The Open Database of Recreational and Sport Facilities (ODRSF)
Metadata document: concepts, methodology and data quality

Version 1.0

Data Exploration and Integration Lab (DEIL)
Centre for Special Business Projects (CSBP)

Release date: September 28, 2021

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Data Sources
  3. Reference Period
  4. Target Population
  5. Compilation Methodology
  6. Database coverage
  7. Data Dictionary
  8. Data Accuracy
  9. Contact us

1. Overview

The Open Database of Recreational and Sport Facilities (ODRSF) is a database of recreational and sport facilities released as open data. Data sources include various levels of government within CanadaFootnote 1 and professional organizations. This document details the process of collecting, compiling, and standardizing the individual datasets used to create the ODRSF.

This dataset is one of a number of datasets created as part of the Linkable Open Data Environment (LODE). The LODE is an exploratory initiative that aims at enhancing the use and harmonization of open data from authoritative sources by providing a collection of datasets released under a single licence, as well as open-source code to link these datasets together. Access to the LODE datasets and code are available through the Statistics Canada website and can be found at the Linkable Open Data Environment.

The ODRSF is made available under the Open Government Licence – Canada. In its current version (Version 1.0), the ODRSF contains approximately 182,000 individual records. The database is expected to be updated periodically as new open datasets become available. The ODRSF is provided as a compressed comma separated values (CSV) file.

2. Data Sources

A total of 452 data sources were used to create the ODRSF. The sources used are detailed in a 'Data Sources' CSV file provided together with the data file on the ODRSF webpage. The links to the original datasets, licenses or terms of use, attribution statements and additional notes are also included in the 'Data Sources' CSV file. All recreational and sport facility data in the ODRSF were collected from government data sources, either from open data portals or from publicly-available web pages.

The distinction between open and other publicly available data is based on the licensing terms attached to each source dataset used. Open data licenses permit, in varying degrees, usability for any lawful purpose, redistribution (re-sharing) and modification and re-packaging of the data. However, open data licenses can impose some restrictions, such as attribution of original source, share-alike (re-sharing only with like conditions), and no commercial use. In general, no warranty is expressed and there are minor conditions stipulated by the provider.

Publicly available data, that are not associated with an open data license, are generally provided with terms of use that may restrict some of the aspects that would otherwise be permitted under open data licensing.

For further information on the individual licences or terms of use, users should consult the information provided on the open data portals or web sites of the various data providers, as reported in the Data Sources CSV file.

3. Reference Period

The Data Sources CSV reports, when this is known, either the update frequency or the date each underlying dataset was last updated by the provider (this information is collected at the time the dataset was accessed for this project). Additionally, the Data Sources CSV provides the date that each dataset used in the ODRSF was downloaded or provided by the organization that is the source of the data. Data were gathered in 2020 and 2021. Users are cautioned that the download date should not be used as an indication of the reference date of the data.

4. Target Population

For the purposes of the ODRSF database, recreational and sport facilities are facilities wherein the primary activity is concerned with either recreation or sport. The target population includes brick and mortar recreational and sport facilities that offer programs or services to the general public as well as those such as trails for hiking or skiing, sports fields, and other types of facilities that may be located outside of brick and mortar structures.

In terms of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), the facilities in the ODRSF are primarily in the following sub-sectors:

  • 7112 – Spectator sports
  • 7131 – Amusement parks and arcades
  • 7139 – Other amusement and recreation industries

Facilities are included when their primary activities are related to recreation or sports, regardless of the source of funding, private or public status, operator type, location or other attributes. However, facilities that are not open to the general public are not included. It should be noted that the focus of the ODRSF is on the facility (point of service). This may or may not correspond to a business entity, as some facilities such as trails or beaches may not be associated with any business entity while others, for example a multi-sport complex, may be related to a number of discrete entities.

5. Compilation Methodology

Data Standardization and Cleaning

The first processing component for compiling the ODRSF database was comprised of reformatting the source data to CSV format and mapping the original dataset attributes to standard variable (field) names. This was done using a version of the custom OpenTabulate software developed by the LODE team. A data dictionary of the variables used is provided in section 7. The methodology and limitations of the techniques used in each step used in the data cleaning process are described below.

