot be calculated.

With the change from E311 to PIK there is also an important change in the environment in which the traveller completes the declaration as well as the change in data collection mode. In general, travellers completing their E311 cards during their flight can be assumed to have more time to read and consider the questions than travellers at an airport PIK kiosk who are wanting to advance to the border services officers, possibly with line-ups of people waiting behind them.

The main highlights of this assessment are presented below.

Response error

Arriving from

Both E311 cards and PIK require the travellers to declare where they are arriving from using the following response categories (presented in order):

  • U.S. only
  • Other country direct
  • Other country via U.S.

Results of this question are important primarily for identifying the proper category of 'flow' for returning Canadian travellers and visiting overseas travellers. For Canadian travellers it allows Statistics Canada to distinguish between those who are returning from the United States and those who are returning from a trip to another country – either direct or after transiting in the United States. Travellers from overseas countries entering Canada by air are also disaggregated by whether they arrived direct or via the United States. For all travellers, whether they are residents of Canada, United States or overseas countries is determined by their response to the Country of residence question, and not by the Arriving from question.

The Arriving from question is known to be unclear for certain flows of travellers. Some overseas residents who enter Canada following a flight from the United States after a visit in the United States are unsure whether to select 'U.S. only' or 'Other country via U.S.', particularly if they were travelling in the United States as well. Canadian residents who return from overseas trips on flights from the United States also have a tendency to select 'U.S. only' when they should be selecting 'Other country via U.S.' A frequent correction seen on E311 cards was for the first category to be scratched out and the third category selected.

For overseas travellers, a mistaken selection of the first category instead of the third is inconsequential, as both will be recorded as 'Residents of countries other than United States entering Canada by air via the United States.' However, for Canadian travellers, the mistake results in overreporting of 'Canadian residents returning from the United States' and underreporting of 'Canadian residents returning from countries other than the United States.'

Analysis of the PIK-based versus E311-based results indicates that there has been an increase in the number of Canadian residents who reported returning from the United States when reporting using PIK, and a consequent decrease in the numbers who reported returning from countries other than the United States. The assumption is that travellers who are reporting on E311 forms in-flight are generally under less pressure to complete the form than travellers standing at a PIK kiosk who must complete this step before proceeding to border services officers, and possibly with a line-up of travellers behind them. The E311 travellers are therefore more likely to read and consider all three response categories before making a selection. Furthermore, the categories on the E311 card that are presented vertically are also closer together than the horizontally-presented buttons on the PIK screen, suggesting greater possibility of the third category being overlooked before the traveller hits the 'Continue' button to advance to the next screen. As a result, Canadian travellers returning from an overseas trip via the United States and reporting at a PIK kiosk will be more likely to select the first entry that appears to apply to their situation, and less likely to see or consider the category 'Other country via U.S.'

As a result of this change in respondent behaviour, users are advised to use caution when comparing 2018 PIK-based numbers of Canadians travelling to the United States or overseas with similar E311-based figures from previous years. Direct comparisons of the amount of increase or decrease between the two time periods are not advised.

Country of Residence

On E311 cards, international travellers arriving in Canada by air are asked to self-report their home address, including city/town, province/state if applicable, and country of residence. With PIK, international travellers are asked a less-detailed set of information on their place of residence. First, travellers are presented a screen titled 'Residency' with the categories 'Canada', 'U.S.' or 'Other'. Based on their selection, one of three additional screens will appear: (1) a screen for Canadian residents to report their province or territory of residence, (2) a screen for US travellers to select their state of residence, or (3) a screen for overseas travellers to declare their country of residence. In all three cases, travellers select their entry from a drop-down list; travellers cannot type in their selection. For overseas travellers, the list of countries presented corresponds to the 'Nationality' element of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 9303 compliant travel document. The language of the list varies depending on the language the user selected to complete the PIK session, with up to 15 language options at some airports.

With E311 cards, the country of residence is coded by Statistics Canada according to the set of countries that represent the most disaggregated dissemination categories. For E311 cards that were received for flights arriving after January 1, 2018, the list of countries corresponds to Statistics Canada's Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest (SCCAI 2016). For the small number of responses that are insufficiently specific (e.g., 'Caribbean'), these are imputed based on citizenship, where possible. Other specific routines were developed to handle some commonly occurring situations. For example, responses similar to 'France – St. Pierre and Miquelon' or 'France (Guadeloupe)' would be coded to St. Pierre and Miquelon and Guadeloupe, respectively.

