Centre for Energy and Transportation Statistics
Energy Section

Transmission pipelines are establishments primarily engaged in the pipeline transportation of natural gas from gas fields or processing plants to local distribution systems.

Value (cost to customer): dollar values exclude provincial taxes (if applicable), goods and services tax (GST) and harmonized sales tax (HST). Further, rebates paid to the customer should be deducted in order to arrive at "value".

Confidentiality

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

Table of contents

• A – General Information: Purpose of survey, Data-sharing agreements and Data linkage
• B – Reporting Instructions
• C – Supply of Natural Gas Unit of Measure
• D – Imports
• E – Receipts from Domestic Sources
• F – Average Heating Value in Gigajoules/Thousand Cubic Meters
• G – Exports (Specify Port of Exit)
• H – Domestic Deliveries
• I – Report Amounts of Gas Delivered to Consumers
• J – Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Marine Terminals
• K – Consumed Own Fuel
• L – Line Pack Fluctuation
• M – Metering Differences, Line Loss, Other Unaccounted Adjustments
• N – In-transit Shipments of Natural Gas
• O – Ex-transit Shipments
• P – Thousands of Cubic Metre Kilometres (10³m³km)

A – General information

Purpose of survey

The purpose of this survey is to obtain information on the supply of, and demand for, energy in Canada. This information serves as an important indicator of Canadian economic performance, and is used by all levels of government in establishing informed policies in the energy area. In the case of public utilities, it is used by governmental agencies to fulfill their regulatory responsibilities. The private sector also uses this information in the corporate decision-making process. Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

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 as well as with the provincial and territorial government ministries responsible for the energy sector, the Canada Energy Regulator, Natural Resources Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

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.

Data linkage

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

B – Reporting Instructions

Please report information for a specific reference month 2025.

Please complete all sections as applicable.

If the information requested is unknown, please provide your best estimate.

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the Monthly Natural Gas Transmission Survey. If you need more information, please call 1-877-604-7828.

Supply

C – Supply of Natural Gas Unit of Measure

Amounts: report amounts (1000m³ or Gigajoules) of natural gas received and delivered during the month under review.

D – Imports

Report total amount of natural gas carried into Canada, by port of entry.

Inclusion: amounts of gas moving in transit (E.g.: from the U.S., through Canada, and back into the U.S.)

Exclusion: Receipts from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) marine terminals

E – Receipts from Domestic Sources

Report volumes of gas received from sources such as:

Fields

Report amounts of gas received from fields connected directly to your company's transmission system. Field flared and waste and re-injection should be deducted from this amount.

Field plants  

Report amounts of gas received at the processing or re-processing plant gate after the deduction of shrinkage, plant uses and losses.

Exclusions:

• Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) fractionation plants
• Mainline straddle plants;

 Gas gathering systems

Report amounts of gas received from gas gathering systems connected directly to your company's transmission system.

Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) fractionation plants and mainline straddle plants

Exclusion:

• Field gas plants

Other transmission pipelines

Report amounts of gas received from other transmission pipelines (NAICS 486210) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

Transmission pipelines are establishments primarily engaged in the pipeline transportation of natural gas from gas fields or processing plants to local distribution systems.

Storage facilities

Report amounts of gas received from storage facilities (NAICS 493190) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

Storage facilities include natural gas storage caverns and liquefied natural gas storage, but exclude establishments primarily engaged liquefaction and regasification of natural gas for purposes of transport (NAICS 488990).

Distributors (utility distribution systems)

Report amounts of gas received from gas distributors (NAICS 221210) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

Gas distributors are establishments primarily engaged in the distribution of natural or synthetic gas to the ultimate consumers through a system of mains.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) marine terminals

Report amounts of gas received from LNG marine terminals (NAICS 488990) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

LNG marine terminals are establishments primarily engaged with the liquefaction and regasification of natural gas for purposes of transport.

F – Average Heating Value in Gigajoules/ Thousand Cubic Meters

Report average heat content of your natural gas receipts for the reported reference month.

Disposition

G – Exports, Specify Port of Exit

Report total amount of natural gas this transmission pipeline physically exported from Canada to the United States, by port of exit.

Inclusion: amounts of gas moving (E.g.: from Canada, through the U.S., and back into Canada)

Exclusion: Deliveries to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) marine terminals

H – Domestic Deliveries

Report amount of natural gas delivered to facilities and pipelines such as:

Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) fractionation plants and mainline straddle plants

Exclusion:

• Field gas plants
• Other transmission pipelines

Report amounts of gas delivered to other transmission pipelines (NAICS 486210) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

Transmission pipelines are establishments primarily engaged in the pipeline transportation of natural gas from gas fields or processing plants to local distribution systems.

Storage facilities

Report amounts of gas delivered to storage facilities (NAICS 493190) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

Storage facilities include natural gas storage caverns and liquefied natural gas storage but exclude establishments primarily engaged liquefaction and regasification of natural gas for purposes of transport (NAICS 488990).

Distributors (utility distribution systems)

Report amounts of gas delivered to gas distributors (NAICS 221210) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

Gas distributors are establishments primarily engaged in the distribution of natural or synthetic gas to the ultimate consumers through a system of mains.

I – Report Amounts of Gas Delivered to Consumers and report the number of customers

Industrial power generation plants

Report gas delivered to electric power generation plants (NAICS 2211) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in the generation of bulk electric power by natural gas.

Other industrial

Deliveries to Other Industrial Consumers

Report gas delivered to industrial establishments other than power generation plants.

Inclusions:

• Agriculture and forestry
• Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
• Construction
• Manufacturing

Exclusions:

• Electric power generation
• Wholesale and retail trade
• Transportation and warehousing
• Other commercial buildings (e.g., public institutions)
• Natural gas transmission pipelines
• Natural gas storage facilities
• Natural gas distributors

Commercial and institutional

Report gas delivered to commercial and institutional establishments.

Inclusions:

• Wholesale and retail trade
• Transportation and warehousing
• Other commercial buildings (e.g., public institutions)

Value (cost to customer): dollar values exclude provincial taxes (if applicable), goods and services tax (GST) and harmonized sales tax (HST). Further, rebates paid to the customer should be deducted in order to arrive at "value".

J – Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Marine Terminals

Report amounts of gas delivered to LNG marine terminals (NAICS 488990) connected directly to your company's transmission system.

LNG marine terminals are establishments primarily engaged liquefaction and regasification of natural gas for purposes of transport.

K – Consumed Own Fuel

Report amount of gas consumed to fuel this transmission system.

L – Line Pack Fluctuation

Report the change in line pack between the first and last day of the reference month.

M – Metering Differences, Line Loss, Other Unaccounted Adjustments

Report the difference between the total supply and total disposition. This difference includes leakage or other losses, discrepancies due to metering inaccuracies and other variants, particularly billing lag.

N – In-transit Shipments of Natural Gas

Report total amount of natural gas received into Canada with the intention of exporting it back to the United States. (Re-Export)

O – Ex-transit Shipments

Report total amount of natural gas delivered to the United States with the intention of importing it back to Canada. (Re-Import)

P – Thousands of Cubic Metre Kilometres (10³m³km)

Please report the volume of natural gas transmitted (in 10³m³) multiplied by the distance (in km) each shipment has travelled.

Example:

• Step 1) 2 000 cubic metres transported over 5 km is equal to 10 000 cubic metre km.
• Step 2) To report in 10³m³km, divide 10 000 cubic metre km by 1 000, which equals 10 cubic metre km.

Thank you for your participation.

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On this page:

• From the Minister
• From the Chief Statistician
• Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services
  • Core responsibility: Statistical information
  • Internal services
• Planned spending and human resources
  • Spending
  • Funding
  • Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
  • Human resources
• Corporate information
• Supplementary information tables
• Federal tax expenditures
• Definitions

From the Minister

It is our pleasure to present the 2025–26 Departmental Plan for Statistics Canada, which lays out the key priorities the agency is working to advance for the benefit of all Canadians.

In 2025–26, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) will continue working with Statistics Canada and the other federal partners to bolster Canadian innovation by fostering competitive, sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

As Canada experiences shifts and changes in a complex and digital setting, Statistics Canada continues to play a crucial role in supporting our government's initiatives by providing reliable, accurate and timely data that is vital for policymaking and program development. The agency's work enhances our understanding and measurement of Canada's economic performance and societal changes, helping us shape strategies that drive growth and support inclusivity across the country.

Statistics Canada's data is essential in providing an accurate picture of the country's diverse landscape. In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will continue to focus on core programs that are critical for a functioning government and democracy. The agency will also ensure efficient data collection and integration among partner departments and organizations. This will allow Statistics Canada to continue to expand its data findings and fill in gaps in key areas such as climate change, health care, crime and safety and affordable housing. These activities will be instrumental in ensuring that all Canadians benefit from well-informed governmental strategies that reflect the diverse needs of our society.

We invite you to read this report to learn more about how Statistics Canada, along with its Portfolio partners, is supporting all Canadians to participate in and benefit from a competitive and growing economy.

The Honourable Mélanie Joly
Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

From the Chief Statistician

At Statistics Canada, we are dedicated to providing Canadians with high-quality, timely data to inform and guide important decisions that impact the country. This commitment drives our ongoing modernization efforts to ensure the information we deliver upholds the highest standards of integrity and relevance. The 2025-26 departmental plan outlines our commitments and strategic initiatives focused on helping Canada enhance its prosperity, safety, and quality of life for everyone, through data.

Maintaining high-quality, reliable data remains crucial in the current digital landscape. With the accelerated pace of information-sharing and the increased prevalence of misinformation and disinformation, the agency remains dedicated to delivering trusted, reliable statistical insights that are critical to support Canadians in making informed decisions.

In 2025-26, we will continue to focus on strengthening our statistical programs. We will continue to improve our data collection, integration and modelling methods to deliver high-quality information while addressing gaps, streamlining our processes and increasing efficiencies. At the same time, we will expand our partnerships across governmental and non-governmental organizations to enrich the data ecosystem and harness synergies for better outcomes.

In our continuous effort to be at the forefront of innovation, we will focus our attention on modernizing statistical methods and analytical tools, optimizing cloud infrastructure, promoting leading edge technologies, accelerating methodological advancements, advancing data management and access, and ensuring we maintain a strong cyber security environment. This work will progress through the implementation of advanced open-source tools, new data management and analytical platforms and by supporting the effective and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) models. These innovations will improve our data collection and analysis capabilities, thereby increasing our agility and capacity to respond to the data needs of Canadians.

As we continue to navigate these changing times, maintaining and building the trust and confidence of Canadians in our work remains a significant priority. We are dedicated to maintaining trust through safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of the data entrusted to us, and prioritizing transparency and accountability.

Guided by our Strategic Plan for 2023–2026, the agency has established a vision that focusses on enhancing data quality and advancing the next generation of statistical programs. As always, we will continue to focus on evaluating our statistical programs to ensure they deliver cost-effective, high-quality results. We will also remain aligned with the guidance and recommendations provided by the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC), the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Consultative Council on Statistical Policy, the Advisory Council on Ethics and Modernization of Microdata Access, and our subject matter advisory groups. Additionally, we will continue our efforts to invest in our workforce, connect and engage with Canadians by prioritizing the accessibility of our data, and promoting data literacy.

Statistics Canada's objectives are beyond just numbers; we remain rooted and motivated by the impact the information we produce can have on the lives of Canadians and the crucial role it has in shaping a thriving, inclusive, and sustainable Canada. I am incredibly proud of our achievements, dedicated to responsibly and efficiently continuing our work, and I am excited about our future direction. As we progress, we remain guided by our mission to lead with facts, serve with integrity, and deliver impactful results.

André Loranger
Chief Statistician of Canada

Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibilities and internal services

• Core responsibility: Statistical information
• Internal services

Core responsibility: Statistical information

In this section

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results, and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Key risks
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Description

Statistics Canada's core responsibility is to produce objective, high-quality statistical information for the whole of Canada. The statistical information produced relates to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic, environmental and general activities and conditions of the people of Canada. Regardless of the topic, the agency aims for three broad results to measure the success of its activities:

• High-quality statistical information is available to Canadians.
• High-quality statistical information is accessed by Canadians.
• High-quality statistical information is relevant to Canadians.

In fulfilling its core responsibilities, Statistics Canada focuses on three fundamental areas.

• Providing vital data through statistical programs
• Upholding statistical standards
• Building trust in statistics and data ethics.

The role of the national statistical office: Statistical programs, standards and trust

The lives of Canadians are increasingly impacted by rapid changes in society, the economy and the environment. The population is growing quickly, becoming more diverse and aging. New technologies are changing how people work, produce and consume goods and services and interact with each other. Social and economic polarization is increasing while trust in governments, institutions and the media is declining. Canadians are also increasingly concerned about misinformation (Concerns with misinformation online). In this context, access to high-quality and trusted data is essential.

Statistics Canada's strategic plan for 2023 to 2026 outlines the broad directions that will enable the agency to meet the growing demand for reliable, timely data in a complex, digital environment, while focusing on modernizing processes and maintaining efficient operations. The plan reflects the agency's vision and provides a roadmap for continuing to meet the data needs of the country and maintaining its status as a world-class statistical organization. Guided by its strategic priorities, the agency will leverage cutting-edge tools and infrastructure and its skilled and diverse workforce to modernize its statistical programs and processes ensuring data quality and accessibility for generations to come.

For over 100 years, the agency has earned the trust of Canadians who provide information to our approximately 450 surveys. In return, the agency, commits to safeguarding their information and delivering timely and relevant insights on several important themes.

The information produced by Statistics Canada is utilized in several processes and programs that impact the delivery of services to Canadians. For example, economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the unemployment rate inform employment programs and influence fiscal and monetary policy that impact Canadians. Other statistics pertaining to social and environmental issues influence decisions on infrastructure, public services and disaster preparedness that also positively impact the population. The agency also ensures that its data reflect the unique experiences of racialized, cultural, gender and Indigenous population groups to work towards a more inclusive and prosperous country through data.

Most of the agency's statistical programs are used to support legislation and policy direction. Four programs, highlighted below, have particular importance in the context of labour, fiscal and monetary policies.

Census of Population

Statistics Canada is legally required to conduct the Census of Population every five years, with the next census planned for 2026. The Census of Population provides a detailed picture of Canada's changing demographic mosaic at a very detailed geographic level. Accurate population counts are required by several laws and programs at various levels of government. For example, population counts are used in the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to establish annual transfer payments to the provinces and territories. In addition, all per capita measures in fiscal policies, arrangements and other economic analyses are based on census information. The Census of Population also helps define and establish federal electoral districts every 10 years, playing a critical role in the constitutional amending formula.

Census data cover a wide range of demographic, social and economic conditions of the population, including specific groups such as immigrants; seniors; language groups; ethnic groups; and First Nations people, Métis and Inuit. This makes Census of Population data important for all communities since it is vital for effective planning and policy decisions that serve the Canadian population.

System of National Accounts

The System of National Accounts is the internationally agreed framework for measuring economic activity. Statistics Canada compiles these accounts on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis by combining data from various sources, including the agency's business surveys and administrative data. Key macroeconomic indicators, such as GDP, national wealth, the saving rate, investment and labour productivity are part of this framework. These indicators are essential inputs for monetary and fiscal policy and are the basis for budgeting at every level of government.  National accounts data are also used to establish payments and disbursements, including government social programs (e.g., the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer), and form the basis of the revenue allocation formula for the harmonized sales tax program. The economic indicators from the national accounts are also used by credit rating agencies to assess credit risk of the various levels of government.

Labour Force Survey

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the cornerstone of Canada's labour market information. It is a monthly survey which measures the current state of the Canadian labour market and is the source of Canada's official unemployment rate.

LFS data are used in the administration of the Employment Insurance program, which is mandated under the Employment Insurance Act. It also informs the development of sound, evidence-based labour market policies by all levels of government. LFS data are widely used by the public, including job seekers, as a key source of insights on labour market conditions and contribute to job creation, education and training, retirement planning and income support.

Consumer Price Index

The CPI, measures changes in the prices of goods and services as experienced by Canadian consumers and is the standard measure of inflation in Canada. It is widely used to guide monetary policy and adjust wages, pensions, other contractual or legislated payments, and social program payments (e.g., Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan) in line with inflation. The CPI is key for adjusting income eligibility levels for government assistance, rent payments or income tax thresholds. Additionally, the CPI serves as an important input into the harmonized sales tax and Equalization programs for provinces and territories.

In recent years, the CPI has incorporated more data, including retailer scanner data (to improve the understanding of food price inflation, for example), telecommunications transaction data, and regulatory and administrative data. Annual updates to consumer spending patterns also ensure the CPI remains a high-quality inflation indicator, vital for the allocation of billions of dollars in government programs.

These advancements and increase in analysis and insights lead to a more informed population and better data for evidence-based planning for Canadians.

Upholding statistical standards

Statistics Canada's statistical programs are based on rigorous statistical standards that aim to ensure the information produced provides a consistent and coherent picture of Canada's economy, society and environment over time. Maintaining statistical standards also ensures that the agency's various data can be analyzed together and in combination with information from other sources. As such, statistical standards play a foundational role for growing statistical production and dissemination more widely.

Nationally, Statistics Canada has taken on a leadership role within the data and information governance structure of the 2023–2026 Data Strategy for the Federal Public Service. The agency also co-chairs the AI and Data Governance Standardization Collaborative to develop standardization strategies for data governance and artificial intelligence (AI) aligned with Canada's priorities.

Statistics Canada also plays a key role internationally. The agency constantly develops and updates statistical standards such as the North American Industry Classification System, North American Product Classification System and National Occupational Classification ensuring that these standards remain relevant and evolve over time. Standards related to concepts and variables (e.g., gender, population group and Indigenous group) and their associated classifications are also being updated regularly to align with the Census of Population cycles.

Statistics Canada is also active in the development of international data standards focusing on enhancing data management, usability and accessibility. The agency participates in various initiatives such as the Data Documentation Initiative, and Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange led by the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Additionally, the agency continues to play a key role in updating various statistical frameworks, such as the System of National Accounts and the System of Environmental Economic Accounting. These efforts aim to ensure these frameworks accurately reflect changes in the economy and society and robust measurement of the relationship between the economy and the environment. Statistics Canada also contributes to the international guidance for the 2030 round of censuses.