Address Parsing

Natural language processing methods were used for parsing and separation of address strings into address variables, such as street number and postal code (which is removed from the final released database). The methods are reputable in the field for performance and accuracy, but as with all statistical learning methods, they have limitations as well. Poor or unconventional formatting of addresses may result in incorrect parsing. At this stage, no further integration with other address sources was attempted; hence, although address records are generally expected to be correct, residual errors may be present in the current version of the database.

When address information was available, addresses were parsed using the same methodology applied to other LODE databases such as the Open Database of Education Facilities and the Open Database of Cultural and Arts Facilities. The libpostal address parser, an open source natural language processing solution to parsing addresses, was used to split concatenated address strings into strings corresponding to address variables, such as street name and street number. Occasionally, addresses were split incorrectly due to unconventional formatting of the original address.Footnote 2

For instance, a limited number of entries were manually edited when it was clear that the parsing had not been done correctly. An example is addresses with hyphenated numbers such as "1035-55 street nw", which may have been interpreted as having a civic number of "1035-55" and a street name of "street nw", rather than a civic number of 1035, and a street name of "55 street nw". While effort was made to ensure that the results are correct, it is possible that the scripts used to process and parse the addresses may unintentionally cause other, undetected, errors.

Removal of Duplicates

As data were sourced from entities with geographically overlapping jurisdictions (e.g., a province, municipality and a private sector organization), the same record can appear in more than one source dataset. The removal of duplicates was done using both literal and fuzzy string matching on the facility name and street name, conditioned on the street number and province; by "conditioned," it is meant that a fuzzy comparison between two facilities is made provided that the street numbers and provinces agree. The fuzzy comparison is done using Levenshtein distances calculated through the Python package FuzzyWuzzy,Footnote 3 which returns a similarity score between 0 and 100 for two strings where a score of 100 indicates that the shorter string is a sub-string of the larger string. An entry is marked as a duplicate when that score meets a given threshold of similarity.

If two entries contained identical street number and province information, then their street names and facility names were compared. When these were nearly identical (defined as having the sum of the similarity scores for the facility names and street names to be at least 195 out of a possible 200), then the entries were marked as duplicates. Recognized duplicates were deleted without manual intervention. The chosen threshold was selected close to the maximum score, which minimized any removal of false positives. When duplicates were found, whichever record contained more non-empty fields was retained. In total, 5,937 duplicates were removed.

Although deduplication techniques are used, not all duplicates might have been removed. Modifying the deduplication methods to seek out the remaining duplicates would generate numerous false positives, which would require additional manual intervention.

Identification of Invalid Entries and Other Data Cleaning Steps

Identifying erroneous entries was done both programmatically and manually. Data entries that could not be correctly processed by automated techniques were filtered and stored in a separate file and manually corrected later. Data entries were formatted through the removal of excess whitespace and punctuation, standardization of fields such as postal code, and province/territory names.

Classification and Assignment of Recreational and Sport Facility Type

The original data sources use a variety of standards, classifications and nomenclature to describe the various types of recreational and sport facility. With no classification for recreational and sport facilities that is broadly adopted and recognized in Canada, one of the main challenges in the implementation of the ODRSF was the harmonization of records into comparable groups. Assignment of facility type was largely based on facility types provided by source datasets. In instances where facility type was either unclear or not defined by the source, facility type was classified based on further research or using meta-information, such as name of dataset.

The following classification of recreational and sport facilities is used for Version 1.0 of the ODRSF. While most of the class names are self-explanatory, further clarifications are provided below. In addition, and where available, the facility types as provided in the data sources (e.g., outdoor pool, tennis court, sports field, etc.) are also included in the ODRSF without any modification, reassignment, or mapping to a uniform classification.

  • trails: urban and rural trails or pathways for walking, hiking, or biking.
  • sports fields: fields on which sports can be played.
  • arenas: facilities where sports and/or recreational activities take place.
  • athletic parks: recreation areas focused on athletic activity.
  • beaches: waterfront beach areas.
  • casinos: casino or gambling facilities.
  • community centres: community centres and leisure facilities.
  • gyms: both public and private gym facilities.
  • marinas: marina facilities.
  • parks: parks and greenspaces, including both city and national parks.
  • playgrounds: play spaces which are distinct from parks in that they have specifically been classified as such by the publisher of the data. Often includes playground equipment.
  • pools: indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
  • race tracks: tracks for racing.
  • rinks: most commonly ice rinks.
  • skate parks: parks used for skateboarding.
  • splash pads: urban areas for water play.
  • stadiums: facilities where sports and/or recreational activities take place.
  • miscellaneous: facilities that do not fall into any of the above categories.