Based on analyses of PIK-based results with historical trends, the data from PIK appear to be comparable with E311-based figures on major source countries of travellers to Canada (with the possible exception of Taiwan). Noted differences in data patterns between PIK and E31 involve mainly smaller source countries – particularly territories associated with other countries – and suggest a number of possible reasons:

  • French territories – there have been noticeable decreases in the numbers of arrivals from St. Pierre and Miquelon, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion. As noted above, respondents who provided both pieces of information on E311 cards would be coded to the more detailed level. With the long drop-down list provided in PIK, respondents who may have provided more detail in the past were content to select the broader response category that travellers were certain would appear, or that appeared higher on the list, saving them additional time spent scrolling.
  • US territories – there have been increases in numbers of arrivals from Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands and Guam. The hypothesis is that many border services officers reviewing E311 cards from these travellers select a box on the E311 card for CBSA use only which indicates that the travellers were US visitors. This box is used by Statistics Canada in E311 processing to identify fields to capture. Since these cards would be identified as having been completed by US travellers, their responses to country of residence on the card would be neither captured nor reviewed.
  • Change in classification system – the more detailed list of countries used since January 1, 2018 (SCCAI 2016) to accommodate PIK has resulted in some new categories being created (e.g., Sint Maarten, Curaçao) and the elimination of other aggregated categories (e.g., Dutch West Indies) formerly used by the Frontier Counts.
  • Other territories – other territories and areas associated with larger countries (such as Macao) have seen changes in response that may be partly attributed to differences in reporting behaviour between a write-in field and a drop-down list in the degree of detail that is reported.

Apart from the cases identified above, results from E311 and PIK are considered comparable for counts of travellers from overseas countries.

Immigrants and Other Travellers

There is a difference in the manner in which immigrants are recorded between E311 Declaration cards and PIK, which has led to significant overreporting of the numbers of immigrants from PIK-based estimates.

With E311 Declaration Cards, a traveller does not self-report as having arrived in Canada with the intention of immigrating; this identification is made in the CBSA-only portion of the card by the border services officer once the traveller is questioned during primary or secondary inspection. The categories of Purpose of Trip available to the traveller on the E311 are restricted to study, personal and business.

In PIK, however, it is the traveller who self-reports as intending to immigrate by selecting 'immigrate' from the following Purpose of trip categories: visit/in-transit, study, work and immigrate. Selecting 'immigrate' in PIK leads to questioning by the border services officer following submission of the on-screen declaration. In cases where the border services officer concludes that the traveller has misunderstood the question or its intended purpose and selected 'immigrate' in error, this value is not corrected by the officer in the PIK database.

This change in question format has resulted in overreporting of immigrants arriving at PIK airports in the months of January to May 2018 compared with the same reference months of previous years. Users are advised to not rely on Frontier Counts figures of immigrants arriving at PIK airports since the deployment of PIK.

Crew

With the switch from E311 to PIK, there have been increased numbers of flight crew members reported. Counts of the more numerous Canadian crew members have increased the most in terms of numbers but, as a percent increase, the change has been greatest for crews from countries other than Canada or the United States.

With E311 cards, the identification as a member of the crew of the aircraft is made by a border services officer in the CBSA-only portion of the card. With PIK, a crew identifier flag is automatically applied in the PIK database for members of the crew. The flight manifest submitted to CBSA by the airline provides the source of the crew members' names.

A hypothesis to explain the increase in crew members from countries other than Canada or the United States is that long-haul flights that may have employees work in shifts during the flight, or that off-duty airline employees may be flying to a destination to work a flight originating from that destination. With E311, crew members who are off duty at the end of a flight may be in plainclothes and not appear as crew to border services officers. As a result, the officers would be less likely to identify them as crew members on the E311. In comparison, the flight manifest submitted by the airline company may record all airline staff on the flight. Further investigation is required to confirm or disprove this hypothesis.

Calibration Groups for the Visitor Travel Survey

Table 1
Calibration Groups for American Visitors
Mode Number of groups
Automobile, same day 23
Automobile, overnight 29
Plane commercial 14
Plane private, same day 11
Plane private, overnight 11
Bus, same day 9
Bus, overnight 9
Train 8
Boat commercial 9
Boat private, same day 11
Boat private, overnight 11
Other methods 9
Total 154
Table 2
Calibration Groups for Overseas Visitors
Mode Number of groups
Directly from Overseas 27
Via the United States by land 27
Via the United States by other modes 27
Total 81

National Travel Survey: C.V.s for Visit-Expenditures by Duration of Visit, Main Trip Purpose and Country or Region of Expenditures, Q1 2018

