The reductions identified in the Government of Canada’s Budget 2025 and the Comprehensive Expenditure Review confirmed Statistics Canada’s need to streamline operations while continuing to deliver the trusted data Canadians rely on. These government-wide measures are intended to reduce spending on operations while protecting priority programs and investing in areas that support Canada’s economic and social well-being.

In response, Statistics Canada entered a workforce adjustment period in January 2026 and has made targeted adjustments to programs to ensure the long-term sustainability of Canada’s national statistical system. Our most critical programs, such as the Census of Population, the Consumer Price Index, gross domestic product, trade, and employment statistics, continue without interruption. These core indicators remain priorities and will continue to be available to governments, businesses, and communities across the country.

Most changes affect how data are collected and produced, rather than the availability of data. To reduce duplication and focus resources where they have the greatest impact, some surveys and statistical programs will be discontinued where the data can be obtained through alternative sources or methods. Statistics Canada will continue to deliver trusted data by increasing the use of administrative data, modelling, automation and artificial intelligence, and by adjusting release frequency or level of detail where appropriate, while maintaining the quality, integrity, and continuity of Canada’s key national indicators.

Throughout this period of change, Statistics Canada remains committed to responsible stewardship of public resources and to fulfilling its mandate under the Statistics Act. Whether we collect administrative, alternative, or survey data, one thing remains certain—Statistics Canada continues to operate in accordance with governing instruments and frameworks, including those guiding the use of automation and artificial intelligence, and our commitment to protecting privacy and safeguarding the confidentiality of data remains unwavering. As Canada’s national statistical agency, Statistics Canada continues to provide high-quality, objective, and trusted data that support informed decision-making and public confidence in official statistics.

Reducing duplication and focusing resources

Statistics Canada has identified several program adjustments that will help us meet our expenditure reduction requirements for the Comprehensive Expenditure Review.

These decisions were made through a thorough, agency-wide process that looked at what Canadians rely on most and where changes could be made with the least impact. As a result, these adjustments aim to ensure organizational stability and sustainability while continuing to provide high-quality data and trusted information to Canadians, even with reduced funding.

There will be reductions in scope, frequency and/or granularity to elements of various statistical programs, including the following specific changes:

Revised activities:

• Agriculture Program: Reduced frequency for the monthly poultry and eggs statistics and the monthly deliveries for the major grains to quarterly. The production of the January occasion of the Biannual Livestock Survey will change to a model-based approach and the Biannual Potato Area and Yield Survey will be collected as part of the Field Crop Reporting Series.
• Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion: There will be a reduction in the number of analytical publications focused on disaggregated populations. Following this reduction, the Centre will prioritize reporting under the Gender Results Framework.
• Demography Program: Selected components of the Family Demography Program have been reduced, including custom tabulations related to marriages and divorces. However, the fertility interactive dashboard will continue to be updated annually, as well as fertility indicators, which are used in other Statistics Canada programs, such as population projections.
• Environment Statistics Program: The scope of the Census of Environment program will be reduced. The main focus will remain on data products and outputs for core ecosystems (e.g., land, forests, oceans and coastal, agriculture, urban, freshwater, wetland), but there will be reductions in engagement activities, governance and the frequency of updates to existing products, as well as longer durations for research and development activities.
• General Social Survey Program: The General Social Survey is undergoing a transformation to more effectively meet the social statistics needs of Canadians. On an annual basis, the survey will now collect Quality of Life indicators, previously collected in the Canadian Social Survey. In addition, the survey will move away from distinct thematic designs (e.g. Time Use Survey, Survey on Family Transitions, etc.) towards a single streamlined data collection vehicle with limits on questionnaire length.
• Gross domestic product by industry: There will be a reduction in the number of industries included, with the monthly national and annual provincial-territorial GDP programs having streamlined and harmonized their industry classifications. The new structure now includes 174 industries at both levels, reducing the number of industries by 22 nationally and 52 provincially-territorially. Some smaller manufacturing and construction industries were combined, while greater detail was added to selected industries where it was deemed analytically or statistically useful.
• Health Statistics Program: The scope of the survey work related to sexual and reproductive health will be reduced. The Canadian Survey of Gynecological Health will proceed as planned, and the Survey of Abortion Providers in Canada will not proceed.
• Household Expenditure Program: The program will be modernized to better align with priority data needs, with a frequency change to publishing annually instead of quarterly.
• Integrated Social Data Program: Use of web panel surveys with pre-recruited respondents will be reduced.
• Labour Statistics Program: Granularity and frequency for selected labour market indicators will be reduced, along with a reduction in the number of Employment Insurance-related products. Specifically, the collection and dissemination of the Labour Market and Socioeconomic Indicators (LMSI) are suspended for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The LMSI supplement was a voluntary quarterly survey conducted following the completion of the Labour Force Survey. As a result of this suspension, the production of annual labour market indicators for persons with and without disabilities will also be paused. Other data sources on persons with disabilities, including information on their labour market outcomes, will remain available through the Canadian Survey on Disability.
• Macroeconomic Accounts Program: Selected components related to Industrial Capacity Utilization Rates and Non-Bank Financial Intermediaries will be eliminated, and frequency and granularity will be reduced for other elements.
• Social, Justice Statistics Program: Selected survey components within the program will be descoped, including the Survey of the Diversity of Not-for-profit Boards.
• Transportation Statistics Program: The granularity for selected surface transportation programs will be reduced, including, for example, rail operating statistics, and data on length of track and diesel fuel consumption. The release of monthly Aircraft Movement Statistics will move to a quarterly frequency.