Trust in statistics and the role of data ethics

In addition to upholding rigorous statistical standards, it is essential that Statistics Canada have the trust of its data providers and users. As the source of official statistics in Canada, the agency maintains this trust by ensuring that data are treated responsibly and ethically throughout its life cycle (i.e., gather, guard, grow and give). These actions are guided by international standards, best practices and transparency, such as the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and its own Quality Guidelines framework to ensure data are relevant, impartial and available to all.

Statistics Canada applies its Necessity and Proportionality Framework and ethical review process when acquiring data (survey or administrative data). This framework ensures that only essential data are obtained, while the ethical review process emphasizes the secure, private and responsible use of the data. This review is based on six principles, including using data to benefit Canadians, ensuring the transparency and accountability of data acquisition and processing methods, and safeguarding individual privacy throughout the process.

An important element of building trust is transparency. In addition to its robust frameworks and processes, Statistics Canada strives to further build and preserve the trust of Canadians by informing Canadians about data acquisitions, data projects and data privacy management. Users can access this information on Statistics Canada's Trust Centre.

Quality of life impacts

Statistics Canada plays a key role in measuring the quality of life of people in Canada. As the steward of the Quality of Life Framework for Canada, the agency measures a set of more than 90 indicators and uses these data to disseminate key insights on observable trends and between-group differences in the well-being of the population through the Quality of Life Hub. The framework's indicators are organized into a series of domains reflecting the key determinants of well-being: prosperity, health, society, environment and good governance. The framework also includes two cross-cutting lenses, which are applied across all domains: fairness and inclusion, and sustainability and resilience.

The data Statistics Canada produces on the quality of life of people in Canada are used to drive evidence-based budgeting and decision-making at the federal level. Since 2021, the Quality of Life indicators have been used across government to describe the expected impacts of new programs and policies included in the annual budget process. All federal departments and agencies now use Quality of Life data to monitor and report on their results to Parliament. Beyond these uses within the Government of Canada, other levels of government, communities, not-for-profits and Indigenous-led organizations increasingly rely on these data to guide their own efforts to improve the quality of life of their various constituencies.

Statistics Canada's leadership in the area of quality of life measurement is consistent with its core responsibility to produce objective, high-quality statistical information for Canadians. Statistical information produced by the Quality of Life Statistics Program, enables others to take data-driven approaches to their own mandates to improve the quality of life of people in Canada.

Indicators, results, and targets

This section presents details on the department's indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025-26 for statistical information. Details are presented by departmental result.

Table 1: High-quality statistical information is available to Canadians.
Table 1 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under statistical information.

Departmental Result Indicators	Actual Results	Target	Date to achieve target
Number of post-release corrections due to accuracy for mission critical programs	2021-22: 7 2022-23: 11 2023-24: 4	0Footnote 1	March 31, 2026
Percentage of international standards with which Statistics Canada conforms	2021-22: 88% 2022-23: 98% 2023-24: 99%	90%Footnote 2	March 31, 2026
Number of statistical products available on the website	2021-22: 43,184 2022-23: 46,318 2023-24: 49,084	54,106	March 31, 2026
Number of Statistics Canada data tables available on the Open Data Portal	2021-22: 8,088 2022-23: 8,884 2023-24: 9,373	9,900	March 31, 2026
Footnote 1 Statistics Canada aims to avoid making any errors of accuracy in its official release vehicle. Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 The target is set at 90% since international standards (international classifications and frameworks) are constantly evolving and the alignment can take a few cycles to be reached. Return to footnote 2 referrer

Table 2: High-quality statistical information is accessed by Canadians.
Table 2 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under statistical information.

Departmental Result Indicators	Actual Results	Target	Date to achieve target
Number of visits to Statistics Canada website	2021-22: 45,972,326 2022-23: 31,283,576 2023-24: 31,979,082	31,500,000Footnote 3	March 31, 2026
Number of hits on Statistics Canada's Application Programming Interface (API)	2021-22: 5,950,252 2022-23: 10,073,000 2023-24: 16,136,428	23,765,544	March 31, 2026
Percentage of website visitors that found what they were looking for	2021-22: Not available 2022-23: 75% 2023-24: 76%	78%	March 31, 2026
Number of interactions on social media	2021-22: 13,174,481 2022-23: 1,012,981 2023-24: 1,048,983	1,300,000	March 31, 2026
Footnote 3 A five-year rolling average is used to set the target for visits on the website. Return to footnote 3 referrer

Table 3: High-quality statistical information is relevant to Canadians.
Table 3 provides a summary of the target and actual results for each indicator associated with the results under statistical information.

Departmental Result Indicators	Actual Results	Target	Date to achieve target
Number of media citations on Statistics Canada data	2021-22: 139,078 2022-23: 213,229 2023-24: 189,655	130,000	March 31, 2026
Number of journal citations	2021-22: 40,248 2022-23: 44,271 2023-24: 44,042	38,000Footnote 4	March 31, 2026
Percentage of users satisfied with statistical information	2021-22: N/A 2022-23: N/A 2023-24: 88%	80%	March 31, 2026
Footnote 4 The target is set at 38,000, unchanged from previous years. Given that citations are measured by author publications and the number of publications by author has decreased, the target is being maintained. Return to footnote 4 referrer

Additional information on the detailed results and performance information for the Statistics Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Plans to achieve results

Statistics Canada's planned activities for 2025-26 are aligned with its core responsibility to produce objective, high-quality statistical information for Canadians. The agency will continue to deliver regular data releases throughout the year, while also monitoring and responding to emerging challenges and opportunities in the overall statistical landscape.

Statistics Canada is guided by its 2023 to 2026 strategic plan, which articulates the agency's vision to drive its modernization journey forward by outlining key priorities. The plan builds on the agency's past successes and investments in areas such as data science, cloud technologies and other modern tools to continue improving processes, deliverables and outcomes, while remaining innovative and dedicated to creating efficiencies within programs and processes.

Several years ago, the agency embarked a modernization journey. The foundational elements of its modernization initiative, outlined below, are still relevant today and serve as guiding principles of the organization's strategic plan.

• Providing user-centric services
• Using leading-edge methods of data collection and integration
• Building statistical capacity and fostering data literacy
• Collaborating and engaging with partners
• Building an agile workforce and workplace

These pillars have informed the development of the three strategic priorities in the agency's current strategic plan, which will guide ongoing and new projects for the agency.

1. Advancing the next generation of statistical programs and operations.
2. Building a complete enabling infrastructure.
3. Shaping a healthy, diverse and skilled workforce to meet the current and future needs of Canadians.

These strategic priorities will strengthen the agency's infrastructure and statistical programs. They will help ensure that the organization can adapt to a rapidly changing environment and continue to meet the evolving data needs of Canadians by leveraging innovative tools and processes. Aligned with the strategic priorities the specific planned activities for 2025-26 are presented in three sections that follow.

• The Censuses
• New data development in economic statistics
• New data development in social statistics

Statistics Canada aims to continue to produce high-quality statistical information that matters to Canadians. As such, the plans to achieve results for statistical information in 2025-26 focus on these key priority areas that will shape Canada's data landscape in the coming years.

The Censuses

The Censuses

To help provide a detailed and comprehensive statistical portrait of Canada, Statistics Canada conducts three censuses: the Census of Population, Census of Agriculture, and Census of Environment.

In preparation for the Census of Population and Census of Agriculture in May 2026, efforts are underway to improve data collection tools and communication technologies, while working with stakeholders to address potential data gaps. This work will ensure that census information will provide valuable insights to inform government priorities that impact the well-being of Canadians.

Similarly, the Census of Environment will deliver more information on the extent and condition of ecosystems across Canada. The program helps Canadians recognize the costs of environmental changes (including climate change), understand the benefits of maintaining healthy ecosystems, and ultimately make informed decisions to protect and rehabilitate the environment.

Census of Population

The Census of Population provides Canadians a detailed statistical portrait of Canada and its people by their demographic, social and economic characteristics. In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will continue to focus on innovating and improving collection and statistical processes and will rely on leading-edge methods, data science and modelling techniques to achieve these results. For instance, the agency will be implementing ways to improve service to Canadians by using chatbots or live chats, improving the census questionnaire, streamlining access codes, and expanding the safe and secure use of administrative data.

In 2025-26, the information collected as part of the 2024 Census Test will be used to prepare for the 2026 Census and finalize proposed questionnaire content changes. The earliest phases of census data collection will begin in early 2026, when enumeration begins in northern and remote parts of the country.

Census of Agriculture

The Census of Agriculture provides Canadians with a comprehensive and integrated profile of the physical, economic, social and environmental aspects of Canada's agriculture industry. It supports the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which includes several programs to strengthen the competitiveness, innovation and resilience of the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based product sectors. Census of Agriculture data also contribute to the National Agricultural Labour Strategy and are foundational to Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) for the agriculture and agri-food sector.

In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will finalize the questionnaire content for the Census of Agriculture. The Census of Agriculture will pursue innovative methods to reduce response burden by strategically using alternative data sources and advanced methodologies to replace some questionnaire content.

Census of Environment

The Census of Environment—a joint effort between the agency and Environment and Climate Change Canada—tracks the area of various ecosystems, reports on their condition, and highlights the services and benefits these ecosystems provide to human well-being and the economy. By integrating data from multiple sources, including satellite-derived Earth observation data, the program aims to show how ecosystems (e.g., forests, rivers and urban areas) contribute to Canada's wealth and biodiversity.

In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will launch an interactive geospatial profile tool presenting data on precipitation and temperature, protected terrestrial areas, and estimates of GDP by ecological and hydrological area. The agency will release information on the valuation of priority ecosystem services and Canadian ecosystem types, while also refreshing as many disseminated products as possible, such as the land cover geospatial product and the ocean condition and sea ice extent accounts. The Census of Environment data support the Government of Canada's commitment to the Global Biodiversity Framework.

New data development in Economic Statistics

New data development in Economic Statistics

Collecting information and measuring economic indicators along with measuring the use of emerging technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI) are part of Statistics Canada's planned activities and priorities for 2025-26. New standards on measuring the contribution of business investments in data, as well as additional data on technology adoption by businesses, are some of the activities that will contribute to enhanced economic statistics.

Measuring the economy—updates to the System of National Accounts

As economies around the world evolve, the measurement framework for measuring the economy, the System of National Accounts (SNA), must also evolve. Statistics Canada will continue to be heavily involved in updating the framework. Areas of focus in the SNA update include expanded guidance on measuring priority areas such as globalization, digitalization, well-being and sustainability. To ensure comparability with the System of National Accounts, the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM) will also be updated. Updated versions of these frameworks will be approved by the international statistical governing bodies (United Nations and International Monetary Fund) in 2025. As such, in 2025-26, the agency will begin planning the implementation to the new standards. Owing to new data requirements, the adoption of new concepts and methods, and to minimize disruption for users, the transition to the new standard will be phased in over a number of years.

Statistics Canada is well positioned to implement the new concepts and methods. As leaders in economic measurement, Statistics Canada lead or participated in the development of these revised frameworks and already has statistical programs that align well with the proposed standards. For example, Statistics Canada is a world leader in producing Distributions of household economic accounts (the timeliest in the world) and the estimation of timber resources, both important components of the well-being and sustainability priority area.

The updated guidance will be implemented in tandem with partner countries such as Australia, United Kingdom and the United States. In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will develop a robust outreach and engagement strategy with key users to ensure awareness while confirming an implementation timeline with partner countries.

Emerging technologies

Statistics Canada plans to continue to measure, analyze and report on the development, adoption and impact of emerging technologies (e.g., AI, quantum computing and clean technology) across Canadian businesses and society. During the next few years, the agency will target AI in its technology measurement programs. This aligns with government priorities to support AI research and innovation, build an AI-ready workforce, promote responsible and ethical AI, strengthen Canada's AI infrastructure, and encourage AI adoption in business and public services.

In 2025-26, the agency will collect data on how Canadian businesses are adopting AI, where they may encounter barriers and may need support, and how adoption affects their economic performance. Statistics Canada will also produce insights on the impact of AI on business performance. In addition, the agency will integrate data on the high-tech sector from various sources to provide an understanding of this sector's economic role in Canada.

New data development in Social Statistics

New data development in Social Statistics

In 2023, Canada's population expanded at its fastest annual pace in over six decades, driven almost entirely by increases in temporary and permanent immigration. As a result, immigration continues to play a vital role in shaping Canada's society and economy. Such population growth leads to strong demand for services such as housing, highlighting the need for more data on housing markets to assess how demographic shifts are influencing housing supply and demand, including affordability.

In addition, other social statistics programs, like those focusing on health and crime, are evolving to provide more granular information that speaks to a diversity of experiences, enhancing their relevance for stakeholders. This type of data becomes more relevant as the population of Canada continues to grow and diversify.

Affordable housing

In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will enhance its production of housing statistics and analytical products to provide valuable insights on Canada's housing market. The focus will be on supporting Canada's Housing Plan and addressing specific challenges related to housing affordability and supply at the provincial, territorial and municipal levels. The agency will align its programs to better examine the relationship between demographic changes and housing demand, with a particular emphasis on immigration and housing. Given rising homeownership and rental costs, Statistics Canada will use integrated data to further detail housing's effect on economic and social mobility.

In 2025-26, the agency will build on Budget 2024 investments and continue to improve the coverage, frequency and timeliness of information on housing stock, residential construction, and the price of owned and rented units. In partnership with Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, the agency will also develop new data on the intersection of housing and infrastructure, including neighbourhood-level information on access to amenities. Additionally, Statistics Canada will continue its collaboration with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to create linked data on the outcomes of people who receive housing assistance and to identify the profile of those most at risk of homelessness and eviction.

Health care

Statistics Canada continues to increase and strengthen its Health Statistics Program to improve decision making on all aspects of health in Canada. In 2025-26, the agency will focus on expanding the types of data available on health care providers, services and patient characteristics, and provide timelier and more disaggregated population health data to Canadians.

The agency will begin collection for the new survey on the Use of Digital Technologies by Health Care Providers and will publish the data near the end of 2025. The objective of the survey is to identify areas of improvement to further assist in modernizing the health care system and improving health care services for Canadians, as set out in the Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians Plan.

In addition, in 2025-26, the agency will help the Public Health Agency of Canada with the breast cancer screening and prevention action plan by providing disaggregated data analyses. It will also expand the recently launched overdose crisis data program, which enables the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada to access data on the circumstances, substances and sociodemographic characteristics of those experiencing fatal overdoses (including from opioids) to fill further information gaps.

Crime and safety

In recent years, interest in data on hate crimes has increased. In response, Statistics Canada will continue to release quarterly preliminary estimates on police-reported incidents, a practice that started in October 2024. A new hate crime dashboard is also planned for release in September 2025. Both activities will complement the annual police-reported data. Additionally, to address underreporting to the police, Statistics Canada will begin expanding its self-reported victimization program in 2025-26. The General Social Survey on Canadians' Safety will be conducted more frequently, every three years instead of every five. The sample for the 2025-26 cycle will select more racialized groups and communities in the North than before. This initiative aims to provide more timely and comprehensive data on hate crime, victimization, personal safety and experiences of discrimination.

Statistics Canada will also partner again with key departments to inform issues of gender-based violence and violence prevention. Results from the 2024 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces are planned for release in 2025-26, which will provide information on whether gender-based and intimate partner violence has increased or decreased since 2018. The next three years will also see the release of gender-based violence statistics focused on disaggregated populations, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit people; racialized populations; gender diverse populations; and people living with disabilities.

Innovation in the collection of new information will also support communities and decision makers in terms of equity in the justice system and approaches to community safety for diverse populations. In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will expand information on the representation and outcomes of Indigenous and racialized populations in the criminal justice system. Recommendations on national data standards for police reports of missing people, including missing Indigenous women and girls and other vulnerable populations, will also be put forward.

Climate change

There is demand for information on the impacts of climate change and the risks associated with severe weather events. To address this, Statistics Canada is prioritizing data and insights that inform policies aimed at emission reduction, economic growth, resilience through adaptation, health mitigation and understanding community vulnerability to natural disasters.

In 2025-26, new indexes on social vulnerability and resilience at the community level will be introduced. These indexes will assist in the allocation of resources for disaster recovery and help understand factors related to resilience and recovery. This information can be used to address gaps in essential services, such as health care and transportation, and ensure that vulnerable populations are not left behind in the disaster recovery process. In addition, sector-specific analysis will focus on the transition to a low carbon economy by evaluating income losses among workers displaced from the coal mining and oil and gas sectors. Understanding the role of taxes and transfers in the economic stability of these workers will help identify pathways for recovery and support.

Key risks

Statistics Canada has implemented an integrated risk management process to identify, assess, prioritize and respond to risks related to its core responsibility. This approach informs the agency's business planning, ensuring that high-quality statistical information is made available, can be accessed and is relevant. Statistics Canada has identified, assessed and ranked six key corporate risks^{Footnote *} and has developed tailored strategies to mitigate them.

1. Public trust

There is a risk that Statistics Canada may not be perceived as a trusted national statistical office. This risk is mitigated by ongoing communication with Canadians to build awareness and promote public trust.

2. Financial sustainability

There is a risk that Statistics Canada may not be able to effectively fulfill its mandate because of financial pressures. To mitigate this risk, the agency is strengthening financial management by investing in targeted managerial training, enhancing key financial processes, and focusing on strategic investments that foster accountability and fiscal responsibility. The agency is also ensuring active consultations with central agencies and Shared Services Canada to support the enterprise-wide cloud funding model and diversify cost-recovery streams. Additionally, the agency is improving multi-year financial planning capabilities and governance to address budgetary constraints and implement cost-optimization measures to safeguard essential services.

