Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP)

Reporting Guide

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the 2013 Survey of Service Industries. If you need more information, please call the Statistics Canada Help Line at the number below.

Help Line: 1-800-972-9692

Your answers are confidential.

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 information from this survey for statistical purposes.

Table of contents

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Business activity
Reporting period information
Revenue
Expenses
Industry characteristics
Sales by type of client
International transactions
General information
Data-sharing agreements
Record linkages

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Business activity

The description on file for this business comes from the North American Industrial Classifications System (NAICS). This database contains a limited number of activity classifications. The classifications on file might be applicable for this business, even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business’s main activity.

By selecting "Yes, this is the main activity.", you indicate that the description is applicable, and it describes the main economic activity which typically generates the most revenue for this business.

By selecting "No, this is not the main activity.", you indicate that this description is not applicable as a main or a secondary activity of this business. You will be given a chance to describe this business’s main activity.

If none of the above activities describes your main source of revenue, please call 1-800 972 9692 for further instructions.

Reporting period information

Here are twelve common fiscal periods that fall within the targeted dates:

• May 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013
• June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013
• July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013
• August 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013
• September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2013
• October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013
• November 1, 2012 to October 31, 2013
• December 1, 2012 to November 30, 2013
• January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013
• February 1, 2013 to January 31, 2014
• March 1, 2013 to February 28, 2014
• April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014

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

• September 18, 2012 to September 15, 2013 (e.g., floating year-end)
• June 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 (e.g., a newly opened business)

Revenue

1. Sales of goods and services (e.g., fees, commissions, services revenue)

Report net of returns and allowances.
Sales of goods and services are defined as amounts derived from the sale of goods and services (cash or credit), falling within a business’s ordinary activities. Sales should be reported net of trade discount, value added tax and other taxes based on sales.

Include: Sales from Canadian locations (domestic and export sales); Transfers to other business units or a head office of your firm. Exclude: Transfers into inventory and consignment sales; Federal, provincial and territorial sales taxes and excise duties and taxes; intercompany sales in consolidated financial statements.

2. Rental and leasing revenue

Include: Rental or leasing of apartments, commercial buildings, land, office space, residential housing, investments in co-tenancies and co-ownerships, hotel or motel rooms, long and short term vehicle leasing, machinery or equipment, storage lockers, etc.

3. Commissions

Include: Commissions earned on the sale of products or services by businesses such as advertising agencies, brokers, insurance agents, lottery ticket sales, sales representatives, and travel agencies – (compensation could also be reported under this item (for example, compensation for collecting sales tax).

4. Subsidies (including grants, donations and fundraising)

Include: Non-repayable grants, contributions and subsidies from all levels of government; Revenue from private sector (corporate and individual) sponsorships, donations and fundraising.

5. Royalties rights, licensing and franchise fees

A royalty is defined as a payment received by the holder of a copyright, trademark or patent.

Include revenue received from the sale or use of all intellectual property rights of copyrighted materials such as musical, literary, artistic or dramatic works, sound recordings or the broadcasting of communication signals.

Include: Dividend income; Dividends from Canadian sources; Dividends from foreign sources; Patronage dividends. Exclude: Equity income from investments in subsidiaries or affiliates.

7. Interest

Include: Investment revenue; Interest from foreign sources; Interest from Canadian bonds and debentures; Interest from Canadian mortgage loans; Interest from other Canadian sources. Exclude: Equity income from investments in subsidiaries or affiliates.

8. Other revenue (please specify)

Include: Amounts not included in questions (1) to (7). intracompany transfers

9. Total revenue

(sum of questions 1 to 8)

Expenses

1. Cost of goods sold

Many business units distinguish their costs of materials from their other business expenses (selling, general and administrative). This item is included to allow you to easily record your costs/expenses according to your normal accounting practices.

Include: Cost of raw materials and/or goods purchased for re-sale – net of discounts earned on purchases; Freight in and duty.

1. opening inventories

2. purchases

Include: raw material, goods purchased for resale and non-returnable containers
Exclude: change in inventories

3. closing inventories

4. cost of goods sold

(opening inventories plus purchases minus closing inventories)

2. Employment costs and expenses

(for all employees who were issued a T4):

1. Salaries, wages and commissions

Please report all salaries and wages (including taxable allowances and employment commissions as defined on the T4 – Statement of Remuneration Paid) before deductions for this reporting period.