Discontinued and ending activities

• Annual Electric Power Generating Stations Survey
• Annual release of Vehicle registrations
• Biennial Agriculture Water Survey
• Biennial Drinking Water Plants Survey
• Biennial Industrial Water Survey
• Canadian Social Survey
• Canadian Survey of Business Conditions
• GDP by Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)
• Health Care Access and Experiences Program
• Households and the Environment Survey
• Integrated Social Data Program—Longitudinal Social Data Development Program (LSDDP)
• Model-based Principal Field Crop for July
• Monthly Civil Aviation Survey
• Municipal Data Strategy
• Municipal wastewater systems
• Physical Flow Account for Plastic Material
• Quarterly Civil Aviation Survey
• Small area data on field crops
• Weekly Aircraft Movement Statistics
• Wool disposition and farm value

The Canadian international merchandise trade program

Introduction

The objective of this text is to provide a general overview of the balance of payments-basis data produced by the Canadian International Merchandise Trade (CIMT) Program, with special reference to concepts and definitions.

Conceptual framework

1. Objectives and coverage: The objective of balance of payments-basis CIMT statistics is to measure the change in economic transactions that involve merchandise trade between residents and non-residents. Information on imports and exports are inputs into the Macroeconomic Accounts, and are used in the formulation of trade and economic policies. Governments, importers, exporters, manufacturers and shipping companies use international merchandise trade statistics to:

• monitor import penetration and export performance;
• monitor commodity price and volume changes; and
• examine transport implications.

2. Trade statistics (customs-basis/balance of payments-basis): Merchandise trade statistics are presented on two different bases: customs and balance of payments.

Statistics for Canada’s imports as well as exports to non-US destinations are compiled from Customs declarations filed with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Data for Canada’s exports to the United States are derived from the administrative import records of the United States Customs and Border Protection and exchanged under the terms of a memorandum of understanding between Canada and the United States. Statistics developed from these Customs administrative records are commonly referred to as customs-basis trade statistics.

Customs-basis data are adjusted to conform to the National Accounts concepts and definitions. The adjustments to derive balance of payments-basis trade data include adjustments related to trade definition, valuation and timing. The principal difference between the two trade concepts is that customs-basis merchandise trade statistics cover the physical movement of goods as they are reflected in Customs documents while balance of payments-basis data are intended to cover economic transactions that involve merchandise trade between residents and non-residents.