3. Organizational resilience

To thrive in a continuously changing environment, Statistics Canada must focus on both its workforce and operational capabilities. This involves reassessing its processes, implementing major transformational initiatives and evolving to support employees through people management strategies, while ensuring technological and infrastructure readiness. The risks associated with organizational resilience are the following:

1. Empowering workforce excellence
   There is a risk that Statistics Canada may face challenges in delivering its mandate effectively, as employee departures result in loss of skills and corporate memory. In addition, the evolving nature of work may create new skill gaps. Both issues affect the ability to maintain a high-performing, diverse and healthy workforce. To mitigate this risk, the agency is developing a renewed people management strategy that fosters trust and a positive work environment to continue building on a strong organizational culture and supporting employees through periods of change. Additionally, the strategy outlines enhancements in the areas of recruitment, learning and training development, recognition, management, and well-being of a diverse, skilled workforce, as well as measures to ensure an inclusive and accessible workplace.
2. Operational resiliency
   There is a risk that Statistics Canada's programs and services delivery may fall behind and become obsolete if the agency does not transform its technology, infrastructure, business and strategic processes. Transformational initiatives related to technology, infrastructure, and business processes may impact the delivery of its programs and services. To minimize these risks the agency will continue to invest in transformational initiatives that are aligned with the agency's strategic plan, focusing on adopting emerging technologies, fostering innovation and upskilling employees. The agency is also investing in the next generation of statistical programs and operations by creating frameworks, adopting innovative digital solutions and collaborating with partners to bridge gaps in the agency's capabilities, ensuring Statistics Canada remains in line with latest advancements.

4. Privacy and confidentiality

There is a risk that Statistics Canada may experience a privacy breach or wrongful disclosure of information attributable to a variety of factors, including human error, changing security measures, cyber-attacks and gaps in data handling practices. To alleviate the likelihood of this risk, the agency ensures that the controls and safeguards to manage and protect the vast amount of confidential and sensitive information are in place and evolve continually. This is done while considering new technologies, continuing to integrate advanced cyber security and information management assessment processes, enhancing monitoring practices, strengthening the agency's data ethics and governance processes, and regularly assessing the agency's information security and information technology (IT) posture. Through training and awareness, the agency also promotes a culture of information management and cyber security awareness among staff to ensure adherence to security protocols and adapt to emerging cyber threats.

5. Relevance

There is a risk that Statistics Canada's statistical information and services may not meet the evolving needs and expectations of users. The agency reduces this risk by continuously strengthening statistical and IT infrastructures, closely monitoring internal and external environments, aligning statistical programs with evolving international standards, adapting to privacy legislation changes, and positioning the agency to deliver a unique value proposition to meet the evolving data requirements of external stakeholders. In addition, the agency continuously engages with policy makers to ensure the alignment of its statistical programs with policy shifts and regulatory updates.

6. Accuracy

There is a risk that Statistics Canada may not be able to release accurate statistics. This can be due to circumstances along the data life cycle, such as low response rate at the acquisition stage, or challenges arising during processing or dissemination. To mitigate this risk, the agency prioritizes the use of administrative and alternative data wherever possible. It also follows its Quality Assurance Framework, maintains instruments for validating methods and processes, ensures that sound management practices are integrated into processes, and investigates published errors to identify and address any deficiencies.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 4: Planned resources to achieve results for statistical information
Table 4 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Resource	Planned
Spending	728,582,988
Full-time equivalents	6,762

Complete financial and human resources information for the Statistics Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Related government priorities

Gender-based analysis plus

Gender-based analysis plus

Statistics Canada plays an important role in providing more detailed information on diverse groups of people to support GBA+ analysis. The Disaggregated Data Action Plan supports more representative data collection and enhances statistics on diverse populations, notably through increased sample sizes; integration with administrative data sources; the addition of new variables to existing surveys; and the creation of new surveys to collect information that allows further disaggregation on different issues, such as gendered and racialized issues. Moreover, key objectives include ensuring that these data and their analysis are easily accessible to Canadians.

The Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub serves as the primary platform for sharing disaggregated and intersectional data. In the fall of 2024, the hub was redesigned with a more user-centric approach, further enhancing its role as a vital resource for anyone seeking gender, diversity and inclusion statistics. The hub is now connected to 10 other data hubs at Statistics Canada, making it a comprehensive, one-stop area for related data, analysis and reference materials.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Statistics Canada is responsible for reporting on the Global Indicator Framework for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Canada. Over the 2025-26 period, Statistics Canada will pursue this work and implement changes to this framework based on the 2025 comprehensive review of the Global Indicator Framework, which is expected to be endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission in February 2025. As co-chair of the United Nations Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators, Statistics Canada will remain active in helping countries implement the Global Indicator Framework and meeting the data challenges related to the SDG indicators.

Domestically, Statistics Canada is responsible for developing and reporting on the Canadian Indicator Framework for the SDGs. In 2025-26, the agency will examine ways to increase data disaggregation for the SDGs and support the localization of the SDGs. Several analytical studies are underway to better understand the interlinkages of the SDGs and how the SDG framework fits in with the various other statistical frameworks being reported on by the Government of Canada.

More information on Statistics Canada's contributions to Canada's Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in the Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.

Innovation

Innovation

As part of Statistics Canada's plans to continue to innovate and evolve its operations, the agency will focus on building a strengthened infrastructure to meet the increasingly complex and diverse information needs of Canadians.

Statistics Canada's infrastructure transformation is driven by optimizing processes and realizing efficiencies by accelerating technological change, decreasing response rates, increasing data proliferation, and expanding opportunities for more data integration and linkage. Most importantly, a strengthened infrastructure will keep protecting sensitive data and ensure the agency's operations are secure and resilient. In 2025-26 and future years, Statistics Canada will prioritize several key areas of infrastructure and technological capabilities:

Accelerating methodological advancements

Statistics Canada is committed to using rigorous statistical methods to produce objective, high-quality statistical information for Canadians.

As society evolves, new measurement challenges arise, requiring adjustments to methods. To address emerging issues like potential declining survey response rates, the need for more timely and granular data, and advancements in data science, the agency developed a Methodological Acceleration initiative, which aims to develop innovative methods with an emphasis on cost effectiveness, timeliness and statistical soundness.

In 2025-26, the agency will:

• implement new open-source tools and advanced methods for modelling, predicting and validating data in economic statistics programs;
• introduce and apply, in selected statistical programs, a modernized edit and imputation system, which leverages open-source tools and advanced imputation methodologies, improving timeliness and efficiency;
• initiate person-level sampling to reduce sample sizes and response burden while improving quality through better stratification and nonresponse adjustments;
• conduct new research and development to better assess the quality of statistical outputs from non-traditional data integration, modelling and machine learning.

By continuously adopting cutting-edge statistical methods, Statistics Canada continues to ensure its data remain impartial, high-quality and relevant, adhering to the highest scientific and ethical standards.

Advancing data management and access

Statistics Canada's data management infrastructure and expanded virtual access are central to modernizing its operations, supporting data standards and security, enhancing the agency's ability to integrate and analyze existing data holdings, and broadening access to Canadians.

In 2025-26, the agency will implement data management and analytical platforms, which will serve as the foundation for the agency's operations, offering scalable and secure cloud storage solutions. The platform will ensure data governance and privacy through strict access policies, enhance transparency with regular audits, and improve data integration. This will enable Statistics Canada to merge and cross-reference multiple data sources, leading to deeper, more detailed insights from existing data. Similarly, the analytical platform will equip teams with tools for data analysis, visualization and reporting, which will allow business areas to analyze data quickly and more efficiently for faster decision making.

In 2025-26, Statistics Canada's Virtual Research Data Centre (vRDC) and improvements to the agency's website are expected to significantly advance data access. The vRDC, set to launch in 2025, is a major initiative to enhance access to Statistics Canada's secure and confidential microdata for academic researchers nationwide. It will modernize the agency's IT infrastructure and data access practices, optimizing technical efficiencies and providing advanced computing power for large data analysis. Developed in collaboration with the Canadian Research Data Centre Network, the vRDC aims to broaden research opportunities for Canadian academics by leveraging the strengths of both organizations.

Statistics Canada will also focus on improving the user-centric design of its website. In 2025-26, the agency will conduct public consultations to gather feedback on users' experience with the website. These consultations will inform improvements to its design, navigation, information architecture and search functionality, making it easier for more Canadians to find, access and use the agency's extensive data resources.

Optimizing cloud infrastructure

The cloud infrastructure offers Statistics Canada a scalable environment for managing digital workloads, data and applications, allowing for optimization of resources. In 2025-26, the agency will continue to capitalize on the cloud's benefits and capabilities by migrating more of its infrastructure, in preparation for the 2026 Census to be cloud-based.

To ensure costs are managed properly, in 2025-26, Statistics Canada will refine the process of cloud financial management, allowing the agency to get maximum business value from its cloud investments. Additionally, the agency will leverage Shared Services Canada's long-term sustainable investments in cloud infrastructure to mitigate its own future cloud expenses.

Modernizing statistical methods and analytical tools

A key infrastructure priority for Statistics Canada is to establish an enabling infrastructure that enhances operational efficiency and adaptability to change, fosters innovation, and facilitates the development of new statistical methods to better serve Canadians. This transformation involves moving toward a modern, cloud-based infrastructure supported by integrated business workspaces and IT platforms. In 2025-26, the ongoing project will focus on enhancing data management, workflow orchestration and analytical tools.

A fundamental transformation within the agency is the shift toward open-source technology for software tools. In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will continue to work towards training and adopting modern open-source tools such as R and Python to improve data processing, visualization and analysis. This transition will be supported by the implementation of the strategy on open-source technology in 2025-26, which will provide a framework to promote a culture of openness, encouraging the sharing of code, data and best practices among employees.

Promoting leading-edge technologies

Many technologies, including AI and machine learning, have the potential to automate complex tasks, minimize errors, provide valuable insights and enhance efficiency. In alignment with the Government of Canada's digital objectives and AI strategy, Statistics Canada will focus on the following key areas in 2025-26:

• organize, identify and make data accessible to support effective use of AI models;
• develop methods to automate the development, testing and deployment of AI models;
• establish robust processes that improve communication and collaboration across teams involved in AI and machine learning projects.

The agency will also scale up and optimize its leading generative AI and machine learning applications (e.g., AI-powered chatbots, AI-enhanced searches and machine learning-based classification of data), as well as be active in leading-edge AI research and development.

In preparation for the 2026 Census of Population, for example, the agency is developing an AI-based translator to expedite translations between French and English. Additionally, a new tool that leverages generative AI to search Statistics Canada publications will be tested with Canadians in 2025-26 to assess its potential.

Ensuring cyber security

Canadians, businesses and all levels of government entrust Statistics Canada with very sensitive information. In 2025-26, the agency's cyber security program will keep evolving to protect the agency's infrastructure and data by focusing on four objectives:

• articulate cyber security risk to support effective, action-oriented and accountable decision making;
• prevent and resist cyber attacks to enhance the protection of data holdings;
• strengthen response and recovery capabilities to proactively build resilience to cyber events;
• foster a security-minded workforce by developing the necessary skills, knowledge and culture within the agency to strengthen overall security.

These objectives will be achieved by modernizing the Security Assessment and Authorization process, implementing new cloud-focused enterprise security services for data protection, conducting regular tabletop exercises to enhance response and recovery capabilities, and providing targeted security awareness training for employees.

The cyber security program will remain aligned with Government of Canada enterprise initiatives, such as the Government of Canada's Enterprise Cyber Security Strategy and Secure Cloud Enablement and Defence project.

Program inventory

Statistical information is supported by the following programs:

• Economic and Environmental Statistics
• Socio-economic Statistics
• Censuses
• Cost-recovered Statistical Services
• Centres of Expertise.

Additional information related to the program inventory for statistical information is available on the Results page on GC InfoBase.

Internal services

In this section

• Description
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Description

Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:

• management and oversight services
• communications services
• legal services
• human resources management services
• financial management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• real property management services
• materiel management services
• acquisition management services

Plans to achieve results

For Statistics Canada, the focus on internal services is aligned with one of the agency's strategic priorities: creating a healthy, diverse and skilled workforce to support the agency's mission and serving Canadians effectively and efficiently.

Statistics Canada is dedicated to creating a healthy and supportive work environment that fosters an inclusive, accessible and ethical workplace while enhancing the skills and capabilities of its workforce. Moreover, in this digital age, it is vital to provide the workforce with efficient IT support and services that keep pace with technological advancements. A healthy, effective and efficient workforce plays a crucial role in supporting the agency's mission and serving Canadians well. The following are key areas that guide internal services at Statistics Canada:

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Statistics Canada's 2021-2025 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, while in its final year, will continue to advance work to create a workplace that is inclusive and respectful and that reflects the identities, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, skills, perspectives and experiences of Canada's increasingly diverse population. In 2025-26, the agency will focus its efforts on increasing the percentage of employees who self-identify (83.1% in October 2024), closing diversity gaps, and building and maintaining a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace.

Statistics Canada's sustained progress toward a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace is achieved through collaboration with the agency's employment equity networks and champions, stakeholder engagement, concrete and evidence-based actions driven by data and insights, and measurement of progress at regular intervals.

Preparations are underway to develop the 2025-2028 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, including consultations with employees across the agency, the employment equity networks and bargaining agents. In addition, efforts are being made to further enhance the plan and create a more inclusive workplace that includes the pilot of the Privy Council Office's inclusion framework.

Accessibility action plan

In compliance with the Accessible Canada Act, Statistics Canada continues to implement its 2023 to 2025 accessibility action plan, as it seeks to build an accessibility-confident culture and a solid foundation, where products, programs, services, and the workplace and workspaces are accessible by design. This plan aims to ensure that all Statistics Canada employees are supported in a barrier-free environment, where their accessibility needs are met. The agency will begin preparing for the next iteration of the action plan in 2025-26.

Since launching the plan, the agency has continued to raise awareness about disability and accessibility and has undertaken efforts to meet the varying needs of employees and Canadians who use its products and services. To ensure that Canadians can access its data with ease, Statistics Canada will keep providing, leveraging and integrating accessible formats, such as American Sign Language and web accessibility for screen readers.

Values and ethics

The Integrity and Respect Program at Statistics Canada is a comprehensive initiative designed to offer advice, recommendations and guidance on key topics such as values and ethics, conflict of interest, political activities, internal disclosure, and harassment and violence prevention and resolution. The program features 14 integrity and respect awareness officers across the agency and will continue to serve as a safe and supportive space for employees at all levels.

To strengthen values and ethics within the agency, in 2025-26 the Integrity and Respect Program will develop key messages for all employees and tailored communications for executives addressing critical topics related to values and ethics.

Statistics Canada is dedicated to its ongoing response to the Deputy Ministers' Task Team on Values and Ethics Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council and the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service. For example, all employees are required to complete mandatory training—on values and ethics, the prevention of harassment and violence in the workplace, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenous reconciliation—which will be tracked to ensure ongoing compliance.

Capacity building

Statistics Canada's strong culture of learning has always been an asset critical to retention, succession and employee well-being. Investments in learning have shaped today's leadership, transformed the culture and nurtured professional networks across generations of colleagues. By investing in continuous skill development, the agency aims to build a workforce proficient in advanced statistical methods and data integration techniques, adaptable to the evolving demands of the digital age.

Building the next generation of data leaders, Statistics Canada will continue to develop modern skill sets, focusing on analytical skills, advanced statistical methods and data integration techniques. Recruits will spend anywhere from several weeks to a few months in full-time data-driven training offerings, graduating from recruitment programs with greater technical skills and deep subject-matter expertise, while also fostering their community of peers.

Greater access to specialized training will help nurture subject-matter and methodological experts. For example, training on the System of National Accounts will ensure sustained production of high-quality data on economic growth and composition. Statistics Canada is also implementing learning pathways to guide employees so they can leverage open-source tools and contribute to the adoption of an open-source and innovation-forward corporate culture.

In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will implement new coaching and leadership programs and expand access to middle managers. The objective is to cultivate resilient and adaptable leaders and empower all employees to reach their full potential. Renewing its commitment to learning, Statistics Canada will ensure equitable access to official languages training and build communities of practice that shape future leaders better equipped to act on modernization efforts.

Employee wellness

The agency's wellness activities aim to address the evolving needs of employees while ensuring inclusivity. A primary goal in 2025-26 is to finalize an updated wellness strategy that aligns with the agency's objectives and values, offering a variety of resources to meet the diverse needs of the workforce. This strategy will cover physical, psychological and emotional wellness, with formalized governance structures for effective implementation.

Given the evolving work environment, the updated wellness strategy will emphasize providing resources and support tailored to this new environment. An equity, diversity and inclusion lens will be applied to ensure services are meaningful, safe and culturally appropriate. The strategy will be data-driven, using insights from the Public Service Employee Survey and Employee Wellness Survey.

The agency will analyze these survey data to identify trends, support targeted actions, measure the impact of wellness initiatives, and set clear and measurable goals. These efforts are designed to proactively address potential issues, enhance the effectiveness of wellness programs and ensure ongoing improvement, ultimately fostering a workplace where all employees can thrive.

Information technology services

Effective IT services are critical to the success of any workplace. Statistics Canada will emphasize improving the user experience and promoting an agile, inclusive and well-equipped workforce through its digital solutions program. The agency will also lead digital talent strategies, collaborating with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and broader digital talent initiatives to build a workforce ready for digital-first delivery. Efforts to recruit Indigenous people and people with disabilities will continue, ensuring diverse representation in the digital talent pool.

In addition, Statistics Canada will enhance its IT services to support its programs and projects, focusing on creating cost-effective and comprehensive digital tools that align with the Policy on Service and Digital. In 2025-26, the agency will prioritize the modernization and optimization of its digital assets, establishing a multi-year implementation plan with clear roadmaps for all statistical programs and their supporting infrastructure. This plan will ensure that operational efficiency and the needs of statistical processes are central to the digital transformation.

Planned resources to achieve results

Table 5: Planned resources to achieve results for internal services this year
Table 5 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.

Resource	Planned
Spending	99,325,542
Full-time equivalents	718

Complete financial and human resources information for the Statistics Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Government of Canada departments are to meet a target of awarding at least 5% of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses each year. This commitment is to be fully implemented by the end of 2024-25.

Statistics Canada incorporates Indigenous businesses as part of its procurement strategy. This includes using voluntary and conditional Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business set-asides when qualified Indigenous suppliers are identified in the market, raising awareness about the initiative with each requisition, and enhancing internal expertise through training sessions hosted by Indigenous Services Canada. The agency's forecasted targets were developed through consultation with key internal stakeholders, such as Security and Facilities Management, as well as an analysis of historical procurement data to identify commodities previously sourced by Indigenous businesses.