Include: Vacation pay; Bonuses (including profit sharing); Employee commissions; Taxable allowances (e.g., room and board, vehicle allowances, gifts such as airline tickets for holidays); Severance pay.
Exclude: All payments and expenses associated with casual labour and outside contract workers (report these amounts at sub-question (3) - Sub-contracts).

2. Employee benefits

Include contributions to: Health plans; Insurance plans; Employment insurance; Pension plans; Workers’ compensation; Association dues; Contributions to any other employee benefits such as child care and supplementary unemployment  benefit (SUB) plans; Contributions to provincial and territorial health and education payroll taxes.

3. Sub-contracts

Sub-contract expense refers to the purchasing of services from outside of the company rather than providing them in-house.

Include: Hired casual labour and outside contract workers; Custom work and contract work; Sub-contract and outside labour; Hired labour.

4. Research and development

Expenses from activities conducted with the intention of making a discovery that could either lead to the development of new products or procedures, or to the improvement of existing products or procedures.

5. Professional and business fees 

Include: Legal services; Accounting and auditing fees; Consulting fees; Education and training fees; Appraisal fees; Management and administration fees; Property management fees; Information technology (IT) consulting and service fees (purchased); Architectural fees; Engineering fees; Scientific and technical service fees; Other consulting fees (management, technical and scientific); Veterinary fees; Fees for human health services; Payroll preparation fees; All other professional and business service fees.
Exclude: Service fees paid to Head Office (report at sub-question (21) - All other expenses).

6. Utilities 

Utility expenses related to operating your business unit such as water, electricity, gas, heating and hydro.

Include: Diesel, fuel wood, natural gas, oil and propane; Sewage. 
Exclude: Energy expenses covered in your rental and leasing contracts; Telephone, Internet and other telecommunications; Vehicle fuel (report at sub-question (21) - All other expenses).

7. Office and computer related expenses

Include: Office stationery and supplies, paper and other supplies for photocopiers, printers and fax machines; Postage and courier (used in the day to day office business activity); Diskettes and computer upgrade expenses; Data processing.
Exclude: Telephone, Internet and other telecommunication expenses. (report this amount at sub-question (8) - Telephone, Internet and other telecommunication expenses).

8. Telephone, Internet and other telecommunications

Include: Internet; Telephone and telecommunications; Cellular telephone; Fax machine; Pager.

9. Business taxes, licenses and permits

Include: Property taxes paid directly and property transfer taxes; Vehicle license fees; Beverage taxes and business taxes; Trade license fees; Membership fees and professional license fees; Provincial capital tax.

10. Royalties, franchise fees and memberships

Include: Amounts paid to holders of patents, copyrights, performing rights and trademarks; Gross overriding royalty expenses and direct royalty costs; Resident and non-resident royalty expenses; Franchise fees.
Exclude: Crown royalties

11. Crown charges

Federal or Provincial royalty, tax, lease or rental payments made in relation to the acquisition, development or ownership of Canadian resource properties.  

Include: Crown royalties; Crown leases and rentals; Oil sand leases; Stumpage fees.

12. Rental and leasing

Include: Lease rental expenses, real estate rental expenses, condominium fees and equipment rental expenses; Motor vehicle rental and leasing expenses; Studio lighting and scaffolding; Machinery and equipment rental expenses; Storage expenses; Road and construction equipment rental; Fuel and other utility costs covered in your rental and leasing contracts.

13. Repair and maintenance

Include: Buildings and structures; Machinery and equipment; Security equipment; Vehicles; Costs related to materials, parts and external labour associated with these expenses; Janitorial and cleaning services and garbage removal.

14. Amortization and depreciation

Include: Direct cost depreciation of tangible assets and amortization of leasehold improvements; Amortization of intangible assets (e.g., amortization of goodwill, patents, franchises, copyrights, trademarks, deferred charges, organizational costs).

15. Insurance

Insurance recovery income should be deducted from insurance expenses.

Include: Professional and other liability insurance; Motor vehicle and property insurance; Executive life insurance; Bonding, business interruption insurance and fire insurance.

16. Advertising, marketing, promotion, meals and entertainment

Include: Newspaper advertising and media expenses; Catalogues, presentations and displays; Tickets for theatre, concerts and sporting events for business promotion; Fundraising expenses; Meals, entertainment and hospitality purchases for clients.