It is possible for the accuracy of customs-basis statistics to be affected by undercoverage and/or country misallocation. Undercoverage occurs when trade is not captured in customs documents. Examples of undercoverage include transactions where the value is below the threshold required for reporting to customs authorities, and the informal or illegal movement of goods across borders. Estimates for undercoverage are included in balance of payments-basis statistics. Country misallocation occurs when the last known destination reported on the customs export documentation does not reflect the ultimate destination for the goods. This occurs most frequently when goods are routed through an intermediary country before continuing to their final destination with the intermediary country being reported as the final destination of the goods.

3. Valuation: For Customs purposes, imports are recorded at values established according to the provisions of the Customs Act, which reflects valuation methods based on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Valuation Code System. In general, the value for duty of imported goods must be equivalent to the transaction value or the price actually paid.

The transaction value of imported goods includes all transportation and associated costs incurred up to the point of direct shipment to Canada. Therefore, Canada's imports are valued Free on Board (FOB), place of direct shipment to Canada. It excludes freight and insurance costs in bringing the goods to Canada from the point of direct shipment.

Exports are recorded at the value declared on Customs documents, which reflect the transaction value (i.e., actual selling price or, in the case of a non-arm's length transaction, the transfer price used for company accounting purposes). Canada's exports are valued at FOB port of exit from Canada, including domestic freight charges to that point but net of discounts and allowances.

4. Statistical period: In theory, the statistical period for balance of payments-basis trade statistics reflects the month during which change of ownership occurred. Since this can be difficult to determine, in practice, the statistical period for balance of payments-basis statistics reflects the month during which the goods cleared Customs. The closing of the statistical month for imports and exports is defined as the last calendar day of the month based on the date of clearance from Customs. Documents received too late for incorporation in the current month are assigned to the month the transaction took place and are published the following statistical month.

5. Trading partner attribution (country of origin/destination): On a custom basis, imports are attributed to the country of origin, that is the country in which the goods were grown, extracted or manufactured in accordance with the rules of origin administered by the CBSA. On a balance of payments-basis, imports are attributed to the country of export instead of the country of origin to reflect the change in ownership of the goods.

Both customs- and balance of payments-basis exports are attributed to the country that is the last known destination of the goods at the time of export. 

6. Principal Trading Partners (PTPs): The list of PTPs is based on their annual share of total trade — merchandise imports plus exports — with Canada in 2012. The countries included in the list of PTPs are the following:

List of Canada's Principal Trading Partners

• United States
• European Union
  • Germany
  • Netherlands
  • France
  • Italy
  • Belgium
  • Spain
• China
• United Kingdom
• Mexico
• Japan
• South Korea
• Hong Kong
• Brazil
• Algeria
• Norway
• India
• Switzerland
• Saudi Arabia
• Turkey
• Taiwan
• Peru
• Australia
• Iraq
• Indonesia
• Singapore
• Russian Federation
• Other OECD countries
• All other countries

7. Legal framework: Import and export statistics with countries other than the United States are derived from information contained in administrative records collected by the CBSA under the Customs Act. Copies of these documents (or information therefrom) are sent to Statistics Canada in accordance with Section 25 of the Statistics Act. It follows that the disclosure of trade statistics is governed by both the Customs Act and the Statistics Act and is subject to the provisions of Section 17(2)(a) of the latter. Disclosure of statistics for trade with the United States is governed by a memorandum of understanding that provides for the exchange of detailed import statistics between Canada and the United States.

Contact information

Telephone: 1-800-263-1136 
Facsimile: 1-877-287-4369
Email: infostats@statcan.gc.ca

Statement outlining results, risks and significant changes in operations, personnel and program

B) Highlights of fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results

This section highlights the significant items that contributed to the net increase in resources available for the year, as well as actual expenditures for the quarter ended December 31. 

Chart 1 outlines the gross budgetary authorities, which represent the resources available for use for the year as of December 31.