Statistics Canada's deputy head has approved an exception for software renewal contracts and specific software needs to support business objectives, including the Census of Population. While there may be an opportunity to open the software solution to competitive bidding when the contract expires, maintenance and support for software are limited by intellectual property and interoperability constraints. As a result, the mitigation strategy to reduce recurrence focuses on maximizing capacity with the Indigenous businesses.

Statistics Canada will track progress toward meeting the 5% target and will adjust its procurement strategies as needed.

Table 6: Percentage of contracts planned and awarded to Indigenous businesses
Table 6 presents the current, actual results with forecasted and planned results for the total percentage of contracts the department awarded to Indigenous businesses.

5% Reporting Field	2023-24 Actual Result	2024-25 Forecasted Result	2025-26 Planned Result
Total percentage of contracts with Indigenous businesses	2.75%	5.1%	5.1%

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of Statistics Canada's planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2025-26 with actual spending from previous years.

In this section

• Spending
• Funding
• Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Human resources

Spending

This section presents an overview of the department's actual and planned expenditures from 2022-23 to 2027-28.

Budgetary performance summary

Table 7 Three-year spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
Table 7 presents how much money Statistics Canada spent over the past three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services. Amounts for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on spending to date.

Core responsibilities and Internal services	2022-23 Actual Expenditures	2023-24 Actual Expenditures	2024-25 Forecast Spending
Statistical Information	731,447,169	784,946,138	765,817,193
Internal services	110,581,024	88,762,478	97,787,088
Total gross	842,028,193	873,708,616	863,604,281
Respendable revenue	-159,349,013	-132,999,612	-125,654,055
Total net	682,679,180	740,709,004	737,950,226

Analysis of the past three years of spending

Statistics Canada is funded by two sources: direct parliamentary appropriations and cost-recovery activities. It has the authority to generate $120 million annually in respendable revenue, related to two streams: statistical surveys and related services, and custom requests and workshops. If exceeded, a request can be made to increase the authority, as was the case in the last few years.

In recent years, respendable cost-recovery revenue has contributed between $120 million and $159 million annually to the agency's total resources. A large portion of this respendable revenue comes from federal departments to fund specific statistical projects. Respendable revenue increased in 2022-23 relative to previous years because of additional work associated with extra demands following the slowdown during the pandemic and the 2021 Census.

Internal services spending in 2022-23 includes resources from temporary funding approved in 2018–19 to migrate the agency's infrastructure to the cloud. The peak in spending during 2022–23 is attributed to the completion of the workload migration initiative to the cloud. Following the migration, cloud-related spending is now allocated to all programs for 2023-24 and 2024-25.

The increase in internal services forecasted spending in 2024-25 relative to 2023-24 actual expenditures is largely attributable to how the agency strategically manages its investments. The agency leverages the operating budget carry-forward mechanism to manage the cyclical nature of program operations and investments in the agency's strategic priorities. Additionally, in 2024-25, Statistics Canada has allocated investments to accessibility initiatives and the modernization of its offices across the country.

More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.

Table 8 Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
Table 8 presents how much money Statistics Canada plans to spend over the next three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services.

Core responsibilities and Internal services	2025-26 Planned Spending	2026-27 Planned Spending	2027-28 Planned Spending
Statistical Information	848,582,988	1,106,278,364	724,030,308
Internal services	99,325,542	93,405,369	92,692,974
Total gross	947,908,530	1,199,683,733	816,723,282
Respendable revenue	-120,000,000	-120,000,000	-120,000,000
Total net	827,908,530	1,079,683,733	696,723,282

Analysis of the next three years of spending

Spending will continue to ramp up and peak in 2026-27 when the 2026 Census of Population and 2026 Census of Agriculture are conducted. This is typical for the agency because of the cyclical nature of the Census Program.

Reflected in planned spending are resources for new initiatives, including funding to support Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate, funding for the Clean Technology Data Strategy, and funding to modernize and enhance the collection and dissemination of housing data, supporting Canada's Housing Plan.

After successfully transitioning the agency's IT infrastructure from data centers to the cloud, funding to continue to operate on the cloud is not included in the planned spending starting in 2026-27 as an enterprise-wide funding model is pending.

More detailed financial information on planned spending is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.

Table 9: Budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)
Table 9 reconciles gross planned spending with net spending for 2025-26.

Core responsibilities and Internal services	2025-26 Gross planned spending (dollars)	2025-26 Planned revenues netted against spending (dollars)	2025-26 Planned net spending (authorities used)
Statistical Information	848,582,988	-120,000,000	728,582,988
Internal services	99,325,542	0	99,325,542
Total	947,908,530	-120,000,000	827,908,530

Analysis of budgetary gross and net planned spending summary

Statistics Canada has the authority to generate $120 million annually in respendable revenue, which is reflected in the 2025-26 planned revenues netted against spending.

Information on the alignment of Statistics Canada's spending with Government of Canada's spending and activities is available on GC InfoBase.

Funding

This section provides an overview of the department's voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.

Text description of graph 1

Approved funding (statutory and voted) over a six-year period (in thousands of dollars)

Fiscal year	Total	Voted	Statutory	Cost recovery (netted revenue)
2022-23	682,679	585,664	97,015	159,349
2023-24	740,709	640,778	99,931	132,999
2024-25	737,950	648,071	89,879	125,654
2025-26	827,909	724,103	103,806	120,000
2026-27	1,079,684	972,181	107,503	120,000
2027-28	696,723	600,127	96,596	120,000

Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period

The graph above shows that planned spending is ramping up and will peak in 2026-27, when the 2026 Census of Population and 2026 Census of Agriculture are conducted. This is followed by a significant decrease in subsequent years as these activities wind down. This pattern is typical for the agency because of the cyclical nature of the Census Program.

For further information on Statistics Canada's departmental appropriations, consult the 2025-26 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of Statistics Canada's operations for 2024-25 to 2025-26.

Table 10 Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2026 (dollars)
Table 10 summarizes the expenses and revenues which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers for 2024-25 to 2025-26. The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

Financial information	2024-25 Forecast results	2025-26 Planned results	Difference (planned results minus forecasted)
Total expenses	984,303,645	1,128,270,699	143,967,054
Total revenues	125,654,055	120,000,000	-5,654,055
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	858,649,590	1,008,270,699	149,621,109

Analysis of forecasted and planned results

The difference between 2024-25 forecast results and 2025-26 planned results is primarily due to increased spending on the Census program and the agency's use of the operating budget carry-forward mechanism to manage the cyclical nature of its operations. This increase is partially offset by funding for cloud operations that is not included in the planned spending starting in 2025-26 because the enterprise-wide funding model is being developed. In the absence of an enterprise-wide funding model, funding will be sourced by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat resources through an in-year transfer in 2025-26.

Statistics Canada has the authority to generate $120 million annually in respendable revenue, related to two streams: statistical surveys and related services, and custom requests and workshops. This amount may vary from year to year based on demand and the cyclical nature of our cost recovered services.

A more detailed Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and associated Notes for 2025-26, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, is available on Statistics Canada's website.

Human resources

This section presents an overview of the department's actual and planned human resources from 2022-23 to 2027-28.

Table 11: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services
Table 11 shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents, for Statistics Canada's core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.

Core responsibilities and internal services	2022-23 Actual full-time equivalents	2023-24 Actual full-time equivalents	2024-25 Forecasted full-time equivalents
Statistical Information	7,005	6,291	6,297
Internal services	833	619	707
Total gross	7,838	6,910	7,004
Respendable revenue	-1,795	-1,373	-1,222
Total net	6,043	5,537	5,782

Analysis of human resources over the last three years

Respendable revenue in 2022–23 included full-time equivalents resources for additional work associated with extra demands following the slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the easing of restrictions allowed collection of statistical information to resume. It was also associated with an increase in demands related to the 2021 Census.

Resources fluctuations in internal services are largely attributable to how the agency strategically manages its investments. The agency leverages the operating budget carry-forward mechanism to manage the cyclical nature of program operations and investments in the agency's strategic priorities. Additionally, internal services resources in 2022–23 included resources from temporary funding related to an initiative approved in 2018–19 to migrate the agency's infrastructure to the cloud.

Table 12: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services
Table 12 shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents, for each of Statistics Canada's core responsibilities and for its internal services planned for the next three years.

Core responsibilities and internal services	2025-26 Planned full-time equivalents	2026-27 Planned full-time equivalents	2027-28 Planned full-time equivalents
Statistical Information	6,762	7,091	6,149
Internal services	718	690	682
Total gross	7,480	7,781	6,831
Respendable revenue	-1,169	-1,169	-1,169
Total net	6,311	6,612	5,662

Analysis of human resources for the next three years

Overall, Statistics Canada is expecting to maintain its capacity for delivering ongoing statistical programs in future years. Similar to trends seen in planned spending, changes in full-time equivalents from year to year are largely explained by the cyclical nature of the Census Program. Activity will begin to ramp up and will peak in 2026-27, when the 2026 Census of Population and 2026 Census of Agriculture are conducted.

The human resources for the next three years include planned full-time equivalents for several new initiatives including funding to support Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate, funding for the Clean Technology Data Strategy, and funding to modernize and enhance the collection and dissemination of housing data, supporting Canada's Housing Plan.

Resources fluctuations in internal services are largely attributable to how the agency strategically manages its investments. The agency leverages the operating budget carry-forward mechanism to manage the cyclical nature of program operations and investments in the agency's strategic priorities.

Corporate information

Departmental profile

Departmental profile

Appropriate minister:

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head:

André Loranger

Ministerial portfolio:

Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Enabling instruments:

• Statistics Act
• Corporations Returns Act
• Corporations Returns Regulations

Year of incorporation / commencement:

The Dominion Bureau of Statistics was established in 1918. In 1971, with the revision of the Statistics Act, the agency became Statistics Canada.

Other:

Under the Statistics Act, Statistics Canada is required to collect, compile, analyze, abstract and publish statistical information relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic and general activities and condition of the people of Canada.

Statistics Canada has two primary objectives:

• provide statistical information and analysis on the economic and social structure and functioning of Canadian society, as a basis for developing, operating and evaluating public policies and programs; for public and private decision making; and for the general benefit of all Canadians
• promote the quality, coherence and international comparability of Canada's statistics through collaboration with other federal departments and agencies, with the provinces and territories, and in accordance with sound scientific standards and practices.

Statistics Canada's head office is in Ottawa. There are regional offices across the country in Halifax, Sherbrooke, Montréal, Toronto, Sturgeon Falls, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver, with more temporary offices opening in 2025-26 in preparation for the 2026 Census. There are also 35 research data centres located throughout the country in academic institutions. In addition, there are five secure rooms available for access by employees of federal departments and selected provincial ministries. These centres provide researchers with access to microdata from population and household survey programs in a secure setting. Virtual secure access for the researchers of both types of centres from other authorized workspaces (e.g., office locations and home offices) will be launched in 2025. Canadians can also follow the agency on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.

Departmental contact information

Departmental contact information

Mailing address:

Statistics Canada
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6

Telephone:

Toll-free: 1-800-263-1136
International: 1-514-283-8300

TTY:

1-800-363-7629

Fax:

1-514-496-4879

Email:

infostats@statcan.gc.ca

Website:

www.statcan.gc.ca

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on Statistics Canada's website:

• Gender‑based analysis plus

Information on Statistics Canada's departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on Statistics Canada's website.

Federal tax expenditures

Statistics Canada's Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.

This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Definitions

List of terms

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a three-year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

Departmental Results Framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department's core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of the number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person's collective agreement.

Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative, identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet the diverse needs of the people most impacted, and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and sociocultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion and sexual orientation.

Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to the agency's work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.

government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2025-26 Departmental Plan, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the most recent Speech from the Throne.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtones)

For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement, Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses, and the Government of Canada's commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts be awarded to Indigenous businesses that meet the definition and requirements in the Indigenous Business Directory. 

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Non-budgetary authorities that comprise assets and liabilities transactions for loans, investments and advances, or specified purpose accounts, that have been established under specific statutes or under non-statutory authorities in the Main Estimates and elsewhere. Non-budgetary transactions are those expenditures and receipts related to the government's financial claims on, and obligations to, outside parties. They consist of transactions in loans, investments and advances; in cash and accounts receivable; in public money received or collected for specified purposes; and in all other assets and liabilities. Other assets and liabilities not specifically defined in G to P authority codes are to be recorded to an R authority code, which is the residual authority code for all other assets and liabilities.

performance (rendement)

What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare with what the department intended to achieve and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of a department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to a department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead, they are within the area of the department's influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.

A departmental plan describes a department's priorities, plans and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years.

• Statistics Canada's raison d'être, mandate, role and operating context can be found on its website.

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Key priorities

Canadians need high-quality, insightful and accessible data to support informed decision making. Statistics Canada's mission is to provide the trusted data, statistical services and insights required for these decisions. The agency holds itself to very high standards of quality, privacy protection, communications and measurement to maintain the trust of Canadians, businesses and institutions. In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will continue to deliver regular data releases and updates on a wide variety of topics, while monitoring and responding to emerging challenges and opportunities in the overall statistical landscape.

Statistics Canada's 2023 to 2026 strategic plan articulates the agency's vision to drive its modernization journey forward and outlines its priorities over the period. The plan is very much in line with the agency's overall modernization principles and builds on the agency's past successes and investments in areas such as data science, cloud technologies and other modern tools to continue improving processes, deliverables and outcomes. Statistics Canada's key priorities for 2025-26 are the following:

• Advance the next generation of statistical programs and operations.
• Adopt a complete enabling infrastructure.
• Shape a healthy, diverse and skilled workforce to meet the current and future needs of Canadians.

Highlights

In 2025-26, total planned spending (including internal services) for Statistics Canada is $827,908,530, and total planned full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) is 7,480. For complete information on Statistics Canada's total planned spending and human resources, read the Planned spending and human resources section of the full plan.

The following summarizes the agency's planned achievements for 2025-26 according to its approved Departmental Results Framework. A Departmental Results Framework consists of a department's core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Statistics Canada's core responsibility is to produce objective, high-quality statistical information for the whole of Canada.

Planned spending: $728,582,988

Planned human resources: 6,762

Departmental results

The agency aims for three broad results to measure the success of its activities:

• High-quality statistical information is available to Canadians.
• High-quality statistical information is accessed by Canadians.
• High-quality statistical information is relevant to Canadians.

The plans to achieve results for statistical information in 2025-26 focus on key areas that will shape Canada's data landscape in the coming years. First, preparations for the 2026 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture are underway to improve data collection tools and communication technologies, while working with stakeholders to address potential data gaps. This work helps ensure that census information will provide valuable insights for government priorities. Similarly, the Census of Environment will deliver more information on the condition of ecosystems across Canada, helping Canadians understand the costs of environmental changes, including climate change.

Likewise, new standards on measuring business investments in data, as well as additional data on emerging technology adoption (e.g., artificial intelligence and clean technology), will improve economic statistics. Additionally, rapid population growth highlights the need for more data on housing markets to assess how demographic shifts are influencing housing demand. Other social statistics programs, like those focusing on health and crime, are also evolving to provide more granular information that speaks to a diversity of experiences, enhancing their relevance for stakeholders. In 2025-26, Statistics Canada will continue developing adaptive and forward-looking statistical programs to effectively support the complex and evolving information needs of governments, businesses and citizens.

The agency is building a strengthened infrastructure, driven by accelerating technological change, decreasing response rates, increasing data proliferation, and expanding opportunities for more data integration and linkage. In 2025-26 and future years, Statistics Canada will prioritize several key areas of infrastructure and technological capabilities, notably accelerating methodological advancements, advancing data management and access, optimizing cloud infrastructure, and shifting activities toward open-source technology like R and Python.

With the goal of fostering a healthy, diverse and skilled workforce to support the agency's mission, Statistics Canada will continue to build and maintain a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace, strengthen values and ethics within the agency, build a workforce proficient in advanced statistical methods and data integration techniques, and implement new coaching and leadership programs in 2025‑26.

Most importantly, to maintain the trust of its data providers, users and Canadians, Statistics Canada will keep ensuring that data are treated responsibly and ethically throughout their life cycle, guided by international standards, best practices and transparency. The agency follows the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (PDF) and its own frameworks to ensure data are relevant, impartial and available to all.

More information about statistical information can be found in the full plan.

November 2024
Project number: 80590-139

Table of contents

• Executive summary
• Conformance with professional standards
• Introduction
  • Background
  • Audit objective
  • Scope
  • Approach and methodology
  • Authority
• Findings, recommendations and management response
  • Validation of monthly outputs
  • Quality assurance within the annual basket update process
  • Quality assurance over the receipt and preparation of alternative data sources
  • Risk management
• Appendices
  • Appendix A: Audit criteria
  • Appendix B: Validation activities

Executive summary

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) program is a mission critical program necessary to meet Statistics Canada's core legislated mandate. The CPI is often used as a general indicator of inflation in Canada and is widely known, quoted and trusted by Canadians.

Monthly production of the CPI follows an iterative data flow process with validation and quality checks occurring at various points throughout. To meet the preannounced publication dates, the CPI program must follow a tight production schedule. Additionally, because of its extensive use for indexation purposes, the CPI is not subject to revision.

The CPI is measured based on a basket of consumer goods and services. Weights are assigned to product groups in the CPI basket through a basket update process that occurs annually. These basket weights are then applied when calculating the monthly CPI.

The agency has developed a structured approach to achieving high-quality statistical outputs as described in its Quality Assurance Framework and complementary Quality Guidelines. Together, these foundational tools define the elements of quality pertaining to the production of official statistics. While practical guidelines and checklists exist, staff expertise, judgment and unique skill sets remain essential—all activities within the production process must show a concern for quality.

The agency has also developed the Directive for the Validation of Statistical Outputs and the accompanying Guidelines for the Validation of Statistical Outputs, which aim to strengthen quality assurance and support the quality of statistical outputs. These instruments provide guidance and practical advice regarding validation—a final and very important quality check that statistical outputs must pass prior to dissemination. This final check challenges the validity of the statistical information to ensure there are no design flaws or execution errors left undetected.