C.V.s for Visit-Expenditures by Duration of Visit, Main Trip Purpose and Country or Region of Expenditures, Q1 2018 in Thousands of Dollars (x 1,000)
Table summary
This table displays the results of C.V.s for Visit-Expenditures by Duration of Visit, Main Trip Purpose and Country or Region of Expenditures. The information is grouped by Duration of trip (appearing as row headers), Main Trip Purpose, Country or Region of Expenditures (Total, Canada, United States, Overseas) calculated using Visit-Expenditures in Thousands of Dollars (x 1,000) and c.v. as units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Duration of Visit Main Trip Purpose Country or Region of Expenditures
Total Canada United States Overseas
$ '000 C.V. $ '000 C.V. $ '000 C.V. $ '000 C.V.
Total Duration Total Main Trip Purpose 19,096,748 A 8,222,912 A 5,325,440 A 5,548,397 A
Holiday, leisure or recreation 11,041,599 A 3,192,885 A 3,800,935 A 4,047,779 A
Visit friends or relatives 3,760,031 A 2,299,837 A 524,808 B 935,386 B
Personal conference, convention or trade show 256,055 B 176,464 B 65,056 C 14,535 E
Shopping, non-routine 630,477 B 480,839 B 147,089 B 2,549 E
Other personal reasons 737,267 B 541,742 B 76,870 D 118,655 D
Business conference, convention or trade show 1,129,782 B 569,223 B 397,199 B 163,360 C
Other business 1,541,538 B 961,923 B 313,483 B 266,133 C
Same-Day Total Main Trip Purpose 3,215,346 A 2,870,169 A 329,932 B 15,245 D
Holiday, leisure or recreation 1,140,641 B 961,165 B 164,563 C 14,913 D
Visit friends or relatives 820,486 B 791,662 B 28,822 C 2 E
Personal conference, convention or trade show 82,850 D 77,940 D 4,910 E .. ..
Shopping, non-routine 486,799 B 393,940 B 92,858 B .. ..
Other personal reasons 288,618 B 275,832 B 12,515 E 270 E
Business conference, convention or trade show 99,456 C 91,448 C 8,008 E .. ..
Other business 296,497 B 278,182 B 18,255 D 60 E
Overnight Total Main Trip Purpose 15,881,402 A 5,352,742 A 4,995,509 A 5,533,151 A
Holiday, leisure or recreation 9,900,958 A 2,231,720 A 3,636,372 A 4,032,866 A
Visit friends or relatives 2,939,545 A 1,508,175 A 495,986 B 935,384 B
Personal conference, convention or trade show 173,205 B 98,524 B 60,146 C 14,535 E
Shopping, non-routine 143,678 C 86,898 C 54,231 C 2,549 E
Other personal reasons 448,649 B 265,909 B 64,355 D 118,385 D
Business conference, convention or trade show 1,030,326 B 477,775 B 389,191 B 163,360 C
Other business 1,245,041 B 683,741 B 295,228 B 266,073 C
..
data not available

Estimates contained in this table have been assigned a letter to indicate their coefficient of variation (c.v.) (expressed as a percentage). The letter grades represent the following coefficients of variation:

A
c.v. between or equal to 0.00% and 5.00% and means Excellent.
B
c.v. between or equal to 5.01% and 15.00% and means Very good.
C
c.v. between or equal to 15.01% and 25.00% and means Good.
D
c.v. between or equal to 25.01% and 35.00% and means Acceptable.
E
c.v. greater than 35.00% and means Use with caution.

National Travel Survey: C.V.s for Person-Trips by Duration of Trip, Main Trip Purpose and Country or Region of Trip Destination, Q1 2018