17. Travel, meetings and conventions

Include: Travel expenses; Meeting and convention expenses, seminars; Passenger transportation (e.g., airfare, bus, train, etc.); Accommodations; Travel allowance and meals while travelling; Other travel expenses.

18. Financial services 

Include: Explicit service charges for financial services; Credit and debit card commissions and charges; Collection expenses and transfer fees; Registrar and transfer agent fees; Security and exchange commission fees; Other financial service fees.
Exclude: Interest expenses (report at sub-question (19) - Interest expense).

19. Interest expense

Report the cost of servicing your company’s debt.

Include: Interest; Bank charges; Finance charges; Interest payments on capital leases; Amortization of bond discounts; Interest on short-term and long-term debt, mortgages, bonds and debentures.

20. Other non-production-related costs and expenses

Include: Charitable donations and political contributions; Bad Debt expense; Loan losses; Provisions for loan losses (minus Bad debt recoveries); Inventory adjustments

21. All other costs and expenses (including intracompany expenses)

Include:
Production costs; Pipeline operations, drilling, site restoration; Gross overriding royalty; Other producing property rentals; Well operating, fuel and equipment; Other lease rentals; Other direct costs; Equipment hire and operation; Log yard expense, forestry costs, logging road costs; Freight in and duty; Overhead expenses allocated to costs of sales; Other expenses; Cash over/short (negative expense); Reimbursement of parent company expense; Warranty expense; Recruiting expenses; General and administrative expenses; Interdivisional expenses; Interfund transfer (minus expense recoveries); Exploration and Development (including prospect/geological, well abandonment & dry holes, exploration expenses, development expenses); Amounts not included in sub-questions (1) to (20) above.

22. Total expenses

(sum of lines 1 to 21)

Industry characteristics

Please provide a breakdown of your sales and services revenue, where applicable.
Amounts should be reported net of trade discount, value added tax and other taxes based on sales.

Include:
• Sales from Canadian locations.

Exclude:
• Grants and subsidies;
• Donations and fundraising;
• Royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees;
• Investment income.

1. Admissions to live performances and events presented by your business

Include:
• Admissions through sale of general public tickets and seasonal subscriptions;
• Bundled admission packages that include food and beverage service, backstage passes, etc.;
• Personal seat licenses and box leases;
• Admissions to live performances in which the admission takes the form of a cover charge;
• Membership fees paid primarily for the right of admission to performances.

Exclude:
• Payments received for events and performances owned/produced/presented by other establishments using your facilities; please report these amounts in this section, at question 2;
• Contract production; please report this amount in this section, at question 4.

2. Facility rental revenue

Please report your share of box office receipts for events or performances that were owned/produced/ presented by others using or renting your facilities.

3. Rental revenue from traveller accommodations?

4. Contract production

Fees earned by individuals, companies or teams for the production of live performances, sports or racing events under contract to promoters, venue owners or others. The contracts will specify the type of payment received by the performers, artists, companies, athletes or teams, for example a flat rate and/or a percentage of admission revenues. Contracts may also specify the disposition of any intellectual property rights arising from the performance.

Exclude:
• Contract production of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, sound recordings and communication signals; please report these amounts in this section, at question 15;
• Licensing of copyrights relating to a live performance; please report these amounts in this section, at question 15;
• Technical (non-performance) services; please report this amount in this section, at question 7.

5. Professional fees and commission for career management and presentation services for artists, athletes, entertainers and others   

Acting on behalf of artists, athletes, entertainers and other public figures in a wide range of activities that enhance the client's career.           

Include:
• Negotiating contracts and bookings performances and public appearances.

6. Event management services

Planning, organizing, marketing and managing a live sports or performing arts event on behalf of others including venue owners, performers, etc.

7. Technical artistic services

Providing artistic technical support services, such as backstage services and post-production services.

Include:
• Lighting, key grip and set placement and removal;
• Editing, visual effects, copying, captioning, adding music and foreign language dubbing.

8. Receipts from gambling

(e.g., wagering, gambling machines, lottery tickets, pari-mutuel, Internet gambling and bookmaking)

9. Advertising revenue

Revenue obtained by providing services that attract attention to a product, business, cause, etc.

Include:
• The provision of display space on various surfaces such as billboards;
• Agent services involved in buying and selling space or time for advertising messages;
• The sale of venue naming rights, sponsorship rights, endorsement services and exclusivity rights.