Lastly, the International Monetary Fund's Consumer Price Index Manual: Concepts and Methods provides a comprehensive overview of the methods and practices that national statistical organizations should consider. The international standards contained within provide guidelines on best practices and promote the quality and international comparability of national CPIs.

Why is this important?

The CPI is relied upon by various stakeholders such as governments, businesses, the Bank of Canada, the System of National Accounts and academia. One of the core principles underpinning the agency's statistical programming is quality—a commitment that helps to foster and sustain the trust of Canadians and agency stakeholders. This audit was conducted due to the importance of quality to the agency's success.

Overall conclusion

Management has implemented an adequate quality control framework to ensure the high quality of CPI outputs and the consistent application of related quality assurance processes. Quality assurance mechanisms are in place throughout the data flow process and embedded in the direction of the program. Dedicated staff present themselves as well seasoned and knowledgeable about their roles, responsibilities and accountabilities, and can articulate those of their colleagues and peers alike. Some opportunities for improvement were noted in the areas of adherence to validation guidelines, tools and guidance, and risk management.

Key findings

Validation of monthly outputs

Various quality assurance activities are being performed by the CPI program to validate its monthly statistical outputs, and the results are being discussed through appropriate governance mechanisms that include senior management. Relevant roles, responsibilities and accountabilities are mostly documented and well understood, and employees are generally supported by processes and procedures that direct the validation of monthly CPI outputs. The CPI program has not formally documented a validation strategy for its monthly outputs, and formal validation reports are not prepared, as required by agency guidelines.

Quality assurance within the annual basket update process

Numerous quality assurance and validation activities are being performed by the CPI program during a basket update. These activities are being documented, the results are being reported to program management and suitable governance processes are overseeing the quality assurance of basket updates. Roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for quality assurance within the basket update process are documented and understood by most, and supporting processes and procedures are in place—though some limitations were observed. A comprehensive validation strategy has not been developed for basket updates.

Quality assurance over the receipt and preparation of alternative data sources

The CPI program consistently performs various quality assurance activities when ingesting alternative data sources, and governance processes are in place to oversee the quality assurance of alternative data sources used in the production of the CPI. Roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for quality assurance of alternative data sources are documented and well understood. Relevant processes and procedures are well documented yet evolving, and some key processes require refinement for the program to reach full maturity in machine learning operations.

Risk management

CPI management and staff have a general awareness of program risks and some ad hoc risk management activities are occurring. However, risk management processes are not formally documented for the CPI program.

Conformance with professional standards

The audit was conducted in accordance with the Mandatory Procedures for Internal Auditing in the Government of Canada, which include the Institute of Internal Auditors' Global Internal Audit Standards.

Sufficient and appropriate audit procedures have been conducted, and evidence has been gathered to support the accuracy of the findings and conclusions in this report and to provide an audit level of assurance. The findings and conclusions are based on a comparison of the conditions, as they existed at the time, against pre-established audit criteria. The findings and conclusions are applicable to the entity examined and for the scope and period covered by the audit.

Steven McRoberts
Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive

Introduction

Background

The Consumer Prices Division (CPD) is mandated to produce timely and relevant data on consumer price change over time and across geographical areas in Canada. To accomplish this, the CPD produces and publishes the Consumer Price Index (CPI) monthly. The objectives of the CPI program are to provide reliable and timely measures of consumer price change and high-quality information to data users within set service standards.

The CPI program is a mission critical program necessary to meet Statistics Canada's core legislated mandate. The CPI itself is an indicator of change in prices experienced by Canadian consumers. It is calculated by comparing, through time, the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services. The index is often used as a general indicator of inflation in Canada. It is widely known, quoted and trusted by Canadians. One of its most important uses is by governments, businesses and individuals to adjust selected contractual or legislated payments in line with inflation. Additionally, the CPI informs monetary policy, aids the Bank of Canada as it seeks to maintain inflation within its target range and enables the System of National Accounts to estimate gross domestic product in constant dollars. The CPI is released monthly, via The Daily,^{Footnote 1} within 31 days of the price observation period. The release is typically on the third week of the month following the price observation period.^{Footnote 2}

Monthly production of the CPI follows an iterative data flow process whereby products and geographies are classified, a sampling strategy is determined, outlets are selected, and prices are collected. Once the datasets are gathered, they are reviewed, edited, imputed, and quality adjusted. Afterward, the elementary price indexes are calculated and aggregated, the results are analyzed and the monthly CPI statistics are disseminated. Validation and quality checks occur at various points as the data flows through the production process. To meet the preannounced publication dates, the CPI program must follow a tight production schedule. Additionally, because of its extensive use for indexation purposes, the CPI is not subject to revision.

The CPI is measured based on a basket of consumer goods and services. The CPI basket is classified using eight product groups^{Footnote 3} (e.g., food), which are made up of 187 basic aggregates (e.g., gasoline and fresh fruit) and 490 elementary aggregates (e.g., apples). Elementary aggregates are added or deleted from the basket as consumption patterns change over time. Weights are assigned to product groups in the CPI basket through a basket update process. These basket weights are then applied when calculating the monthly CPI.^{Footnote 4}

The agency has developed a structured approach to achieving high-quality statistical outputs, as described in its Quality Assurance Framework (2017) and complementary Quality Guidelines (2019). Together, these foundational tools define the elements of quality pertaining to the production of official statistics and support program managers in ensuring high-quality data production processes.^{Footnote 5} While practical guidelines and checklists are provided, they are not intended to replace the expertise and judgment of the staff responsible for producing data. Moreover, all activities of every production process must show a concern for quality. All staff involved in statistical activities are responsible for ensuring that quality has high priority when designing and implementing statistical methods and procedures.

The agency has also developed the Directive for the Validation of Statistical Outputs (2015) and accompanying Guidelines for the Validation of Statistical Outputs (2015), which aim to strengthen quality assurance and support the quality of statistical outputs. These instruments provide guidance and practical advice regarding validation—a final and very important quality check that statistical outputs must pass prior to dissemination. This final check challenges the validity of the statistical information to ensure there are no design flaws or execution errors left undetected.

Lastly, the International Monetary Fund's Consumer Price Index Manual: Concepts and Methods (2020) provides a comprehensive overview of the methods and practices that national statistical organizations should consider. The international standards contained within provide guidelines on best practices and promote the quality and international comparability of national CPIs.

Audit objective

The objective of this audit was to provide reasonable assurance that management has established an adequate quality control framework to ensure the high quality of CPI outputs and the consistent application of related quality assurance processes.

Scope

The scope of the engagement included an examination of select components of the CPI program's quality control framework, including governance and oversight, roles and responsibilities, established quality assurance processes that are supported by tools and guidance, and the application of such processes.

Field work in relation to the above included the following specific areas:

• activities performed to validate CPI outputs before they are released to the public
• quality assurance within the annual basket update process
• quality assurance over the receipt and preparation of alternative data sources used in the production of the CPI.

A sample of quality assurance processes were selected for testing to confirm they were functioning as intended. The focus was on specific activities being performed by the CPI program to ensure the high quality of statistical outputs. This audit did not include the reperformance of any CPI calculations nor assess or comment on the accuracy or validity of actual statistical outputs released by the CPI program.

With respect to audit scope, use of the term "CPI outputs" or "statistical outputs" includes The Daily text and all supporting Common Output Data Repository tables published online for public consumption in accordance with the CPI's official monthly release schedule. Also included is the table of CPI basket weights that is published online and updated annually. The CPI program also publishes monthly average retail prices tables, a data visualization tool, and assorted articles, reports, journals, and periodicals. These additional publications were not included within the scope of this audit.

The period under review was January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

Approach and methodology

Field work consisted of

• interviews and walkthroughs with key management and staff
• examination and analysis of relevant documentation
• testing of a sample of relevant quality assurance processes
• review of current policies, guidelines and standards
• review of select committee meetings agendas and records of decision.

Authority

The audit was conducted under the authority of the approved Statistics Canada Integrated Risk-based Audit and Evaluation Plan (2023/2024 to 2027/2028).

Findings, recommendations and management response

Validation of monthly outputs

In a statistical process, validation is the set of activities that ensures that weighted estimates and aggregate statistics are reliable, sound and defensible. It includes the processes used to identify and correct inconsistencies in microdata and macrodata using diagnostic tools and subject matter expertise. Validation activities therefore assess the quality of a statistical output in terms of its accuracy, coherence, and overall reasonableness. Statisticians validate the quality of the outputs produced, in accordance with a general quality framework, relative to expectations based on their cumulative knowledge of the specific statistical domain. Validation is meant to challenge rather than rationalize estimates. Therefore, it is important that unusual results or movements are understood and that atypical estimates are a trigger for more detailed investigation.

Statistics Canada's Directive for the Validation of Statistical Outputs (the Directive) makes the necessary provisions to ensure that validation is carried out and documented on all of the agency's statistical outputs. It requires that all mission critical programs perform the validation steps described as per the agency's Guidelines for the Validation of Statistical Outputs (the Guidelines) unless a justification can be given as to why the step could not be completed. As a mission critical program, the CPI is expected to comply with both the Directive and the Guidelines.

The Guidelines state that directors "shall ensure that each program in their Division has a validation strategy in place which meets the requirements of the Directive [for] the Validation of Statistical Outputs." A validation strategy details a statistical program's planned validation activities to be conducted and the specifics on what will be done (e.g., which files to confront or which external partners will be implicated). Each program's validation strategy should be documented within a validation report, though no specific format is required for the report. In most instances, the validation strategy component of the validation report will remain stable over time and will need to be updated only as changes are made to the validation measures used. Program directors are expected to review each program's validation strategy at least every three years to ensure the validation activities being conducted are sufficient to mitigate risks to data quality.

The Guidelines further require the validation report to be updated each production cycle to record the results of the program's latest validation activities. If perceived or actual anomalies were found, these discrepancies, the investigation that was conducted, and either the correction strategy implemented or the reason for accepting the discrepancy must be documented. The report must only capture the main points or the significant elements of the validation process but offer enough detail so that it is clear why the data quality conclusion has been reached.

The CPI program regularly performs many of the quality assurance activities for validating monthly CPI outputs as required by the Guidelines. Governance processes are in place to oversee the validation of statistical outputs.

The Guidelines divide validation activities into eight subject matter-based activities and two process-based activities. The subject matter-based validation activities are (1) analysis of change over time, (2) verification of seasonally adjusted estimates, (3) verification of estimates through cross-tabulation, (4) coherence analysis based on known current events, (5) confrontation with other similar sources of data published by Statistics Canada, (6) consultation with stakeholders internal to Statistics Canada, (7) participation in the Daily Forum and (8) formal briefing to the Executive Governance. The process-based validation activities are (1) review of production processes and (2) coherence analysis based on quality indicators (see Appendix B for a description of validation activities).

The audit team learned that responsibilities for each of the eight product groups within the CPI basket are assigned to five units^{Footnote 6} within the CPD's Production Subdivision. Further, the completion of some validation activities is a joint responsibility among units within the Production Subdivision and the Analysis and Dissemination Units, while others are the sole responsibility of one unit within the CPD. Consequently, five of eight product groups and relevant units within the Production Subdivision were sampled alongside the Analysis and Dissemination Units to assess the application of key validation steps within the Guidelines for three randomly sampled reference months. All units selected were assessed based on preexisting responsibilities and accountabilities for ten key validation steps (listed above). Overall, of the eight required subject matter-based validation steps, five were determined to be fully compliant and three were compliant with condition. As for the two process-based steps, both were deemed non-compliant (details below).

The audit found that—each month—all units complete monthly analysis reports that document the price movements, patterns, trends and drivers for each assigned product group. Monthly index review meetings are then held between the production units and the Analysis Unit to present price movements for discussion and peer review, such as year-over-year and month-over-month analyses and key drivers of changes in price. The monthly analysis reports generated by the production units act to disseminate information and validate each individual product group at their respective aggregate level. The Analysis Unit may request additional information and subsequently perform activities to validate the all-items CPI^{Footnote 7} at the aggregate macro level. These monthly index review meetings include key CPI management and staff and act as a verbal sign-off for program managers to approve data at the aggregate index level. Additionally, the audit found that the CPI program is presenting their monthly pre-release results and obtaining verbal sign-off from the program and senior management—including the Strategic Management Committee—in alignment with key validation requirements (see Appendix B). The Strategic Management Committee is a Tier 1 committee that provides broad strategic direction for the agency and acts as the body for all decision-making related to the corporate-level management and governance of the agency.

Review of production processes

While ad hoc activities are being undertaken to address and resolve issues and challenges that arise, a proactive review of production processes by the production units sampled was not observed. That said, the designated unit head was able to articulate several instances where issues and challenges arose, and explain the steps and actions taken to address and resolve such issues. Therefore, actions are being taken to address production process issues, but are not actively monitored as part of the validation process.

Coherence analysis based on quality indicators

Interviews revealed that there are Government of Canada service standards for the CPI program, such as client acknowledgments must be sent within 24 hours and the monthly CPI release is required to be published within 31 days of the price observation period. Moreover, the CPD tracks and reports on web metrics such as the number of hits on specific websites; however, quality indicators for the CPI program do not exist beyond this capacity. CPI management confirmed that a coherence analysis based on quality indicators for the program is not being performed as per the Guidelines.

Roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for CPI monthly validation activities are mostly documented and appear to be communicated and well understood by relevant employees. Some processes and procedures are in place to direct the validation of CPI monthly statistical outputs.

Performance agreement work objectives for key CPI management and staff include some significant validation activities such as data verification, the verification and analysis of outliers, and the identification of processing issues. Likewise, job postings and statements of merit criteria recognize the need for some key validation activities.

Commodity units are responsible for generating and maintaining their own workload trackers. Each one is unique, without a common look and feel; however roles, responsibilities and accountabilities can be found to varying degrees, some limited, within each tracker. Commodity units disperse workload based on commodity class, and all activities for each commodity class are in most cases performed by the same analyst.

Discussions regarding the segregation of duties with key CPI staff found that it could add an additional layer of control to segregate the activities of conformity and acceptance and statistical review and validation; however, such segregation of duties may also add a layer of unnecessary complexity for staff. Currently, these activities are not being segregated for most commodity units as it is seen to be more beneficial for each analyst to build subject matter expertise within their respective commodity groups. This enables analysts to fluidly speak to price movements. Moreover, as the Analysis Unit performs an impartial review of the all-items CPI, there is an additional layer of oversight currently built into the validation process to catch any potential outliers in the data.

Interviews with key CPI management and staff revealed that there is a certain amount of training and expertise that can be gained via on-the-job shadowing, which is occurring when new employees are on-boarded. Additionally, most employees felt and were clearly able to demonstrate they understood their roles, responsibilities and accountabilities, as well as those of their colleagues, and that these roles, responsibilities and accountabilities were communicated to them.

Of the tools and guidance requested by the five production units sampled and the Analysis and Dissemination Units, most provided ample documentation to support the discharge of their responsibilities as it relates to validation activities. All production units have templates to generate monthly index analysis reports. The Analysis Unit has a guide that provides direction on how to produce the monthly CPI release in The Daily and prepare and present analytical material to division and agency management. Moreover, the Dissemination Unit uses a CPI monthly task list to track activities performed to release monthly CPI outputs and a CPI data validation guide, which contains steps to download, format and validate applicable CPI Common Output Data Repository tables against system reports.

While documentation exists, some opportunities for improvement were noted as it relates to the breadth and depth of detail, coverage of all validation activities as per the Guidelines, target audience, and continued relevance or applicability. For example, some guidance on performing data validation at the micro level can be found in the CPI Production Manual, though the guide omits validation activities at the aggregate level and was last updated in 2014, which limits its relevance.

Ample and extensive training documentation exists providing CPI employees with general information and guidance on data flows, objectives, program structure, etc. However, the documentation could provide specific guidance on CPI monthly validation activities, notably at the aggregate level.

The consensus among interviewees—while gaps exist (e.g., a lack of onboarding documentation and step-by-step procedural guidance for some units)—was that documentation generally exists for the CPI program. Yet, documentation is fragmented, and sifting through it to find what is needed proves challenging at times. Moreover, some of the skills and expertise needed to treat and analyze data at the micro level, as well as generating observations and building an understanding of price movements for a specific commodity group at both the micro and macro levels were reported as requiring a certain degree of on-the-job training. Although it is understandably not formally documented, in some instances, it was expressed that some of this training could be.

A formal validation strategy for monthly CPI outputs has not been developed, and formal validation reports are not being prepared for each production cycle.

The audit found that a formal validation strategy does not exist and that monthly validation reports are not being generated for the CPI program. The purpose of the validation strategy and validation reports is to ensure all required validation activities have been integrated into the program, are functioning as intended and are being monitored and evaluated. Validation reports specifically act to record and communicate the outcomes of investigations. Moreover, they can speak to and track potential patterns and trends of the monthly CPI data. Quality indicators for the program should be reported and align with the validation reports and the validation strategy.

Quality assurance within the annual basket update process

The CPI is a weighted average of the price changes of a fixed basket of goods and services, based on the expenditures of a target population in a given reference period. In order to be representative of the price change experienced by Canadians, the basket weights must be representative of how Canadians are spending their money. In 2021, the basket update process was changed from a multi-year update to an annual update to make the CPI basket more representative of Canadian spending habits. While more frequent basket updates should theoretically reduce substitution and new goods biases, this change also comes with increased levels of effort and introduces more opportunities for errors.

The audit team learned that the annual basket update process is complex and involves many quality assurance and validation activities requiring specialized knowledge and skill sets, which are performed by various teams and specific key individuals across the CPD. There are essentially two high-level groups of quality assurance and validation activities within the annual process: (1) quality assurance and validation of the new basket weight values, and (2) quality assurance and validation of the integration of the new basket weights within CPI production and dissemination systems. The numerous quality assurance and validation activities performed fall within these two groups and are mostly documented within a basket update schedule maintained by the CPD.

The CPI program performs numerous quality assurance and validation activities during a basket update, many of which align with the Guidelines. Governance processes are in place to oversee the quality assurance of basket updates.