C.V.s for Person-Trips by Duration of Trip, Main Trip Purpose and Country or Region of Trip , Q1 2018
Table summary
This table displays the results of C.V.s for Person-Trips by Duration of Trip, Main Trip Purpose and Country or Region of Trip Destination. The information is grouped by Duration of trip (appearing as row headers), Main Trip Purpose, Country or Region of Trip Destination (Total, Canada, United States, Overseas) calculated using Person-Trips in Thousands (× 1,000) and C.V. as a units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Duration of Trip Main Trip Purpose Country or Region of Trip Destination
Total Canada United States Overseas
Person-Trips (× 1,000) C.V. Person-Trips (× 1,000) C.V. Person-Trips (× 1,000) C.V. Person-Trips (× 1,000) C.V.
Total Duration Total Main Trip Purpose 65,796 A 56,320 A 6,174 A 3,302 A
Holiday, leisure or recreation 21,307 A 16,015 A 2,977 A 2,315 A
Visit friends or relatives 26,930 A 25,072 A 1,179 B 679 B
Personal conference, convention or trade show 1,065 B 953 B 103 C 8 E
Shopping, non-routine 4,208 A 3,250 A 954 B 5 E
Other personal reasons 4,798 A 4,509 B 194 C 95 D
Business conference, convention or trade show 2,216 B 1,824 B 309 B 83 C
Other business 5,272 B 4,697 B 458 B 117 C
Same-Day Total Main Trip Purpose 41,676 A 39,132 A 2,544 A .. ..
Holiday, leisure or recreation 11,582 A 10,693 A 889 B .. ..
Visit friends or relatives 16,972 A 16,586 A 386 B .. ..
Personal conference, convention or trade show 683 B 641 B 42 E .. ..
Shopping, non-routine 3,945 A 3,076 A 869 B .. ..
Other personal reasons 3,805 B 3,685 B 120 C .. ..
Business conference, convention or trade show 989 C 960 C 30 D .. ..
Other business 3,700 B 3,491 B 209 C .. ..
Overnight Total Main Trip Purpose 24,120 A 17,188 A 3,630 A 3,302 A
Holiday, leisure or recreation 9,725 A 5,322 A 2,088 A 2,315 A
Visit friends or relatives 9,958 A 8,486 A 793 B 679 B
Personal conference, convention or trade show 382 B 312 B 62 C 8 E
Shopping, non-routine 263 B 174 C 85 C 5 E
Other personal reasons 993 B 824 B 74 C 95 D
Business conference, convention or trade show 1,227 B 864 B 280 B 83 C
Other business 1,572 B 1,206 B 249 B 117 C
..
data not available

Estimates contained in this table have been assigned a letter to indicate their coefficient of variation (c.v.) (expressed as a percentage). The letter grades represent the following coefficients of variation:

A
c.v. between or equal to 0.00% and 5.00% and means Excellent.
B
c.v. between or equal to 5.01% and 15.00% and means Very good.
C
c.v. between or equal to 15.01% and 25.00% and means Good.
D
c.v. between or equal to 25.01% and 35.00% and means Acceptable.
E
c.v. greater than 35.00% and means Use with caution.

North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada 2017 Version 2.0

Release date: October 11, 2018 Updated: April 12, 2019

What We Heard Report, NAPCS Canada 2022 Consultation April 20, 2021

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This standard was approved as a departmental standard on October 16, 2017.

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Concordance: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 3.0 to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 2.0

The concordance table presented here shows the relationship between NAICS Canada 2017 Version 3.0 (first three columns: NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Code, NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Title, Status Code) and NAICS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 (next three columns: Part of NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Class, NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Code, NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Title) only for those areas of the classification which have changed in terms of structure and content.

R - NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 code reused but with different content; N - new NAICS class for 2017 Version 3.0

Concordance: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 3.0 to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 2.0
NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Code NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Title Status Code Part of NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Class NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Code NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Title Explanatory Notes
111412 Cannabis grown under cover N Yes 111419 Other food crops grown under cover Marijuana, grown under cover example is now a legalized industry
111419 Other food crops grown under cover R Yes 111419 Other food crops grown under cover Except cannabis grown under cover
111995 Cannabis grown in open fields N No Not applicable Not applicable Cannabis legalized in October 2018
312310 Cannabis product manufacturing N No Not applicable Not applicable Cannabis legalized in October 2018
413410 Cannabis merchant wholesalers N No Not applicable Not applicable Cannabis legalized in October 2018
419110 Business-to-business electronic markets R No 419110 Business-to-business electronic markets Cannabis legalized in October 2018, example of Cannabis products, business to business (B2B) electronic markets, wholesale has been added
419120 Wholesale trade agents and brokers R No 419120 Wholesale trade agents and brokers Cannabis legalized in October 2018, example of Cannabis products wholesale trade agents and brokers has been added
453993 Cannabis stores N No Not applicable Not applicable Cannabis legalized in October 2018

Sampling Methodology Updates to the Industrial Consumption of Energy Survey

I. Introduction

As part of a corporate initiative to improve data coherence across the economic survey program, the annual industrial consumption of energy survey (ICE) has been incorporated into the new economic survey model, which is called the Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP).Note1

This report has two main objectives. The first is to inform ICE data users and other program stakeholders of the sampling changes that have been implemented to date as part of the transition to the IBSP. These changes will take effect when data for the reference year 2014 are released, in November 2015. The second objective is to provide context on how the program changes will impact data outputs.