The classification is intended to have broad categories that are helpful in distinguishing major types of facilities and yet enable accuracy in mapping source-specific facility types. Facility types are determined from source-specific facility types and source coverage metadata information. Assignments are made using keywords and validated afterwards, with changes made manually whenever needed. When classifying facilities based on source metadata information, this was done analytically on a case by case basis.

The sports field classification category combines multiple types of sports fields such as baseball fields, soccer fields, and others. Where available, the detailed information on the type of sports field is preserved in the Source Facility Type variable.

Geocoding and Determination of Census Subdivision

In general, the data included in the ODRSF are what is available from the original sources without imputation. The exception to this is the geocoding and the imputation of CSD names and categories, discussed below.

Census subdivision (CSD)Footnote 4 names were derived from two different attributes in the data. The first attribute comprises the geographic coordinates, namely latitude and longitude. These are placed into the corresponding CSDs by linking the coordinate points to the CSD polygons through a spatial join operation using the Python package GeoPandas.Footnote 5

The second attribute is the city name, where literal string matching was done with each recreational and sport facility municipality name and a list of CSD names.Footnote 6

Geocoding was carried out for some sources that provide address data but no geo-coordinates. Latitude and longitude were determined and validated using tools on the internet. A subset of the source-provided geo-coordinates were also validated using the internet.

6. Database Coverage

The current version of the ODRSF (Version 1.0) database as provided contains approximately 182,000 recreational and sport facilities.

As the total number of all recreational and sport facilities in the country is not known with a reasonable degree of certainty, the coverage obtained with the sources used was not able to be thoroughly quantitatively assessed. Looking at the individual category of golf courses, however, shows that the ODRSF contains 592 golf courses, approximately 25% of all the 2,182 golf courses estimated to be in Canada.Footnote 7 Likewise, there were 1,303 rinks and arenas located in the ODRSF, approximately 60% of the 2,183 rinksFootnote 8 and arenas estimated to be in Canada. The distribution of the latter category showed similar coverage trends across geographies, with 82% to 87% of arenas and rinks respectively being located in Ontario and the Prairie provinces compared to an estimated two-thirds for these types of facilities overall.

From the above results, it is clear that the ODSRF is not a comprehensive listing of facilities within Canada. This is to be expected since not all jurisdictions publish data on recreational and sport facilities or categorize them in the same ways. The exception to this is when sources do purport to list all facilities of a certain type within a jurisdiction so for those particular facility type categories and jurisdictions; for those sources, coverage would be expected to be fairly complete. However, if facilities of a certain category were omitted by a source, then those facilities might be missing from the database unless they were obtained from a different source.

7. Data Dictionary

Recreation and sport facilities varables

Variable – Index

Name
Index
Format
String
Source
Internally generated during data processing
Description
Unique number automatically generated during data processing

Variable – Facility Name

Name
Facility_Name
Format
String
Source
Provided as is from original data
Description
Recreational or sport facility name

Variable – Source Facility Type

Name
Source_Facility_Type
Format
String
Source
Provided as is from original data
Description
Facility type chosen by data provider

Variable – ODRSF Facility Type

Name
ODRSF_Facility_Type
Format
String
Source
Generated from source data or metadata
Description
Facility type assigned from ODRSF categories

Location Variables

Variable – Unit Number

Name
Unit
Format
String
Source
Parsed from a full address string or provided as is
Description
Civic unit or suite number

Variable – Street Number

Name
Street_No
Format
String
Source
Parsed from a full address string or provided as is
Description
Civic street number

Variable – Street Name

Name
Street_Name
Format
String
Source
Parsed from a full address string or provided as is
Description
Civic street name

Variable – Street Type

Name
Street_Type
Format
String
Source
Parsed from a full address string or provided as is
Description
Civic street type

Variable – Street Direction

Name
Street_Direction
Format
String
Source
Parsed from a full address string or provided as is
Description
Civic street direction

Variable – Postal Code  

Name
Postal_Code
Format
String
Source
Parsed from a full address string or provided as is
Description
Postal code

Variable – City  

Name
City
Format
String
Source
Parsed from a full address string or provided as is
Description
City or municipality name (certain records may list the neighbourhood name)