10. Sales of food and non-alcoholic beverages

Include:
• Prepared meals;
• Packaged food;
• Vending machine sales.

11. Sales of alcoholic beverages

12. Sales of merchandise

Revenue obtained from parts and materials charged in repair work as well as from the sales of all items other than food or beverages.

Include:
• Recreational and sports equipment and accessories;
• Oil and gasoline;
• Clothing;
• Arts and crafts;
• Magazines.

13. Other revenue from sales and services – please specify:

14. Total sales of goods and services

(sum of questions 1 to 13)

Royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees

15. Licensing of rights to use copyrighted works and trademarks

Licensing the rights to use copyrighted intellectual property and trademarks, such as logos.
Licenses authorize the licensee to exploit the copyrighted work, for example: to reproduce or perform a literary or musical piece of work by making a sound or video recording of the piece, to rent a computer program to make a recording of a particular performance. A license may authorize some or all of these rights.
Include licenses to use:
• Literary works such as book manuscripts and computer programs;
• Dramatic works such as films, videos, plays, screenplays and scripts;
• Musical works;
• Artistic works such as paintings and photographs;
• Actor’s or singer’s performances;
• Broadcast communication signals;
• Sound recordings.

16. Broadcast and other media rights

Granting the right of access (on a fee, royalty, or other basis) to a sporting event, facility or activity for the purpose of commercially exploiting sounds, images and other information of the event, facility or activity. The contracts define the type of exploitation permitted and may specify the ownership of intellectual property rights relating to the sounds, images and other information.

17. Other royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees – please specify:

18. Total royalties, rights, licenses and franchise fees

(sum of questions 15 to 17)

Attendance

Live sports and racing events and Live performing, arts performances, festivals and fairs

19. Presented by your business

Please report attendance numbers for presentations that are produced/owned by your establishment.

20. Presented by others using your facilities (such as rentals)

Please report attendance numbers for presentations that are produced/owned by another establishment.

Live performing arts performances, festivals and fairs

21. Presented by your business

22. Presented by others using your facilities

(such as rentals)

Sales by type of client

This section is designed to measure which sector of the economy purchases your services.
Please provide a percentage breakdown of your sales by type of client.
Please ensure that the sum of percentages reported in this section equals 100%.

1. Clients in Canada

(a) Individuals and households
Please report the percentage of sales to individuals and households who do not represent the business or government sector.

(b) Businesses
Percentage of sales sold to the business sector should be reported here.
Include:
• Sales to Crown corporations.

(c) Governments, not-for-profit organizations and public institutions (e.g., hospitals, schools)
Percentage of sales to federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments should be reported here.
Include:
• Sales to hospitals, schools, universities and public utilities.

2. Clients outside Canada

Please report the percentage of total sales to customers or clients located outside Canada including foreign businesses, foreign individuals, foreign institutions and/or governments.
Include:
• Sales to foreign subsidiaries and affiliates.

International transactions

1. This section is intended to measure the value of international transactions on goods, services, royalties and licenses fees. It covers imported services and goods purchased outside Canada as well as the value of exported services and goods to clients/customers outside Canada. Please report also royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees paid to and/or received from outside Canada. Services cover a variety of industrial, professional, trade and business services.

General information

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. 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 and returning it with the completed questionnaire. Please specify the organizations with which you do not want to share your data.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

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 linkages

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

Please note that Statistics Canada does not share any individual survey information with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Please visit our website at www.statcan.gc.ca/survey-enquete/index-eng.htm or call us at 1-800-972-9692 for more information about these data-sharing agreements.

Thank you!

On this page

• Purpose
• Benefits and public good
• How it works
• Data sources
• Linked analysis files
• Services
• Confidentiality and privacy
• Contact information

Purpose

The purpose of the SDLE program is to facilitate pan-Canadian social and economic statistical research. It is a record linkage environment that:

• increases the relevance of existing Statistics Canada surveys without collecting new data (including maintaining the relevance of completed longitudinal surveys);
• substantially increases the use of administrative data;
• generates new information without additional data collection;
• maintains the highest privacy and data security standards; and
• promotes a standardized approach to record linkage processes and methods.

How it works

The SDLE is a highly secure environment that facilitates the creation of linked population data files for social analysis. It is not a large integrated data base.