The document is organized into three parts. Following the introduction, Part II highlights the key methodological changes resulting from the integration of the ICE survey into the IBSP framework and expected impacts on the data. Part III presents the conclusions.

II. Sampling methodological changes to the ICE survey under the IBSP

The IBSP provides a common survey framework for the various business surveys conducted at Statistics Canada. The integration of the ICE survey into the IBSP framework, which started with the reference year 2014 cycle, resulted in the following changes to the sampling methodology.

  1. Sampling Unit

Prior to reference year 2014, the sampling unit for the ICE survey was based on the business establishment.  As the IBSP adopts the business enterprise as the sampling unit, the sampling methodology for the ICE survey was updated towards using the enterprise as the sampling unit.

In this new scheme, when an enterprise is selected as in-scope for the ICE survey sample, all the in-scope establishments under that enterprise will be included in the sample. Given that the majority of ICE sample units represent the so-called simple single businesses consisting of a single business establishment, the impact of this change is not very significant. As of reference year 2018 the sampling unit is the establishment.

  1. Random sampling method.

The IBSP uses the Bernouilli sampling method, while a simple random sampling method (SRS) was used for the ICE survey, before reference year 2014.

The major difference introduced by this new method is that, within each sampling stratum, the sample size is no longer a predetermined number. Given the fairly large overall sample size and the mini-censuses in many strata of the ICE survey, the general impact is not expected to be significant.

  1. Change of stratification method.

The previous Lavallée-Hidiroglou stratification algorithm used by the ICE survey has now been replaced by a general geometric stratification. This may lead to minor differences in calculating boundaries between sample strata. Overall, the general impact on the data is not expected to be significant.

In addition to the changes identified above, Statistics Canada’s Business Register, which provides the population frame for the ICE survey, is updated on a regular basis. These continuous improvements may impact the ICE survey from time to time. For instance, the determination of annual business revenue for each company/enterprise is currently being modified. Given the important role played by business revenue in the sampling process, this will result in some changes to the ICE survey sample.

The IBSP methodological and analytical approaches take into account core IBSP objectives, including reducing response burden, maintaining data quality, and maximizing the use of administrative data.

III. Conclusion

The change in methodology over the years may result in some data variability from previous years in non census industries. For example, establishments belonging to the same enterprise may have a stronger tendency to consume similar energy products. This is not expected to have a large impact as many of the ICE sample units are simple single businesses where there is only one establishment per enterprise. Revenue updates in the BR and possible boundary changes to the strata may also result in minor data changes for the non census industries.

Notes

  1. For additional information, please see the Integrated Business Statistics Program Overview (68-515-X)

Concordance: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 2.0 to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 3.0

The concordance table presented here shows the relationship between NAICS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 (first three columns: NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Code, NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Title, Status Code) and NAICS Canada 2017 Version 3.0 (next three columns: Part of NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Class, NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Code, NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Title) only for those areas of the classification which have changed in terms of structure and content.

R - NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 code reused, but with different content; NU - NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 code not reused

Concordance: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 2.0 to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 3.0
NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Code NAICS 2017 Version 2.0 Title Status Code Part of NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Class NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Code NAICS 2017 Version 3.0 Title Explanatory Notes
111419 Other food crops grown under cover R Yes 111419 Other food crops grown under cover Except cannabis grown under cover
  Yes 111412 Cannabis grown under cover Marijuana grown under cover is now a legalized industry
Not applicable Not applicable   No 111995 Cannabis grown in open fields Cannabis legalized in October 2018
Not applicable Not applicable   No 312310 Cannabis product manufacturing Cannabis legalized in October 2018
Not applicable Not applicable   No 413410 Cannabis merchant wholesalers Cannabis legalized in October 2018
419110 Business-to-business electronic markets R Yes 419110 Business-to-business electronic markets Cannabis legalized in October 2018, example of Cannabis products, business to business (B2B) electronic markets, wholesale has been added
419120 Wholesale trade agents and brokers R No 419120 Wholesale trade agents and brokers Cannabis legalized in October 2018, example of Cannabis products wholesale trade agents and brokers has been added
Not applicable Not applicable   No 453993 Cannabis stores Cannabis legalized in October 2018

August 2018 edition

This module provides a concise summary of selected Canadian economic events, as well as international and financial market developments by calendar month. It is intended to provide contextual information only to support users of the economic data published by Statistics Canada. In identifying major events or developments, Statistics Canada is not suggesting that these have a material impact on the published economic data in a particular reference month.