The audit team selected a sample of 15 unique quality assurance and validation activities from the most recent basket update schedule. Supporting documentation demonstrating the performance of each step was requested and provided. The audit found that all 15 steps selected were completed by the appropriate teams and individuals to the best of their understanding.

The audit also found that the CPI program is compliant with expectations for documenting statistical metadata. There is a sufficient level of information available to Canadians about basket weights and the basket update process. This includes primary and alternative data sources used, i.e., supplementary information necessary to appropriately understand, analyze and use the statistical information is sufficiently available.

Further, there are multiple levels of oversight over the annual basket update process. The Basket Update Improvements Working Group, the Basket Update Management Committee and the CPI Steering Committee^{Footnote 8} all play a role in overseeing the yearly update to the basket. The objective of the working group is to identify areas of improvement in CPI basket update methods and processes, help plan work to implement improvements and recommend improvements to program management. Improvement activities are being undertaken and tracked. The management committee is attended by program management up to the director level. This committee reviews and approves changes to basket update methods and processes. Certain items are presented to the CPI Steering Committee, as required. A review of agendas and meeting minutes demonstrate that structured discussions are being had at various levels within the CPD to adequately oversee the quality assurance of basket updates.

Roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for key personnel relevant to quality assurance within the basket update process are mostly documented and understood. Processes and procedures are mostly in place to direct quality assurance within the basket update process.

The audit found that the primary guiding document for assigning roles and responsibilities is the basket update schedule maintained by the CPD. In addition, relevant responsibilities are included in work objectives for most of the teams and individuals involved. In most cases, individual roles, responsibilities and accountabilities were reported during interviews to be well understood, though one key analyst role was found to be undefined. Interviews also revealed some confusion around roles and responsibilities in relation to validating the additivity of special aggregates within the basket weights table. The Analysis and Dissemination Units indicated that it is not clear who is responsible for performing this validation check. Consequently, this year, several miscalculations were overlooked during earlier checks and were only discovered closer to the release of the new basket weights than desired.

Some procedural documentation was provided by most of the teams involved in the annual basket update process. In general, the audit found that the documentation provides sufficient guidance to team members in relation to their individual quality assurance and validation activities. However, there was acknowledgement that documentation for the Index Modelling Unit could be improved (e.g., there is no preexisting documentation describing—for each quality assurance activity performed—what is expected, what constitutes pass or fail, or how to document and communicate results). Similarly, the Analysis and Dissemination Units and one key analyst acknowledged the same gap in terms of detailed documentation.

A comprehensive validation strategy has not been developed for basket updates. A list of various quality assurance and validation activities and their results are documented and reported to program management, though there are some limitations.

As with the monthly CPI (as discussed above), the audit team understood that the annual basket update would also be subject to validation requirements, because the CPI basket weights table is a unique statistical output and is published independently, via The Daily, from the standard monthly CPI outputs. Therefore, the standard CPI monthly validation process would not cover the basket update itself.

Accordingly, the audit team requested a documented validation strategy for the annual basket update process. It was informed that the validation work completed is documented through the presentations that are provided to program management to facilitate their review and approval of the new basket weights via a series of certification meetings. The audit team reviewed the presentation decks provided and observed that they include a cumulative list of meeting focus items. The focus items included a review of the algorithm to be used as a quality assurance tool, Production Subdivision input regarding important outliers, a review of outstanding outliers, a summary of the weight review process and a review of relative shares. The audit team determined that this list could be considered a limited validation strategy. Even so, the final list cannot be mapped to all the key validation steps as per the Guidelines. Likewise, the basket update schedule is a reasonably detailed tool that explicitly assigns responsibilities for some key quality assurance and validation activities to various teams and individuals involved in the annual basket update process; however, it too cannot be mapped to the required validation steps for mission critical programs.

Regarding a validation report to record and communicate the results of the annual quality assurance and validation activities, the audit team was informed that complete documentation exists on all comments received, adjusted or not adjusted, the number of changes made, the net impact on each major aggregate, techniques used to make adjustments, and the actual amount of each adjustment made. The audit team examined the documentation provided and determined that it conceptually includes the components noted. Also, the results within the documentation provided are discussed during the certification meetings with program management (noted above), though records of the discussions are not kept. As with the validation strategy, however, the documentation provided is considered limited in terms of a validation report, because it cannot be easily or entirely mapped to all the validation steps required per the Guidelines.

Given the complexity and broad scope of participants involved in quality assurance and validation activities within the annual basket update process, a formal, comprehensive validation strategy would better support program management in clarifying roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. Further, without adequate procedural documentation supporting key roles and responsibilities, changes in personnel or oversight could cause certain quality assurance and validation activities to not be performed adequately or at all, leading to potential errors in the basket weights that are publicly released.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the assistant chief statistician, Economic Statistics, ensure that

1. a comprehensive validation strategy is formally documented for the CPI program encompassing (1) monthly CPI outputs, including the tracking of program quality indicators, and (2) annual basket updates and formal validation reports prepared in alignment with requirements prescribed for mission critical programs as per the Guidelines for the Validation of Statistical Outputs.

Management response

Management agrees with the recommendation.

The CPI program will formally document its validation strategy, including the annual basket update, and align it with the corporate guidelines on the validation of statistical outputs for mission critical programs.

Deliverables and timelines

The director general, Industry Statistics, will

1. formalize monthly CPI and annual basket update validation strategy document in alignment with the Guidelines for the Validation of Statistical Outputs by April 2025
2. formalize cyclical validation reports in alignment with the Guidelines for the Validation of Statistical Outputs by September 2025.

The director general, Industry Statistics, in collaboration with the director general Modern Statistical Methods and Data Science, will

3. establish preliminary quality indicators for price indexes and apply measures to the CPI program by April 2025.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the assistant chief statistician, Economic Statistics, ensure that

2. roles, responsibilities and accountabilities pertaining to validation activities—in relation to (1) monthly CPI outputs and (2) annual basket updates—are reviewed and updated, as needed, and detailed processes and procedures are established as required.

Management response

Management agrees with the recommendation.

As part of the development of a comprehensive validation strategy, the CPI program will improve processes and procedures and clarify roles and responsibilities pertaining to these validation activities. This will include activities which have roles and accountabilities across multidisciplinary teams at various stages of the CPI production cycle.

Deliverables and timelines

The director general, Industry Statistics, will

1. formally document assigned responsibilities, accountabilities and approval mechanisms for monthly CPI and annual basket update validation activities by March 2025
2. update processes and procedures relating to monthly CPI and annual basket update validation activities by May 2025.

Quality assurance over the receipt and preparation of alternative data sources

Statistics Canada continually strives to modernize and streamline data collection methods. Within the CPI program, alternative data sources, such as retail scanner data and web-scraped data, have been gradually replacing traditional field collection (i.e., interviewers visiting retail stores in person to collect price observations). Presently, about half of all price collection data—representing approximately 20% of the overall CPI basket—are collected through some form of alternative data source, with a goal to increase price collection data to 75%. The agency continues to work with potential new data providers to expand the use of alternative data sources.

This progressive increase in the use of alternative data sources has altered CPI production processes and methodologies, as well as data ingestion systems, which require appropriate capacity and resources to receive and prepare large datasets. Like many national statistical organizations, Statistics Canada's CPI program leverages supervised machine learning algorithms to effectively process these datasets.

The audit team observed that CPI program data scientists are key contributors to the United Nations' Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics. Their task team on scanner data has developed a handbook on using new data sources in the production of consumer price statistics. Canada is also a member of the committee's advisory board and chair of its technical delivery board. CPI data scientists have published several articles and studies that have contributed to global advancement for CPI programs within the fields of alternative data sources and machine learning. Nevertheless, these are emerging disciplines for national statistical organizations and, consequently, international standards are not yet defined. The audit team was informed that most national statistical organizations are still researching and collaborating on methodologies in these areas.

The CPI program consistently performs various quality assurance activities when ingesting alternative data sources. Governance processes are in place to oversee the quality assurance of alternative data sources used in CPI production.

According to publications and research emerging from Statistics Canada and other national statistical organizations, several key processes can contribute to the quality of alternative data sources used in the CPI. These processes include obtaining data via negotiation with providers, global quality checks, detailed quality checks, machine learning models with manual validation, and subject matter quality assurance.

A judgmental sample of three forms of alternative data sources used by the CPI program was selected for detailed examination based on risk, prominence of use within specific product groups and the materiality of their basket weights, such that sampling covered approximately 50% of the CPI basket (for reference year 2022). The three forms of alternative data sources selected were (1) retail scanner data used for the food product group, (2) web-scraped data used for the clothing and footwear product group, and (3) other alternative data used for mortgage interest costs within the shelter product group. Three randomly sampled reference months were also selected (see the Validation of monthly outputs section). Based on the audit sample tested, the audit found that all quality assurance procedures for ingestion (e.g., global and detailed quality checks and manual validation of machine learning classifications) were consistently applied in accordance with documented procedures.

The audit team additionally observed that formal written agreements are in place with the major retailers who provide scanner data used in the production of the CPI. The International Monetary Fund's Consumer Price Index Manual: Concepts and Methods outlines this as a good practice for ensuring that quality and timeliness needs are met. Statistics Canada also has a contract in place with a third party to perform web scraping. The contract includes a detailed statement of work to ensure that the data received meet the agency's needs for quality and timeliness and that the agency provides retailer-specific instructions to the contractor to ensure alignment with the CPI classification structure. Employees involved in quality assurance processes for alternative data sources had no consequential concerns with respect to data timeliness.

The audit found that the CPI Steering Committee is actively overseeing the CPI program's expanding use of alterative data sources. The committee receives regular progress updates on the incorporation of new alternative data sources and the ingestion and processing of existing alternative data sources. Presentations to the committee include related issues, risks and resolutions. Information on quality assurance processes for retail scanner and web-scraped data, including machine learning operations, as well as ongoing work and accomplishments in these areas are also included.

Roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of key personnel involved in the quality assurance of alternative data sources are documented and well understood. Processes and procedures to direct the quality assurance of alternative data sources during ingestion are well documented yet evolving.

The audit found that roles, responsibilities and accountabilities related to quality assurance activities required for ingesting alternative data sources, including machine learning operations, were documented in a variety of individual procedural guidance. Interviews with key program management and staff also indicated that roles and responsibilities are well understood—there was no uncertainty or overlap expressed or noted.

Numerous procedural documents are used in the CPI program for processing retail scanner data, web-scraped data and other alternative data sources used in production. All key sub-processes were found to have at least one written procedural document. Though these documents were mostly developed at the team or unit level, they were deemed sufficiently detailed to assist relevant employees in the discharge of their responsibilities. Although procedural documentation delineating alternative courses of action in the event of alternative data limitations was not available, relevant employees were able to articulate solutions and provide examples of instances where limitations occurred and how they were effectively resolved.

Statistics Canada has additional guidance documentation in place for the use of alternative data sources such as the Directive on Web Scraping and a comprehensive public-facing document called Shelter in the Canadian CPI: An Overview (2023). The latter outlines the concepts and practices related to the shelter product group, including the methodology and alternative data sources used for mortgage interest costs. The agency does not yet have an overarching position paper or directive on scanner data, however. The Consumer Price Index Manual: Concepts and Methods recommends national statistical organizations publish a position paper articulating how they will proceed with the use of scanner data to compile the CPI, including data sources and methods to be employed.

Processes for machine learning operations have not yet reached full maturity.

For retail scanner data and web-scraped data, the CPI program is leveraging supervised machine learning to help classify and match new unique products within large datasets to the appropriate product groups within the CPI basket structure. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Machine Learning for Official Statistics (2021), the key quality assurance processes for machine learning operations consist of (1) model training, (2) model performance monitoring and (3) model retraining.

The audit team assessed each key quality assurance process through interviews and examination of documentation. Overall, the audit found that some procedural documentation was available to guide model training and performance monitoring and retraining activities. However, interviewees acknowledged that no official agency directive exists and international standards are still under development, as machine learning operations is still an emerging area for all national statistical organizations. Key employees noted that the model training process was straightforward—model training data are prepared when new alternative data sources are acquired, prior to the data being used in the production of the CPI. By contrast, interviews confirmed that model performance monitoring and model retraining are presently more ad hoc—the frequencies for these activities have not been officially defined, though a study published by CPI data scientists identified the ideal frequency for retraining as every three to six months.

The audit team observed that CPI data scientists conducted a robust stratified random sample of scanner data for one of the food retailers in 2023. The resulting paper recommended further work be undertaken, including investigating poor performing product classes, implementing a random stratified sample of other food retailers and measuring model performance on an ongoing basis. To date, no additional random sampling campaigns have been conducted.

Further, manual processes are in place to validate machine learning classification outputs. However, while these processes were deemed effective, they are labour intensive and may limit scalability for additional alternative data sources and applications within the CPI program.

Machine learning is a key pillar of the alternative data sources used in the production of the CPI and continued expansion in this area. Yet, machine learning models can quickly decay once deployed, emphasizing the importance of new unique products having consistent quality assurance processes in place to monitor and retrain the models used to help classify new unique products. The agency's long-term goal should be to achieve full maturity for its machine learning operations within the CPI program to ensure the quality, reliability, consistency and scalability of automated classification models and supporting processes. It would include the implementation of accepted leading practices and effective controls over model monitoring.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the assistant chief statistician, Economic Statistics, ensure that

3. a comprehensive framework with detailed guidance and standards for the use and application of alternative data sources within the CPI program, including machine learning operations, is developed and implemented.

Management response

Management agrees with the recommendation.

The CPI program will elaborate detailed guidance and standards for the use and application of alternative data sources. This will include how the CPI adheres to international guidelines, what is the desired end state, the operational flow, underlying corporate architecture, best practices, roles and responsibilities surrounding alternative data ingestion and use in CPI production.

Deliverables and timelines

The director general, Industry Statistics will

1. develop a documented framework with detailed guidance and standards on the use and application of alternate data sources within the CPI program by February 2025
2. identify frequency of deployment of updated machine learning model and implement by April 2025
3. formalize the development of machine learning model performance metrics and determine manual review thresholds by July 2025.

Risk management

Risk management processes are not formally documented.

Statistics Canada's Integrated Risk Management Policy and Integrated Risk Management Framework apply to all corporate, investment, policy, program, project, operational, resource and financial management activities. These instruments are in place to support the integration of risk management into all decision-making processes at all agency levels. They also empower a culture of responsible risk-informed decision making that contributes to the achievement of agency objectives and the improvement of outcomes. Effective risk management can equip a statistical program to respond actively to change and uncertainty by using risk-based information to enable more effective decision making.

Within the agency's risk management policy suite, executives and managers are accountable for providing leadership and direction to their staff in identifying, assessing and managing relevant risks in their plans, programs, projects and operational activities. They also ensure that risks are communicated and reviewed appropriately within the respective governance structure and conveyed to the appropriate internal or external partners and stakeholders. They encourage good risk management practices and are responsible for reporting on risk responses.

Given the mission critical nature of the CPI, key risks to the program's objectives—including emerging risks (e.g., changing methodologies and systems)—should be actively identified and assessed, and the results of this work should be formally documented. This would include assessing each risk for potential impact and probability of occurrence, and documentation of an action plan to mitigate, transfer, avoid or accept the risk.

Interviews with key CPI management and staff revealed that they have a general awareness of risks to the CPI program; however, no formal risk management documentation was available. The audit team also observed that the CPD's vision and work plan are not directly linked to a formal risk assessment. Nonetheless, some ad hoc risk management activities are occurring and informal risk mitigation strategies were described during interviews—e.g., regular knowledge transfer activities are taking place. Additionally, the Basket Update Improvements Working Group has documented issues and mitigation plans relevant to the basket update, though this work is not linked to a formal risk framework for the basket update process itself or for the CPI program as a whole.

A risk management framework would ensure that key risks to the CPI program's objectives are being actively identified, monitored, and mitigated or actioned, as deemed necessary. This would in turn help ensure the program's continued delivery of reliable and timely statistical outputs. Further, considering the substantive and ongoing change in the program, formalized risk management practices would better support CPI management in the prioritization of future change initiatives.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the assistant chief statistician, Economic Statistics, ensure that

4. a formal risk management framework is established for the CPI program, and roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for risk management are formally documented and well understood.

Management response

Management agrees with the recommendation.

The CPI program will develop a formal risk profile which adheres to Statistics Canada's Integrated Risk Management Policy and Integrated Risk Management Framework. The CPI program will use this profile as an input to decision making and planning, prioritizations, investments, and ongoing maintenance. This risk profile will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and remain an evergreen document.

Deliverable and timeline

The director general, Industry Statistics, will

1. formalize a risk profile in alignment with corporate guidelines by January 2025.

Appendices

Appendix A: Audit criteria

Audit criteria

Audit criteria

Policy instruments and sources

1.1 Governance and oversight processes are in place and operating as intended to oversee select quality assurance processes within the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program. 1.2 Roles, responsibilities and accountabilities for select quality assurance processes within the CPI program are well documented and understood by relevant employees. 1.3 Relevant employees are provided with the necessary tools and guidance to support the discharge of their responsibilities with respect to quality assurance. 1.4 Select quality assurance processes are consistently applied to ensure the high quality of CPI outputs.

Statistics Canada's Quality Assurance Framework Statistics Canada's Quality Guidelines Statistics Canada's Directive for the Validation of Statistical Outputs Statistics Canada's Guidelines for the Validation of Statistical Outputs Statistics Canada's Directive on Documenting Statistical Metadata Statistics Canada's Integrated Risk Management Policy Statistics Canada's Integrated Risk Management Framework International Monetary Fund's CPI Manual: Concepts and Methods Other internal Statistics Canada documents, as applicable.

Appendix B: Validation activities

The Guidelines for the Validation of Statistical Outputs define the specific validation steps that all mission critical programs must follow, unless a justification can be given as to why the step could not be completed. Validation activities are divided into two groups:

• subject matter-based activities
• process-based activities.