At the core of the SDLE is a Derived Record Depository (DRD), essentially a national dynamic relational data base containing only basic personal identifiers. Derived Record Depository (DRD) is a national longitudinal data base of individuals derived from several Statistics Canada data files and containing only basic personal identifiers. The DRD is created by linking selected Statistics Canada source index files for the purpose of producing a list of unique individuals. Source index files contain personal identifiers without analysis variables. These files are brought into the environment, processed and linked only once to the DRD. Each individual in the DRD is assigned an SDLE identifier. Some of the source index files used to build the DRD include tax records, vital statistics registration records (births and deaths), and immigrant data. Updates to these data files are linked to the DRD on an ongoing basis.

Only basic personal identifiers are stored in the DRD. Examples of personal identifiers stored in the DRD include surnames, given names, date of birth, sex, insurance numbers, parents' names, marital status, addresses (including postal codes), telephone numbers, immigration date, emigration date and date of death.

The paired SDLE identifiers and source index file record IDs resulting from the record linkage are stored in a Key Registry. Key Registry stores the links between SDLE IDs and the original record IDs found during matching. All source index files are linked to the DRD either probabilistically using a generalized software tool (G-Link) or deterministically using SAS scripts.

Deterministic record linkage involves matching records based on unique identifiers shared by both files. On the other hand, probabilistic record linkage works with non-unique identifiers (e.g. names, sex, date of birth and postal code) and estimates the likelihood that records are referring to the same entity.

Once a study requiring linked data has been defined and approved, the associated record IDs (extracted from the Key Registry) are used to find the individual records in the source data files. Source data files contain analysis variables without personal identifiers. Selected variables from these sources can then be integrated into a linked analysis file. This approach provides a virtual linkage environment that eliminates the need to build a large integrated data base.

Figure 1. Social Data Linkage Environment overview diagram

Description for Figure 1: Social Data Linkage Environment overview diagram

This figures is a visual model that serves as a summary of the text of this overview page.

• Within the secure data environment at Statistics Canada, source files are separated into Source Data Files (record IDs and analysis variables without personal identifiers) and Source Index Files (record IDs and personal identifiers without analysis variables).
• The Source Index Files are accessed within the record linkage production environment and linked to the Derived Record Depository (national longitudinal file of personal identifiers). The linked SDLE and record IDs are stored in the Key Registry (record IDs used as keys to find only those records needed for study).
• The Source Data Files are accessed within the linked analysis file production environment that uses keys from the Key Registry to create analysis files for approved studies only and with no personal identifiers.
• The SDLE program is governed by the Statistics Canada senior management. The Chief Statistician reviews and approves each record linkage proposal, and if the study is approved by the Chief Statistician, an analysis file is created.
• The output of this process is an Analytical Product (non-confidential aggregate data).

Description

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) permanent resident landing file contains approximately 2.75 million records corresponding to all individuals who landed in Canada during the 2003 – 2013 time frame. The information in the data file is derived from the information included on each individual’s landing record and has not been updated since the time of landing. The variables available may be described using the subjects list below. There are many more variables on the data file because grouped variables have been derived from the landing record data values. For example, age in years is reported on the landing record. An additional two variables corresponding to 5 and 15 year age groups have also been added to the data file. Another example is that the country of birth is reported on the landing record, while an additional two variables which categorize that country into a region of the world and an area of the world have been added to the data file.

Reference period

2003 – 2013

Subjects

• Age in years, plus 5 year age groups and 15 year age groups
• Marital Status
• Gender
• Mother Tongue
• Official Languages Spoken
• Date of Landing: year-month-day
• Education Level- none, secondary or less, …, doctorate
• Years Of Schooling
• Country of Birth, plus grouped categories region & area of the world
• Country of Citizenship, plus grouped categories region & area of the world
• intended destination –CMA, census division & province (or if not available, the last known address)
• Immigration category – provided in first, second, third and fourth level groupings of the immigration category hierarchy
• Occupation title as listed on the landing record (approximately 9900 categories)
• Skill levels (two different hierarchies used) corresponding to occupation title as listed on the landing record
• NOC Code (2006 and 2011) derived from occupation title as listed on the landing record

Target population

A person is included in the database only if he or she obtained landed immigrant or permanent resident status in Canada since 2003 and 2013.