All information presented here is obtained from publicly available news and information sources, and does not reflect any protected information provided to Statistics Canada by survey respondents.

Resources

  • On August 30th, the Federal Court of Appeal announced it would quash the Order in Council that had approved the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline and remit the matter back to the Governor in Council for appropriate action.
  • Calgary-based TransCanada Corporation announced it had entered into an agreement to sell its 62% share of the Cartier wind power facilities, and its related operating entities, to Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. of Longueuil, Quebec, for approximately $630 million. TransCanada said the sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018, upon satisfaction of closing conditions.
  • Calgary-based Cenovus Energy Inc. announced it had entered into an agreement to sell the general partnership that holds the Pipestone and Wembley natural gas and liquids business in northwestern Alberta for cash proceeds of $625 million. The company said the sale is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.

Manufacturing

  • Winnipeg-based New Flyer Canada ULC announced that the Société de transport de Montréal and the Société de transport de Laval had awarded New Flyer a contract for 40 forty-foot, zero-emission, battery-electric heavy duty transit buses. The company said the notice to proceed for the pilot bus is expected October 31, 2018, and the notice to proceed for the production buses is expected following the nine month review of the pilot bus.

Finance and insurance

  • Markham, Ontario-based Enercare Inc. and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. of Toronto announced they had entered into an arrangement agreement pursuant to which Brookfield has agreed to acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of Enercare in a transaction valued at $4.3 billion including debt. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to approvals by Enercare shareholders, the Ontario Superior Court, and certain other customary closing conditions.
  • Toronto-based Brookfield Business Partners L.P. and Macquarie Capital of Australia announced an agreement to sell Quadrant Energy to Santos Limited, both of Australia, for USD $2.15 billion. Brookfield said the sale is subject to certain consents and approvals, and is expected to settle in the fourth quarter of 2018.
  • Toronto-based OMERS Infrastructure Management, Inc. announced a definitive agreement to acquire a 50% interest in BridgeTex Pipeline Company, LLC of Oklahoma for USD $1.438 billion.

Other news

  • On August 13th, the Government of Canada accepted a formal request for federal assistance from the Government of British Columbia to help protect communities affected by wildfires in the province. On August 15th, the Government of British Columbia declared a state of emergency to support the province-wide response to the wildfire situation. On August 29th, the Government of British Columbia formally extended the state of emergency through to the end of September 12th. As of August 29th, 534 wildfires were burning in the province, approximately 3,200 people were affected by evacuation orders, and approximately 21,800 were impacted by evacuation alerts.
  • On August 21st, the Government of Ontario announced that one of the largest fires in northeastern Ontario – Parry Sound 33 – was being held, and some waterway and road restrictions had been lifted.
  • The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) announced it had determined that a U.S. industry is not materially injured or threatened by reason of imports of uncoated groundwood paper from Canada that the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined are subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value. The USITC said that as a result, no antidumping or countervailing duty orders will be issued on imports of this product from Canada.
  • The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced its affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping (AD) investigations of imports of large diameter welded pipe from Canada, China, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey. The DOC said that in the Canada investigation, it assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 24.38% and that as a result of the preliminary affirmative determinations, the DOC will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require cash deposits based on these preliminary rates. The DOC also said that Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determinations on or about January 3, 2019.
  • New York-based Constellation Brands Inc. and Smiths Falls, Ontario-based Canopy Growth Corporation announced an expansion of their strategic partnership, under which Constellation will increase its ownership interest in Canopy, resulting in an investment of approximately $5 billion. The companies said the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including Canopy shareholder approval and applicable Canadian government and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close by the end of October 2018.
  • Toronto-based Molson Coors Canada, and cannabis producer The Hydropothecary Corporation (HEXO) of Gatineau, Quebec announced they had entered into a definitive agreement to form a joint venture to pursue opportunities to develop non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused beverages for the Canadian market following legalization. The companies said the transaction is targeted to close before September 30th, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including execution and delivery of various transaction agreements.
  • Ohio-based DSW Inc. announced it will exit its full price, mall-based Town Shoes banner, which operates 38 locations in Canada, mostly by the end of the fiscal year.