Variable – Province/Territory

Name
Prov_Terr
Format
String
Source
Converted to two letter codes (internationally approved) after parsing from a full address string, or provided as is, or indicated by providers
Description
Province or territory name

Variable – Province Unique Identifier

Name
PRUID
Format
Integer
Source
Converted from province code
Description
Province unique identifier

Variable – CSD Name

Name
CSD_Name
Format
String
Source
Imputed from geographic coordinates and city names using GeoSuite 2016
Description
Census subdivision name

Variable – CSD Unique Identifier

Name
CSDUID
Format
Integer
Source
Imputed from either geographic coordinates or CSD name using GeoSuite 2016
Description
Census subdivision unique identifier

Variable – Longitude

Name
Longitude
Format
Float
Source
Provided as is from original data or added by geolocation
Description
Longitude

Variable – Latitude

Name
Latitude
Format
Float
Source
Provided as is from original data or added by geolocation
Description
Latitude

Variable – Data Provider

Name
Provider
Format
String
Source
Created based on origins of input dataset
Description
Name of the entity that provided the dataset

8. Data Accuracy

All addresses were collected from authoritative government sources, made available to the public as open data. In general, other than the processing required to harmonize the different sources into one database, the underlying datasets obtained from the various open data portals were taken "as-is".

During the processing stage to create the ODRSF, several steps were taken to standardize the output, including the standardization of street types and a deduplication of entries. It is possible that the process used to standardize the addresses may have introduced some errors, but these are expected to be minimal. Likewise, it is possible that duplicate entries remain in the database. To control for possible processing inaccuracies, the full address column is also provided without standardization applied.

9. Contact Us

The LODE open databases are modelled on ongoing improvement. To provide information on additions, updates, corrections or omissions, or for more information, please contact us at statcan.lode-ecdo.statcan@statcan.gc.ca. Please include the title of the open database in the subject line of the email.

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The Open Database of Recreational and Sport Facilities

Catalogue number: 21260002
Issue number: 2021001

The Open Database of Recreational and Sport Facilities (ODRSF) is a collection of open data containing the names, types, and locations of recreational and sport facilities across Canada. It is released under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

The ODRSF compiles open, publicly available, and directly-provided data on recreational and sport facilities across Canada. Data sources include provincial, territorial and municipal governments. This database aims to provide enhanced access to a harmonized listing of recreational and sport facilities across Canada by making them available as open data. This database is a component of the Linkable Open Data Environment (LODE).

Data sources and methodology

The inputs for the ODRSF are datasets whose sources include provincial, territorial and municipal governments. These datasets were available either under one of the various types of open data licences, e.g., in an open government portal, or as publicly available data. Details of the sources used are available in a 'Data Sources' table located within the downloadable zipped ODRSF folder.

The data sources used do not deploy a uniform classification system. The ODRSF harmonizes facility type by assigning one of eighteen types to each facility. This was done based on the facility type provided in the source data as well as using other research carried out for that purpose.

The eighteen facility types used in the ODRSF are:

  • trails: urban and rural trails or pathways for walking, hiking, or biking.
  • sports fields: fields on which sports can be played.
  • arenas: facilities where sports and/or recreational activities take place.
  • athletic parks: recreation areas focused on athletic activity.
  • beaches: waterfront beach areas.
  • casinos: casino or gambling facilities.
  • community centres: community centres and leisure facilities.
  • gyms: both public and private gym facilities.
  • marinas: marina facilities.
  • parks: parks and greenspaces, including both city and national parks.
  • playgrounds: play spaces which are distinct from parks in that they have specifically been classified as such by the publisher of the data. Often includes playground equipment.
  • pools: indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
  • race tracks: tracks for racing.
  • rinks: most commonly ice rinks.
  • skate parks: parks used for skateboarding.
  • splash pads: urban areas for water play.
  • stadiums: facilities where sports and/or recreational activities take place.
  • miscellaneous: facilities that do not fall into any of the above categories.

The ODRSF does not assert having exhaustive coverage and may not contain all facilities in scope for the current version. While efforts have been made to minimize these, facility type classification and geolocation errors are also possible. While all data are released on the same date, the dates as of which data are current depends on the update dates of the sources used.

A subset of geo-coordinates available in the source data were validated using the internet and updated as needed. When latitude and longitude were not available, geocoding was performed for some sources using address data in the source street address.