Sampling

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore no sampling is done.

Statistics Canada recognizes that data users require access to microdata at the business, household or personal level for analytical and research purposes. To encourage the use of microdata, Statistics Canada offers a wide range of programs and access solutions.

All available access solutions are displayed in the continuum of data access below, which provides an overview of all types of data available at Statistics Canada. Each access solution prioritizes the confidentiality of respondents to ensure no personal or identifiable information is published.

Continuum of data access

Self-serve access solutions, available with minimal restrictions, evolve into secure access solutions, available with security procedures.

Expand allClose all

Automated data ingestion

Automated data ingestion

A self-serve way to programmatically take away data and reuse it for applications, databases, and analyses.

Access solution

• Application program interface (API): Allows data users to access Statistics Canada aggregate data and metadata by connecting directly to our public facing databases. The Statistics Canada web services provide access to the time series made available on Statistics Canada's website in a structured form.

Location of access

• Statistics Canada's Web Data Service (WDS)

Type of data

• Social and economic data
• Web Data Service (WDS)

Ideal activities

• Training
• Policy research
• Academic research
• Evidence-based policy/decision-making
• Outcomes or products – data exploration, extractions and as an analytical tool for academic and policy research

Data products

Data products

Publications, data visualizations, and downloadable items such as multi-dimensional data tables storing standard socio-economic data sets.

Access solution

• View or download data tables: Data
• Visualize key data sets: Data
• Consult StatCan articles and publications: Analysis

Location of access

• Access to microdata

Type of data

• Social and economic data: Data

Ideal activities

• Training
• Policy research
• Academic research
• Evidence-based policy/decision-making – calculating frequencies, cross tabulations, means, percentiles, percent distribution, proportions, ratios, and shares
• Outcomes or products – data exploration, extractions and as an analytical tool for academic and policy research

Public use microdata files

Public use microdata files

Access solution

• Free download for select files
• Subscription to Public Use Microdata File (PUMF) Collection: Unlimited access to data and documentation is available through a database with an easy-to-use discoverability tool.

Location of access

• Free download: Data
• Subscription: Rich Data Service (IP-restricted access)

Type of data

• Social data: Data

Ideal activities

• Training – use as an analytical training tool.
• Policy research
• Academic research
• Evidence-based policy/decision-making – calculating frequencies, cross tabulations, means, percentiles, percent distribution, proportions, ratios, and shares
• Outcomes or products – data exploration, extractions, and as an analytical tool for academic and policy research

Self-serve tabulation tool

Self-serve tabulation tool

Access solution

Subscription to Real Time Remote Access (RTRA): Indirect access to Statistics Canada's microdata files, to produce non-confidential tabulations, via remotely submitted SAS programs. It is suitable for clients primarily looking for descriptive statistics.

Location of access

• Online submissions through the Electronic File Transfer Service (EFT)

Type of data

• Social data: Data available through the Real Time Remote Access system

Ideal activities

• Training
• Policy research
• Academic research
• Evidence-based policy/decision-making – calculating frequencies, means, percentiles, proportions, ratios, and shares
• Outcomes or products – generating a full range of descriptive statistics that can be used for academic and policy research, training, and policy briefings

Confidential microdata files

Confidential microdata files

Data at the individual or institutional level accessed in a secured environment.

Access solution

• Virtual Data Lab (vDL): A secure cloud infrastructure used to store and facilitate access to microdata research projects. The vDL grants qualifying data users a more flexible approach to accessing Statistics Canada microdata. Data users can access their microdata projects from various locations, such as their home or office, depending on the sensitivity of the data.
• Virtual Research Data Centre (vRDC): A modern virtual infrastructure that will provide academic data users with secure access to Statistics Canada microdata through a partnership with the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN). Qualifying data users will have access to data within secure RDC facilities, as well as from other authorized workspaces (e.g., a home or office). The vRDC is expected to start coming online in 2023.

Location of access

• Secure Access Points: Statistics Canada premises (e.g., Research Data Centres), secure rooms, authorized workspaces (e.g., personal residence)

Type of data

• Social and economic data available in Secure Access Points: Data available at the Research Data Centres

Ideal activities

• Training
• Policy research – answering policy and academic research questions that require the use of advanced analytical methods such as complex multivariate analysis, and modelling
• Academic research
• Evidence-based policy/decision-making
• Outcomes or products