United States and other international news

  • The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintained the target range for the federal funds interest rate at 1.75% to 2.00%. The last change in the target range was a 25 basis point increase announced in June 2018.
  • The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee increased the Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 0.75%. The last change in the Bank Rate was a 25 basis-point increase in November 2017. The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of UK government bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £435 billion.
  • The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a list of approximately USD $16 billion worth of imports from China that will be subject to a 25% additional tariff. The USTR said the list contains 279 tariff lines and that Customs and Border Protection would begin to collect the additional duties on the Chinese imports on August 23rd, 2018. On August 24th, China announced it had appealed to the World Trade Organization over these tariffs.
  • The United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States and Mexico had reached a preliminary agreement in principle, subject to finalization and implementation, to update the NAFTA.
  • U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States was taking action to reimpose nuclear-related sanctions with respect to Iran, including reimposing sanctions on Iran's automotive sector and on its trade in gold and precious metals, as well as sanctions related to the Iranian rial. The President also said that all remaining U.S. nuclear-related sanctions will resume effective November 5, 2018, including sanctions targeting Iran's energy sector, including petroleum-related transactions, as well as transactions by foreign financial institutions with the Central Bank of Iran.
  • New York-based PepsiCo, Inc. and SodaStream International Ltd. of Israel announced they had entered into an agreement under which PepsiCo has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of SodaStream in a transaction valued at USD $3.2 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close by January 2019, subject to approval by SodaStream shareholders, certain regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
  • UK-based Whitbread PLC announced it had entered into an agreement for the sale of Costa Limited, also of the UK, to The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, for an enterprise value of £3.9 billion. The company said the transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2019, subject to Whitbread shareholder approval and various other approvals.

Financial market news

  • Crude oil (West Texas Intermediate) closed at USD $69.80 on August 31st, up from $68.76 at the end of July. The Canadian dollar closed at 76.60 cents U.S. on August 31st, down slightly from 76.82 cents U.S. on July 31st. The S&P/TSX closed at 16,262.88 on August 31st, down from a closing value of 16,434.01 at the end of July.

Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP)

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the Annual Capital Expenditures Survey

Preliminary Estimate for 2018 and Intentions for 2019. If you need more information, please call the Statistics Canada Help Line at the number below.

Help Line: 1-877-604-7828

Table of contents

Reporting period information

For the purpose of this survey, please report information for your 12 month fiscal period for which the Final day occurs on or between April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2019.

  • May 1, 2017 – April 30, 2018
  • June 1, 2017 – May 31, 2018
  • July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018
  • August 1, 2017 – July 31, 2018
  • September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018
  • October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018
  • November 1, 2017 – October 31, 2018
  • December 1, 2017 – November 30, 2018
  • January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018
  • February 1, 2018 – January 31, 2019
  • March 1, 2018 – February 28, 2019
  • April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2019

Here are other examples of fiscal periods that fall within the required dates:

  • September 18, 2017 to September 15, 2018 (e.g., floating year-end)
  • June 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 (e.g., a newly opened business)

Dollar amounts

  • all dollar amounts reported should be rounded to thousands of Canadian dollars (e.g., $6,555,444.00 should be rounded to $6,555);
  • exclude sales tax;
  • your best estimates are acceptable when precise figures are not available;
  • if there are no capital expenditures, please enter '0'.

Definitions

What are Capital Expenditures?

Capital Expenditures are the gross expenditures on fixed assets for use in the operations of your organization or for lease or rent to others.

Include:

  • Cost of all new buildings, engineering, machinery and equipment which normally have a life of more than one year and are charged to fixed asset accounts
  • Modifications, acquisitions and major renovations
  • Capital costs such as feasibility studies, architectural, legal, installation and engineering fees
  • Subsidies
  • Capitalized interest charges on loans with which capital projects are financed
  • Work done by own labour force
  • Additions to work in progress

How to Treat Leases

Include:

  • assets acquired as a lessee through either a capital or financial lease;
  • assets acquired for lease to others as an operating lease.

Exclude

  • assets acquired for lease to others, either as a capital or financial lease.

Information for Government Departments

The following applies to government departments only:

Include

  • all capital expenditures without taking into account the capitalization threshold of your department;
  • Grants and/or subsidies to outside entities (e.g., municipalities, agencies, institutions or businesses) are to be excluded;
  • Departments are requested to exclude from reported figures budgetary items pertaining to any departmental agency and proprietary crown corporation as they are surveyed separately;
  • Federal departments are to report expenditures paid for by the department, regardless of which department awarded the contract;
  • Provincial departments are to include any capital expenditures on construction (exclude outlays for land) or machinery and equipment, for use in Canada, financed from revolving funds, loans attached to revolving funds, other loans, the Consolidated Revenue Fund or special accounts.

Industry characteristics

Report the value of the projects expected to be put in place during the year. Include the gross expenditures (including subsidies) on fixed assets for use in the operations of your organization or for lease or rent to others. Include all capital costs such as feasibility studies, architectural, legal, installation and engineering fees as well as work done by your own labour force. Include all additions to work in progress.