The following subject matter-based validation activities are required of mission critical surveys:

1. Analysis of changes over time: To analyze changes over time, a consistent time series of a particular statistic over a sequence of time points is created.
2. Verification of seasonally adjusted estimates: For monthly or quarterly data presenting seasonally adjusted estimates, a validation of the results can be appropriate. Seasonal adjustment is designed to eliminate the effect of seasonal and calendar influences in infra-annual data to allow for more meaningful comparisons of economic conditions from period to period.
3. Verification of estimates through cross-tabulations: This analysis is normally done at a finer level of disaggregation than that of the published estimates. Such tabulations allow checking of the internal consistency of the data file and provide the ability to explore the underlying characteristics associated with the estimates.
4. Coherence analysis based on known current events: Coherence analysis based on known current events means validating estimates against domain intelligence and recent events affecting the sector.
5. Confrontation with other similar sources of data published by Statistics Canada: Confrontation with other similar sources of data, either published by Statistics Canada or external to the agency can provide insight into whether reported microdata and aggregate estimates are reasonable.
6. Consultation with stakeholders internal to Statistics Canada: Stakeholders who have either direct knowledge of the specific subject matter being studied or are experts in a related subject matter could be consulted.
7. Participation in the Daily Forum: The Daily Forum serves as an interactive venue in which analysts involved in the release and interpretation of mission critical estimates meet to share information on major findings and trends, as well as exchange information on events or factors that are relevant to the interpretation of these data. It also provides all participants with information on the set of related indicators from different statistical programs that could be examined when performing quality assurance on specific data releases.
8. Formal briefing to the Executive Governance: Each mission critical program must present their pre-release results to the Executive Governance (i.e., the Strategic Management Committee). The presentation includes an overview of any changes implemented or issues encountered during the production operations, the impact that those changes may have had on the estimates, and the risk mitigation strategy used. Program management issues must also be presented, outlining any increased risk of error caused by human resource or employee management concerns, along with the mitigation strategy used.

The following process-based validation activities are required of mission critical surveys:

1. Review of production processes: Production processes include, for example, frame creation, sample design, collection, coding, editing, imputation, and weighting systems. They also include other interventions, such as the linking of administrative data or the calculation of derived variables.
2. Coherence analysis based on quality indicators: The quality indicators associated with a program should be used to determine if an estimate is sound. For statistical surveys, quality indicators based on survey design, collection results and processing are used. Examples of quality indicators include but are not limited to imputation rates, metadata and paradata, and revision rates of estimate.

Why do we conduct this survey?

This survey is conducted by Statistics Canada in order to collect the necessary information to support the Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP). This program combines various survey and administrative data to develop comprehensive measures of the Canadian economy.

The statistical information from the IBSP serves many purposes, including:

• calculating each province and territory's fair share of federal-provincial transfer payments for health, education and social programs
• establishing government programs to assist businesses
• assisting the business community in negotiating contracts and collective agreements
• supporting the government in making informed decisions about fiscal, monetary and foreign exchange policies
• indexing social benefit programs and determining tax brackets
• enabling academics and economists to analyze the economic performance of Canadian industries and to better understand rapidly evolving business environments.

Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

Your participation in this survey is required under the authority of the Statistics Act.

Other important information

Authorization to collect this information

Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

Confidentiality

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

Record linkages

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

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, Québec, 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, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and mailing it to the following address:

Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Enterprise Statistics Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6

You may also contact us by email at infostats or by fax at 1-514-496-4879.

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.

Business or organization and contact information

1. Verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

Note: Legal name modifications should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

Legal Name

The legal name is one recognized by law, thus it is the name liable for pursuit or for debts incurred by the business or organization. In the case of a corporation, it is the legal name as fixed by its charter or the statute by which the corporation was created.

Modifications to the legal name should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

To indicate a legal name of another legal entity you should instead indicate it in question 3 by selecting 'Not currently operational' and then choosing the applicable reason and providing the legal name of this other entity along with any other requested information.

Operating Name

The operating name is a name the business or organization is commonly known as if different from its legal name. The operating name is synonymous with trade name.

• Legal name:
• Operating name (if applicable):

2. Verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where needed.

Note: The designated contact person is the person who should receive this questionnaire. The designated contact person may not always be the one who actually completes the questionnaire.

• First name:
• Last name:
• Title:
• Preferred language of communication:
  • English
  • French
• Mailing address (number and street):
• City:
• Province, territory or state:
• Postal code or ZIP code:
• Country:
  • Canada
  • United States
• Email address:
• Telephone number (including area code):
• Extension number (if applicable):
• Fax number (including area code):

3. Verify or provide the current operational status of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

• Operational
• Not currently operational
  Why is this business or organization not currently operational?
  • Seasonal operations
    • When did this business or organization close for the season?
      • Date
    • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
      • Date
  • Ceased operations
    • When did this business or organization cease operations?
      • Date
    • Why did this business or organization cease operations?
      • Bankruptcy
      • Liquidation
      • Dissolution
      • Other - Specify the other reasons for ceased operations
  • Sold operations
    • When was this business or organization sold?
      • Date
    • What is the legal name of the buyer?
  • Amalgamated with other businesses or organizations
    • When did this business or organization amalgamate?
      • Date
    • What is the legal name of the resulting or continuing business or organization?
    • What are the legal names of the other amalgamated businesses or organizations?
  • Temporarily inactive but will re-open
    • When did this business or organization become temporarily inactive?
      • Date
    • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
      • Date
    • Why is this business or organization temporarily inactive?
  • No longer operating due to other reasons
    • When did this business or organization cease operations?
      • Date
    • Why did this business or organization cease operations?

4. Verify or provide the current main activity of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

Note: The described activity was assigned using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

This question verifies the business or organization's current main activity as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS , are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.

The target entity for which NAICS is designed are businesses and other organizations engaged in the production of goods and services. They include farms, incorporated and unincorporated businesses and government business enterprises. They also include government institutions and agencies engaged in the production of marketed and non-marketed services, as well as organizations such as professional associations and unions and charitable or non-profit organizations and the employees of households.

The associated NAICS should reflect those activities conducted by the business or organizational units targeted by this questionnaire only, as identified in the 'Answering this questionnaire' section and which can be identified by the specified legal and operating name. The main activity is the activity which most defines the targeted business or organization's main purpose or reason for existence. For a business or organization that is for-profit, it is normally the activity that generates the majority of the revenue for the entity.

The NAICS classification contains a limited number of activity classifications; the associated classification might be applicable for this business or organization even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business or organization's main activity.

Please note that any modifications to the main activity through your response to this question might not necessarily be reflected prior to the transmitting of subsequent questionnaires and as a result they may not contain this updated information.

The following is the detailed description including any applicable examples or exclusions for the classification currently associated with this business or organization.

Description and examples

• This is the current main activity
• This is not the current main activity
  Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's main activity:
  • e.g. , breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development

Main activity

5. You indicated that is not the current main activity.

Was this business or organization's main activity ever classified as: ?

• Yes
  When did the main activity change?
  • Date:
• No

6. Search and select the industry classification code that best corresponds to this business or organization's main activity.

Select this business or organization's activity sector (optional)

• Farming or logging operation
• Construction company or general contractor
• Manufacturer
• Wholesaler
• Retailer
• Provider of passenger or freight transportation
• Provider of investment, savings or insurance products
• Real estate agency, real estate brokerage or leasing company
• Provider of professional, scientific or technical services
• Provider of health care or social services
• Restaurant, bar, hotel, motel or other lodging establishment
• Other sector

7. You have indicated that the current main activity of this business or organization is:

Main activity

Are there any other activities that contribute significantly (at least 10%) to this business or organization's revenue?

• Yes, there are other activities
  Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's secondary activity:
  • e.g. , breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development
• No, that is the only significant activity

8. Approximately what percentage of this business or organization's revenue is generated by each of the following activities?

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimates.

Approximately what percentage of this business or organization's revenue is generated by each of the following activities?

	Percentage of revenue
Main activity
Secondary activity
All other activities
Total percentage

Reporting period information

1. What are the start and end dates of this business's or organization's most recently completed fiscal year?

For this survey, the end date should fall between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025.

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

• May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024
• June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024
• July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
• August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024
• September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024
• October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024
• November 1, 2023 to October 31, 2024
• December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024
• January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024
• February 1, 2024 to January 31, 2025
• March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025
• April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025.

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

• September 18, 2023 to September 15, 2024 ( e.g. , floating year-end)
• June 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 ( e.g. , a newly opened business).

• Fiscal year start date:
• Fiscal year-end date:

2. What is the reason the reporting period does not cover a full year?

Select all that apply.

• Seasonal operations
• New business
• Change of ownership
• Temporarily inactive
• Change of fiscal year
• Ceased operations
• Other
  Specify reason the reporting period does not cover a full year:

Additional reporting instructions

1. Throughout this questionnaire, please report financial information in thousands of Canadian dollars.

For example, an amount of $763,880.25 should be reported as:

CAN$ '000 : $764,000

I will report in the format above

Revenue

1. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what was this business's revenue from each of the following sources?

Notes:

• a detailed breakdown may be requested in other sections
• these questions are asked of many different industries. Some questions may not apply to this business.

Report dollar amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars.

Revenue

a. 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.

b. Rental and leasing

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.

c. 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).

d. Subsidies (including grants, donations, fundraising and sponsorships)

Include:

• non-repayable grants, contributions and subsidies from all levels of government
• revenue from private sector (corporate and individual) sponsorships, donations and fundraising.

e. 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.

f. Dividends

Include:

• dividend income
• dividends from Canadian sources
• dividends from foreign sources
• patronage dividends.

Exclude equity income from investments in subsidiaries or affiliates.

g. 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.

h. All other revenue (Include intracompany transfers)

Include amounts not included in questions a. to g.

Total revenue

The sum of sub-questions a. to h.

For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what was this business's revenue from each of the following sources?

	CAN$ '000
a. Sales of goods and services Include sales, commissions, rental and leasing revenue if they are this business's primary revenue source.
b. Rental and leasing Report only if this is a secondary revenue source. If rental and leasing are your primary revenue source, report at question a.
c. Commissions Report only if this is a secondary revenue source. If commissions are your primary revenue source, report at question a.
d. Subsidies Include grants, donations, fundraising and sponsorships.
e. Royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees
f. Dividends
g. Interest
h. Other Include intracompany transfers. Specify all other revenue:
Total revenue

E-commerce

1. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what was this business's total revenue?

Include:

• sales of goods and services
• rental, leasing and property management
• commissions
• subsidies, grants, donations, fundraising and sponsorships
• royalties
• rights
• licensing and franchise fees
• dividends, interest and other revenue.

Report dollar amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars.

Total revenue in CAN$ '000 :

2. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, did this business have any e-commerce revenue?

E-commerce revenue: Sales of goods and services conducted over the Internet with or without online payment.

Include all revenue for which an order is received and commitment to purchase is made via the Internet, although payment can be made by other means, such as orders made on web pages, an extranet, mobile devices or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

Exclude orders made by telephone, facsimile or e-mail.

• Yes
• No

3. Of the [amount] amount reported in total revenue, what was the total e-commerce revenue?

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimates.

Total e-commerce revenue in CAN$ '000 :

4. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, did this business make sales over the Internet through any of the following methods?

Select all that apply.

Mobile app

Include sales through any app, or application, that is downloaded and designed to run on a handheld device such as a smartphone or tablet (for example, places where a user may download these apps, including Apple's App Store, Google Play or Blackberry App World).

Company website Include sales through a browser-based website where your organization maintains control of the content.

Third-party website Include sales through a browser-based website where a third-party maintains the structure of the website and control of the look and feel while your company only provides the product to be sold (for example, Amazon, Expedia or Etsy).

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

A standard format for exchanging business data. EDI is based on the use of message standards, ensuring that all participants use a common language.

• Via a mobile app
• Via your company website
• Via a third-party website
• Via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
• Other
  Specify the other methods:

5. Does this business have any full-time staff dedicated solely to activities related to e-commerce?

• Yes
• No

6. Why did this business not make sales over the Internet?

Select all that apply.

• Goods and services do not lend themselves to online sales
• Prefer to maintain current business model
• Lack of skilled workers to implement and maintain e-commerce infrastructure
• Cost of development is too high
• Security concerns
• Other
  Specify the other reasons:

Expenses

1. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what were this business's expenses for the following items?

Notes:

• a detailed breakdown may be requested in other sections
• these questions are asked of many different industries. Some questions may not apply to this business.

Report dollar amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars.

Expenses

a. 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 resale - net of discounts earned on purchases
• freight in and duty.

Exclude all costs associated with salaries, wages, benefits, commissions and subcontracts (report at Employment costs and expenses, and Subcontracts).

b. Employment costs and expenses

b1. 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 at Subcontracts).

b2. 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.

c. Subcontracts

Subcontract 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
• subcontract and outside labour
• hired labour.

d. Research and development fees

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.

e. 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 All other costs and expenses).

f. 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 All other costs and expenses).

g. 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)
• computer and peripherals upgrade expenses
• data processing.

Exclude telephone, Internet and other telecommunication expenses (report at Telephone, Internet and other telecommunication).

h. Telephone, Internet and other telecommunication

Include:

• internet
• telephone and telecommunications
• cellular telephone
• fax machine
• pager.

i. 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.

j. 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

k. 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.

l. 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.

m. 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.

n. 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).

o. 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.

p. 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.

q. Travel, meetings and conventions

Include:

• travel expenses
• meeting and convention expenses, seminars
• passenger transportation ( e.g. , airfare, bus, train)
• accommodations
• travel allowance and meals while travelling
• other travel expenses.

r. 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 Interest expense).

s. 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.

t. 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.

u. 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 cost 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 and dry holes, exploration expenses, development expenses)
• amounts not included in sub-questions a. to t. above.

Total expenses

The sum of sub-questions a. to u.

For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what were this business's expenses for the following items?

	CAN$ '000
a. Cost of goods sold
a1. Opening inventories
a2. Purchases Include raw materials, goods purchased for resale and non-returnable containers. Exclude change in inventories.
a3. Closing inventories
a4. Cost of goods sold Opening inventories plus purchases minus closing inventories.
b. Employment costs and expenses Include all employees who were issued a T4. Exclude commissions to be paid to non-employees, report at sub-question c.
b1. Salaries, wages and commissions
b2. Employee benefits
c. Subcontracts Include commisions to non-employees. Exclude research and development.
d. Research and development fees. Exclude in-house research and development.
e. Professional and business fees e.g., legal, accounting, consulting, scientific and property management fees
f. Utilities e.g., electricity, water, gas
g. Office and computer related expenses e.g., office supplies, postage, computer upgrades
h. Telephone, Internet and other telecommunication
i. Business taxes, licenses and permits e.g., beverage tax, business tax, license fees, property taxes
j. Royalties, franchise fees and memberships Exclude Crown royalties.
k. Crown charges (for logging, mining and energy industries only)
l. Rental and leasing Include land buildings, equipment, vehicles.
m. Repair and maintenance Include buildings, equipment, vehicles.
n. Amortization and depreciation
o. Insurance
p. Advertising, marketing, promotion, meals and entertainment
q. Travel, meetings and conventions
r. Financial services e.g., bank charges, transaction fees
s. Interest expense
t. Other non-production-related costs and expenses Include bad debts, loan losses, donations, political contributions and inventory write-down.
u. All other costs and expenses Include intracompany expenses. Specify all other costs and expenses:
Total expenses

Industry characteristics

Definitions:

Own titles: works published (or co-published) in Canada by a firm holding the Canadian territorial rights to these titles.

Agency titles: titles which are published or reprinted outside of Canada, but sold in Canada.

Revenue from pre-sold books should be reported in the year in which they are delivered.

Include e-books and print books.

1. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what were this business's net sales of the following goods and services?

Report dollar amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars.

Guidelines

Please complete the questions 1 to 15 for books only, in all formats (not any other published material that your firm produces).
Sales of own and agency titles (net of returns) (Paper and digital book sales only).

Sources of revenue

Net sales of own and exclusive agency titles (minus book returns) (report book sales only).
A title is defined as a work produced for sale through any print, audio, CD-ROM , online e-books or other formats.

Include:

• titles bearing an ISBN published under the publisher's own imprint or under an imprint for which the publisher has acquired the publishing, management and marketing rights
• non-periodical printed publications having at least 48 pages of text or illustrations, collated or bound, excluding covers
• non-periodical printed publications having less than 48 pages but which you consider to be (are marketed as) a book ( e.g. , children's books and poetry books)
• titles published in print, audio, CD-ROM , online e-books and other formats
• titles published with non-book goods such as toys, etc.
• titles sold under the form of masters for the purpose of reproduction ( e.g. ,, educational materials)
• atlases.

Exclude:

• publications issued for advertising purposes such as trade catalogues, prospectuses, tourist advertising, etc.
• instruction books for assembling or operating machines, household appliances, etc. , sold with the product
• test sheets and music scores
• timetables, price lists, directories, entertainment programs, calendars, school yearbooks, horoscopes, etc.
• publications for internal use only, such as company regulations, reports, etc.
• blank books such as ledgers and diaries
• colouring books
• newspapers and magazines
• government publications and charts
• publications containing advertising other than the publisher's own promotional materials.

For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what were this business's net sales of the following goods and services?

	Sales ( CAN$ '000 )
a. Net sales of own and exclusive agency titles Report book sales only (minus book returns).
b. All other sales of goods and services e.g., sales of rights, periodical publishing, printing services, marketing, rental and leasing revenue Specify all other sales:
Total sales of goods and services

2. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, how much did this business receive in grants and subsidies?

Include federal, provincial/territorial and municipal grants and subsidies.

Exclude tax credits.

CAN$ '000 :

3. Of the [amount] net sales of own and exclusive agency titles reported in question 1 a., what was the percentage breakdown of own and agency titles by language of printing?

Exclude sales of rights.

All books with 2 languages in equal proportion must be classified in the category "Other languages".

Of the [amount] net sales of own and exclusive agency titles reported in question 1 a., what was the percentage breakdown of own and agency titles by language of printing?

	Percentage
a. English
b. French
c. Other languages
Total percentage

4. Of the [amount] net sales of own and exclusive agency titles reported in question 1 a., how much was attributed to online sales of print titles for the following breakdown by authorship?

Include:

• sales to online stores, including sales made through other companies' websites
• sales in Canada and export sales.