Significant changes to authorities

Total authorities available for 2025-26 have increased by $91.2 million, or 10.3%, from the previous year, from $887.8 million to $979 million (Chart 1). The net increase is mostly the result of the following:

• An increase of $86 million in funding received to cover the advanced planning and intensifying production activities related to the ramping up of the 2026 Census of Population program;
• An increase of $12.2 million for the Employee Benefit Plan adjustments and for the carry forward from the previous year. The agency leverages the operating budget carry-forward mechanism to manage the cyclical nature of program operations and investments in the agency's strategic plan;
• An increase of $11.4 million in funding related to compensation following the ratification of collective agreements;
• A decrease of $34.4 million for various initiatives including the Canadian Dental Care Plan and the transfer of certain cloud operations functions to Shared Services Canada;
• An increase of $12.5 million for various initiatives including Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, the Clean Technology Data Strategy as well as funding to modernize and enhance the collection and dissemination of housing data, supporting Canada’s Housing Plan.

In addition to the appropriations allocated to the agency through the Main Estimates, Statistics Canada also has vote net authority within Vote 1, which entitles the agency to spend revenues collected from other federal government departments, agencies, and external clients to provide statistical services. The vote netting authority is stable at $120 million when comparing the third quarter of fiscal years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026.

Significant changes to expenditures

Year-to-date net expenditures recorded to the end of the third quarter increased by $37.7 million, or 7% from the previous year, from $536.7 million to $574.4 million (see Table A: Variation in Departmental Expenditures by Standard Object).

Statistics Canada spent approximately 66.9% of its authorities by the end of the third quarter, compared with 69.9% in the same quarter of 2024-2025.

Table A: Variation in Departmental Expenditures by Standard Object (unaudited)

This table displays the variance of departmental expenditures by standard object between fiscal 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. The variance is calculated for year to date expenditures as at the end of the third quarter. The row headers provide information by standard object. The column headers provide information in thousands of dollars and percentage variance for the year to date variation.

Departmental Expenditures Variation by Standard Object:	Q3 year-to-date variation between fiscal year   2024-2025 and 2025-2026
	$'000	%
(01) Personnel	20,232	3.7
(02) Transportation and communications	1,434	12.3
(03) Information	5,188	100.6
(04) Professional and special services	-3,350	-18.5
(05) Rentals	4,784	18.4
(06) Repair and maintenance	49	12.1
(07) Utilities, materials and supplies	1,604	225.3
(08) Acquisition of land, buildings and works	-23	-63.9
(09) Acquisition of machinery and equipment	-940	-40.8
(10) Transfer payments	-	-
(12) Other subsidies and payments	132	36.6
Total gross budgetary expenditures	29,109	4.8
Less revenues netted against expenditures:
Revenues	-8,641	-12.1
Total net budgetary expenditures	37,750	7.0
Note: Explanations are provided for variances of more than $1 million.

Personnel: The increase is primarily due to salary price increases and costs related to the employee benefit plan. To accommodate the cyclical nature of some of Statistics Canada’s programs, including the Census of Population program, resources have been reallocated within the agency.

Transportation and communications: The increase is mainly due to timing differences in invoicing compared to last fiscal year in relation to the connectivity and telecommunications support provided by Shared Services Canada for the 2026 Census of Population.  

Information: The increase is mainly due to advertisement and printing costs for 2026 Census of Population materials such as questionnaires, envelopes, and letters. 

Professional and special services: The decrease is attributable to the salaries of workers hired under the Statistics Act to operate the Census Help Line and to undertake data collection work during the Census Test, which began and ended in 2024. These operations will commence shortly for the 2026 Census. Also contributing is a reduction in IT consultant costs. Additionally, there has been timing differences in invoicing compared to last year. 

Rentals: The increase is mainly due to additional costs for logistical requirements for the 2026 Census of Population, as well as timing differences in invoicing compared to last year. 

Utilities, materials and supplies: The increase is mainly due to additional costs for office supplies needed for the 2026 Census of Population.

Revenues: The increase is mainly due to timing differences in invoicing compared to last year.