New Assets, Renovation, Retrofit, includes both existing assets being upgraded and acquisitions of new assets

The following explanations are not applicable to government departments:

  • include - Capitalized interest charges on loans with which capital projects are financed
  • exclude - If you are capitalizing your leased fixed assets as a lessee in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants' recommendations, please exclude the total of the capitalization of such leases during the year from capital expenditures

Purchase of Used Canadian Assets

Definition: Used fixed assets may be defined as existing buildings, structures or machinery and equipment which have been previously used by another organization in Canada that you have acquired during the time period being reported on this questionnaire.

Explanation: The objective of our survey is to measure gross annual new acquisitions to fixed assets separately from the acquisition of gross annual used fixed assets in the Canadian economy as a whole.

Hence, the acquisition of a used fixed Canadian asset should be reported separately since such acquisitions would not change the aggregates of our domestic inventory of fixed assets, it would simply mean a transfer of assets within Canada from one organization to another.

Imports of used assets, on the other hand, should be included with the new assets (Column 1) because they are newly acquired for the Canadian economy.

Work in Progress

Work in progress represents accumulated costs since the start of capital projects which are intended to be capitalized upon completion.

Typically capital investment includes any expenditure on an asset in which its' life is greater than one year. Capital items charged to operating expenses are defined as expenditures which could have been capitalized as part of the fixed assets, but for various reasons, have been charged to current expenses.

Land

Capital expenditures for land should include all costs associated with the purchase of the land that are not amortized or depreciated.

Residential Construction

Report the value of residential structures including the housing portion of multi-purpose projects and of townsites with the following Exceptions:

  • buildings that have accommodation units without self-contained or exclusive use of bathroom and kitchen facilities (e.g., some student and senior citizen residences)
  • the non-residential portion of multi-purpose projects and of townsites
  • associated expenditures on services

The exceptions should be included in the appropriate construction (e.g., non-residential) asset.

Non-Residential Building Construction (excluding land purchase and residential construction)

Report the total cost incurred during the year of building and engineering construction (contract and by own employees) whether for your own use or rent to others. Include also:

  • the cost of demolition of buildings, land servicing and of site-preparation
  • leasehold and land improvements
  • townsite facilities, such as streets, sewers, stores, schools

Non-residential engineering construction

Report the total cost incurred during the year of engineering construction (contract and by own employees) whether for your own use or rent to others. Include also:

  • the cost of demolition of buildings, land servicing and of site-preparation
  • oil or gas pipelines, including pipe and installation costs
  • all preconstruction planning and design costs such as engineer and consulting fees and any materials supplied to construction contractors for installation, etc.
  • communication engineering, including transmission support structures, cables and lines, etc.
  • electric power engineering, including wind and solar plants, nuclear production plants, power distribution networks, etc.

Machinery and Equipment

Report total cost incurred during the year of all new machinery, whether for your own use or for lease or rent to others. Any capitalized tooling should also be included. Include progress payments paid out before delivery in the year in which such payments are made. Receipts from the sale of your own fixed assets or allowance for scrap or trade-in should not be deducted from your total capital expenditures. Any balance owing or holdbacks should be reported in the year the cost is incurred.

Include:

  • automobiles, trucks, professional and scientific equipment, office and store furniture and appliances
  • computers (hardware and software), broadcasting, telecommunication and other information and communication technology equipment
  • motors, generators, transformers
  • any capitalized tooling expenses
  • progress payments paid out before delivery in the year in which such payments are made
  • any balance owing or holdbacks should be reported in the year the cost is incurred

Software

Capital expenditures for software should include all costs associated with the purchase of software.

Include:

  • Pre-packaged software
  • Custom software developed in-house/own account
  • Custom software design and development, contracted out

Research and Development

Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge.

For an activity to be an R&D activity, it must satisfy five core criteria:

  1. To be aimed at new findings (novel);
  2. To be based on original, not obvious, concepts and hypothesis (creative);
  3. To be uncertain about the final outcome (uncertainty);
  4. To be planned and budgeted (systematic);
  5. To lead to results to could be possibly reproduced (transferable/ or reproducible).

The term R&D covers three types of activity: basic research, applied research and experimental development. Basic research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view. Applied research is original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge. It is, however, directed primarily towards a specific, practical aim or objective. Experimental development is systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience and producing additional knowledge, which is directed to producing new products or processes or to improving existing products or processes.

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