Canadian author:

• A Canadian author (Canadian citizen) who lives abroad is considered a Canadian author
• If the author or translator is Canadian, the book must be classified as a Canadian author.

Collective work:

• A book with more than one author is considered Canadian-authored if at least one of the co-authors is Canadian
• A collective work ( e.g. , an anthology) is considered Canadian-authored if at least 50% of the contributors are Canadian.

Foreign authors:

• Any person living outside of Canada who is not a Canadian citizen.

Translation:

• Whether it is a book with a simple translation or a translated book with adaptation, if the author or translator is Canadian, the book should be categorized as a Canadian author.

Of the [amount] net sales of own and exclusive agency titles reported in question 1 a., how much was attributed to online sales of print titles for the following breakdown by authorship?

	Online sales of print titles ( CAN$ '000 )
a. Canadian authorship
b. Foreign authorship
Total online sales of print titles

5. Of the [amount] net sales of own and exclusive agency titles reported in question 1 a., how much was attributed to sales of e-books for the following breakdown by authorship?

Include all sales by other companies/websites, sales in Canada and export sales.

Canadian author:

• A Canadian author (Canadian citizen) who lives abroad is considered a Canadian author
• If the author or translator is Canadian, the book must be classified as a Canadian author.

Collective work:

• A book with more than one author is considered Canadian-authored if at least one of the co-authors is Canadian
• A collective work ( e.g. , an anthology) is considered Canadian-authored if at least 50% of the contributors are Canadian.

Foreign authors:

• Any person living outside of Canada who is not a Canadian citizen.

Translation:

• Whether it is a book with a simple translation or a translated book with adaptation, if the author or translator is Canadian, the book should be categorized as a Canadian author.

Of the [amount] net sales of own and exclusive agency titles reported in question 1 a., how much was attributed to sales of e-books for the following breakdown by authorship?

	E-book sales ( CAN$ '000 )
a. Canadian authorship
b. Foreign authorship
Total e-book sales

6. Of the [amount] net sales of own and agency titles reported in question 1a, how much was attributed to sales of audiobooks for the following breakdown by authorship?

Include all sales by other companies/websites, sales in Canada and export sales.

6. Of the [amount] net sales of own and agency titles reported in question 1a, how much was attributed to sales of audiobooks for the following breakdown by authorship?

	Audiobook sales (CAN$ '000)
a. Canadian authorship
b. Foreign authorship
Total audiobook sales

7. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what were this business's net sales of own and exclusive agency titles in Canada through the following channels?

Include sales done via distributors.

Exclude sale of rights.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimates.

For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what were this business's net sales of own and exclusive agency titles in Canada through the following channels?

	Net sales of books in Canada ( CAN$ '000 )
Net sales of print books in Canada Exclude online sales.
a. Wholesalers
b. Major chain bookstores i.e., chains of four outlets or more.
c. Independent bookstores i.e., one to three outlets Include campus bookstores.
d. General retailers e.g., drugstores, department stores
e. Libraries Exclude educational libraries.
f. Educational institutions Include educational libraries.
g. Direct sales to consumer e.g., festivals, trade fairs
h. All other channels of sales, excluding online sales Specift all other channels of sales:
Online sales of print books in Canada
i. Online sales of print books through any channel
Sales of e-books in Canada
j. Sales of e-books through any channel
Total net sales in Canada of print books and e-books

8. What was the breakdown of this business's net sales for own and exclusive agency titles [amount], according to the following commercial categories?

Include e-books and print books sales.

Please report the number of books sold in Canada and export during the fiscal year. The publisher's own titles are to be reported separately from exclusive agency books sold.

Own titles: works published (or co-published) in Canada by a firm holding the Canadian territorial rights to these titles.

Agency titles: titles which are published or reprinted outside of Canada, but sold in Canada.

Revenue from pre-sold books should be reported in the year in which they are delivered.

What was the breakdown of this business's net sales for own and exclusive agency titles [amount], according to the following commercial categories?

	Sold in Canada ( CAN$ '000 )	Export sales ( CAN$ '000 )
Own titles
a. Textbooks Include: - workbooks, teacher's manuals, and books focusing on developing literacy - sales to schools at all levels of education.
b. Children and juvenile books Include picture books and texts not primarily intended as textbooks. Exclude colouring books.
c. Tradebooks Include mass market paperbacks, trade paperbacks and trade hardcovers.
d. Reference, scholarly, professional and technical e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauruses Include titles aimed at the academic community, research institutes and specific groups of individuals.
Subtotal own titles
Exclusive agency titles
e. Textbooks Include: - workbooks, teacher's manuals, and books focusing on developing literacy - sales to schools at all levels of education
f. Children and juvenile books Include picture books and texts not primarily intended as textbooks. Exclude colouring books.
g. Tradebooks Include mass market paperbacks, trade paperbacks and trade hardcovers.
h. Reference, scholarly, professional and technical e.g. dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauruses Include titles aimed at the academic community, research institutes and specific groups of individuals.
Subtotal exclusive agency titles
Total book sales

9. What was the percentage breakdown of this business's net sales in Canada of own titles [amount] according to the following authorships?

Canadian author:

• A Canadian author (Canadian citizen) who lives abroad is considered a Canadian author
• If the author or translator is Canadian, the book must be classified as a Canadian author.

Collective work:

• A book with more than one author is considered Canadian-authored if at least one of the co-authors is Canadian
• A collective work ( e.g. , an anthology) is considered Canadian-authored if at least 50% of the contributors are Canadian.

Foreign authors:

• Any person living outside of Canada who is not a Canadian citizen.

Translation:

• Whether it is a book with a simple translation or a translated book with adaptation, if the author or translator is Canadian, the book should be categorized as a Canadian author.

What was the percentage breakdown of this business's net sales in Canada of own titles [amount] according to the following authorships?

	Percentage
a. Canadian authors
b. Foreign authors
Total percentage Should equal 100%

10. What was the percentage breakdown of this business's net export sales of own titles [amount] according to the following authorships?

Canadian author:

• A Canadian author (Canadian citizen) who lives abroad is considered a Canadian author
• If the author or translator is Canadian, the book must be classified as a Canadian author.

Collective work:

• A book with more than one author is considered Canadian-authored if at least one of the co-authors is Canadian
• A collective work ( e.g. , an anthology) is considered Canadian-authored if at least 50% of the contributors are Canadian.

Foreign authors:

• Any person living outside of Canada who is not a Canadian citizen.

Translation:

• Whether it is a book with a simple translation or a translated book with adaptation, if the author or translator is Canadian, the book should be categorized as a Canadian author.

What was the percentage breakdown of this business's net export sales of own titles [amount] according to the following authorships?

	Percentage
a. Canadian authors
b. Foreign authors
Total percentage Should equal 100%

11. What was the percentage breakdown of this business's net sales in Canada of exclusive agency titles [amount] according to the following authorships?

Canadian author:

• A Canadian author (Canadian citizen) who lives abroad is considered a Canadian author
• If the author or translator is Canadian, the book must be classified as a Canadian author.

Collective work:

• A book with more than one author is considered Canadian-authored if at least one of the co-authors is Canadian
• A collective work ( e.g. , an anthology) is considered Canadian-authored if at least 50% of the contributors are Canadian.

Foreign authors:

• Any person living outside of Canada who is not a Canadian citizen.

Translation:

• Whether it is a book with a simple translation or a translated book with adaptation, if the author or translator is Canadian, the book should be categorized as a Canadian author.

What was the percentage breakdown of this business's net sales in Canada of exclusive agency titles [amount] according to the following authorships?

	Percentage
a. Canadian authors
b. Foreign authors
Total percentage Should equal 100%

12. What was the percentage breakdown of this business's net export sales of exclusive agency titles [amount] according to the following authorships?

Canadian author:

• A Canadian author (Canadian citizen) who lives abroad is considered a Canadian author
• If the author or translator is Canadian, the book must be classified as a Canadian author.

Collective work:

• A book with more than one author is considered Canadian-authored if at least one of the co-authors is Canadian
• A collective work ( e.g. , an anthology) is considered Canadian-authored if at least 50% of the contributors are Canadian.

Foreign authors:

• Any person living outside of Canada who is not a Canadian citizen.

Translation:

• Whether it is a book with a simple translation or a translated book with adaptation, if the author or translator is Canadian, the book should be categorized as a Canadian author.

What was the percentage breakdown of this business's net export sales of exclusive agency titles [amount] according to the following authorships?

	Percentage
a. Canadian authors
b. Foreign authors
Total percentage Should equal 100%

A new title is a book with more than 50% original content. New editions and reprints are not considered new titles. In contrast with a new title, a book is considered a new edition if less than 50% of its content is original.

13. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, how many new titles did this business publish in each of the following commercial categories?

Include:

• e-books and print books sales
• your own titles and exclusive agency titles.

Canadian author:

• A Canadian author (Canadian citizen) who lives abroad is considered a Canadian author
• If the author or translator is Canadian, the book must be classified as a Canadian author.

Collective work:

• A book with more than one author is considered Canadian-authored if at least one of the co-authors is Canadian
• A collective work ( e.g. , an anthology) is considered Canadian-authored if at least 50% of the contributors are Canadian.

Foreign authors:

• Any person living outside of Canada who is not a Canadian citizen.

Translation:

• Whether it is a book with a simple translation or a translated book with adaptation, if the author or translator is Canadian, the book should be categorized as a Canadian author.

For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, how many new titles did this business publish in each of the following commercial categories?

	Number of Canadian authors	Number of foreign authors
a. Textbooks Include: - workbooks, teacher's manuals, and books focusing on developing literacy - sales to schools at all levels of education.
b. Children and juvenile books Include picture books and texts not primarily intended as textbooks. Exclude colouring books.
c. Tradebooks Include mass market paperbacks, trade paperbacks and trade hardcovers.
d. Reference, scholarly, professional and technical e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauruses Include titles aimed at the academic community, research institutes and specific groups of individuals.
Total number of new titles published by authorship
Total number of new titles published

14. Of the [number of] new titles published, how many are available in the following formats?

Of the [number of] new titles published, how many are available in the following formats?

	Number of new titles
a. Print only
b. Both print and e-book
c. E-book only
Total number of new titles published Should equal the total number of new titles published at question 12.

15. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, how many copies of books did this business sell in the following commercial categories?

Include:

• e-books and print books sales
• your own titles and exclusive agency titles.

For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, how many copies of books did this business sell in the following commercial categories?

	Number of copies sold
a. Textbooks Include: - workbooks, teacher's manuals, and books focusing on developing literacy - sales to schools at all levels of education.
b. Children and juvenile books Include picture books and texts not primarily intended as textbooks. Exclude colouring books.
c. Tradebooks Include mass market paperbacks, trade paperbacks and trade hardcovers.
d. Reference, scholarly, professional and technical e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauruses Include titles aimed at the academic community, research institutes and specific groups of individuals.
Total number of copies sold

16. For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what were this business's direct costs of own titles, exclusive agency titles and other published material, as reported for your cost of goods sold?

Report direct costs related to publishing.

For the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, what were this business's direct costs of own titles, exclusive agency titles and other published material, as reported for your cost of goods sold?

	Costs of titles sold ( CAN$ '000 )
a. Opening inventory
b. Purchases Include freight-in, customs and brokerage.
Direct costs related to publishing Include amortized pre-publication costs, e.g., editorial and design.
c. Production employee salaries, wages and benefits
d. Contract printing service fees e.g., printing, binding and paper
e. All other production costs Include materials for in-house printing such as pre-press, paper and ink.
Subtotal direct costs related to publishing
f. Closing inventory
Total cost of titles sold

Details on Purchased Services

1. For the reporting period YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, this business reported expenses for the following items.

Please provide the requested details related to these expenses.

Please report all amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars.

This table contains no data. It is an example of an empty data table used by respondents to provide data to Statistics Canada.

1. For the reporting period YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, this business reported expenses for the following items.

	CAN$ '000
Professional and business fees
Legal services
Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services
Management, scientific and technical consulting services
Office administrative services
Freight transportation arrangements and customs brokering services
Brokerage and other insurance related services
Security brokerage and securities dealing services
Other purchased professional services
Total expenses for professional and business fees
Office and computer related expenses
Data processing, hosting, and related services
Business support services
Other office and computer related purchased services
Total expenses for office and computer related expenses
Royalties, franchise fees and memberships
Rights to non-financial intangible assets
Membership fees or services
Other royalties, franchise fees and memberships
Total expenses for royalties, franchise fees and memberships
Rental and leasing
Non-residential real estate rental
Motor vehicle rental and leasing
Computer equipment rental and leasing
Office machinery and equipment rental and leasing services
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment renting and leasing services, without operator
Other rental services
Total expenses for rental and leasing
Repair and maintenance
Security services and investigation
Waste management and remediation services
Motor vehicle repair and maintenance services
Other repair and maintenance services
Total expenses for repair and maintenance

Sales by type of client

1. What was this business's breakdown of sales by the following types of client?

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%.

a. to c. 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.

d. 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.

What was this business's breakdown of sales by the following types of client?

	Percentage
a. Clients in Canada - individuals and households
b. Clients in Canada - businesses
c. Clients in Canada - governments, not-for-profit organizations and public institutions e.g., hospitals and schools
d. Clients outside Canada
Total percentage

International transactions - revenue received from exports

1. During the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, did this business receive revenue from clients outside Canada for the sale of products, services, royalties, rights, licensing or franchise fees?

International transactions

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.

• Yes
• No

International transactions - revenue received from exports

2. What was the revenue received from clients outside Canada?

International transactions

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.

Revenue received ( CAN$ '000 ):

3. What was the percentage breakdown of revenue received from clients outside Canada by goods, services and royalties?

International transactions

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.

What was the percentage breakdown of revenue received from clients outside Canada by goods, services and royalties?

	Percentage
a. Goods
b. Services
c. Royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees
Total percentage

4. What was the percentage breakdown of revenue received from clients outside Canada by country?

International transactions

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.

What was the percentage breakdown of revenue received from clients outside Canada by country?

	Percentage
a. United States
b. Mexico
c. Provide the percentage of revenue received from any other countries - top 4 clients only
c1. Other country 1 Begin entering the name of the other country by typing the first few letters to narrow down the choices or enter your own answer Specify other country 1:
c2. Other country 2 Begin entering the name of the other country by typing the first few letters to narrow down the choices or enter your own answer Specify other country 2:
c3. Other country 3 Begin entering the name of the other country by typing the first few letters to narrow down the choices or enter your own answer Specify other country 3:
c4. Other country 4 Begin entering the name of the other country by typing the first few letters to narrow down the choices or enter your own answer Specify other country 4:
Total percentage

International transactions - purchases from outside Canada (imports)

5. During the reporting period of YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD, did this business make payments to suppliers outside Canada for the purchase of products, services, royalties, rights, licensing or franchise fees?

International transactions

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.

• Yes
• No

6. What were the payments made to suppliers outside Canada?

International transactions

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.

Payments made ( CAN$ '000 ):

7. What was the percentage breakdown of payments made to suppliers outside Canada by goods, services and royalties?

International transactions

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.

What was the percentage breakdown of payments made to suppliers outside Canada by goods, services and royalties?

	Percentage
a. Goods
b. Services
c. Royalties, rights, licensing and franchise fees
Total percentage

8. What was the percentage breakdown of payments made to suppliers outside Canada by country?

International transactions

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.

What was the percentage breakdown of payments made to suppliers outside Canada by country?

	Percentage
a. United States
b. Mexico
c. Provide the percentage of payments made to any other countries - top 4 suppliers only
c1. Other country 1 Begin entering the name of the other country by typing the first few letters to narrow down the choices or enter your own answer Specify other country 1:
c2. Other country 2 Begin entering the name of the other country by typing the first few letters to narrow down the choices or enter your own answer Specify other country 2:
c3. Other country 3 Begin entering the name of the other country by typing the first few letters to narrow down the choices or enter your own answer Specify other country 3:
c4. Other country 4 Begin entering the name of the other country by typing the first few letters to narrow down the choices or enter your own answer Specify other country 4:
Total percentage

Notification of intent to extract web data

1. Does this business have a website?

• Yes
  • Specify the business website address 1
  • e.g., www.example.gc.ca
  • Specify the business website address 2
  • e.g., www.example.gc.ca
  • Specify the business website address 3
  • e.g., www.example.gc.ca
• No

Notification of intent to extract web data

Statistics Canada engages in web-data extraction, also known as web scraping, which is a process by which information is gathered and copied from the Web using automated scripts or robots, for retrieval and analysis. As a result, we may visit the website for this business or organization to search for and compile additional information. The use of web scraping is part of a broader effort to reduce the response burden on businesses or organizations, as well as produce additional statistical indicators to ensure that our data remain accurate and relevant.

We will strive to ensure that the data collection does not interfere with the functionality of the website. Any data collected will be used by Statistics Canada for statistical and research purposes only, in accordance with the agency's privacy and confidentiality mandate. All information collected by Statistics Canada is strictly protected.

More information regarding Statistics Canada's web scraping initiative.

Learn more about Statistics Canada's transparency and accountability.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Statistics Canada Client Services, toll-free at 1-877-949-9492 (TTY: 1-800-363-7629) or by email at infostats@statcan.gc.ca- this link will open in a new window. Additional information about this survey can be found by selecting the following link: Information for survey participants (ISP).

Changes or events

1. Indicate any changes or events that affected the reported values for this business or organization, compared with the last reporting period.

Select all that apply.

• Strike or lock-out
• Exchange rate impact
• Price changes in goods or services sold
• Contracting out
• Organizational change
• Price changes in labour or raw materials
• Natural disaster
• Recession
• Change in product line
• Sold business or business units
• Expansion
• New or lost contract
• Plant closures
• Acquisition of business or business units
• Other
  Specify the other changes or events:
• No changes or events

Contact person

2. Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information.

Is [Provided Given Names], [Provided Family Name] the best person to contact?

• Yes
• No

Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?

• First name:
• Last name:
• Title:
• Email address:
• Telephone number (including area code):
• Extension number (if applicable):
• Fax number (including area code):

Feedback

3. How long did it take to complete this questionnaire?

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

• Hours:
• Minutes:

4. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?