Deduplication was done to remove duplicates for cases where sources overlapped in coverage.

This first version of the database (version 1.0) contains approximately 182,000 records. Data were collected by accessing sources in 2020 and 2021.

The variables included in the ODRSF are as follows:

  • Index
  • Facility Name
  • Source Facility Type
  • ODRSF Facility Type
  • Provider
  • Unit
  • Street Number
  • Street Name
  • Street Type
  • Street Direction
  • Postal Code
  • City
  • Province or Territory
  • Source-Format Street Address
  • Census Subdivision Name
  • Census Subdivision Unique Identifier
  • Province or Territory Unique Identifier
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

For more information on how the addresses and variables were compiled, see the metadata that accompanies the ODRSF.

Downloading the ODRSF

For ease of download, the ODRSF is provided as a compressed comma-separated values (CSV) file.

Visualizing the ODRSF

The ODRSF content is available for visualization on a map using the Linkable Open Data Environment Viewer.

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Analysis of trends in spending and human resources

Actual expenditures

Departmental spending trend graph

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory spending) over time.

Departmental spending trend graph
Description - Departmental spending trend graph
Departmental spending, in thousands of dollars
Fiscal year Total Voted Statutory Sunset Programs - Anticipated Cost Recovery (Netted Revenue)
2018–19 631,945 438,122 69,623 0 124,201
2019–20 666,988 473,759 73,190 0 120,038
2020–21 745,308 537,787 83,531 0 123,989
2021–22 922,331 721,223  81,107 0 120,000
2022–23 632,533 440,480 72,053 0 120,000
2023–24 582,495 396,555 65,940 0 120,000
Budgetary performance summary for Core Responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)
Core Responsibilities and Internal Services 2020–21 Main Estimates 2020–21 Planned spending 2021–22 Planned spending 2022–23 Planned spending 2020–21 Total authorities available for use 2018–19 Actual spending (authorities used) 2019–20 Actual spending (authorities used) 2020–21 Actual spending (authorities used)
Statistical Information 661,506,812 661,506,812 855,425,655 566,602,643 715,298,954 559,559,344 584,770,894 666,463,788
Internal Services 73,941,885 73,941,885 66,905,037 65,930,587 80,666,297 72,385,465 82,217,225 78,844,148
Total gross expenditures 735,448,697 735,448,697 922,330,692 632,533,230 795,965,251 631,944,809 666,988,119 745,307,936
Respendable Revenue -120,000,000 -120,000,000 -120,000,000 -120,000,000 -123,989,068 -124,200,719 -120,038,495 -123,989,068
Total Net Expenditures 615,448,697 615,448,697 802,330,692 512,533,230 671,976,183 507,744,090 546,949,624 621,318,868

Statistics Canada is funded by two sources: direct parliamentary appropriations and cost-recovery activities. 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. 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 $124 million annually to the agency’s total resources. A large portion of this respendable revenue comes from federal departments to fund specific statistical projects.

Spending fluctuations between the years shown in the graph and table above were mainly caused by the Census Program. Voted spending decreased in 2018–19 as the 2016 Census of Population and 2016 Census of Agriculture were winding down. This pattern is typical for the agency because of the cyclical nature of the Census Program. Spending then begins to ramp up and peak again in 2021–22 when the 2021 Census of Population and 2021 Census of Agriculture are conducted, followed by a significant decrease in subsequent years as these activities wind down.

The difference between 2020–21 actual spending and 2020–21 total authorities available for use is largely attributable to how the agency strategically manages its investments. The agency has leveraged the operating budget carry-forward mechanism to manage the cyclical nature of normal program operations towards the agency’s strategic priorities and to ensure the quality of its existing programs is maintained. Throughout the year, forecast lapses and amounts carried forward are managed centrally, by priority, within the statistical information core responsibility.

The difference is also attributable to several amendments to the 2021 Census of Population’s original spending plan, resulting in a decrease in spending for 2020–21. These amendments are mostly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Internal Services’ spending from 2018–19 to 2020–21 includes planned resources from temporary funding related to an initiative approved in 2018–19 to migrate the agency’s infrastructure to the cloud.

2020–21 Budgetary actual gross spending summary (dollars)
Core responsibilities and Internal Services 2020–21 Actual gross spending 2020–21 Actual revenues netted against expenditures 2020–21 Actual net spending (authorities used)
Statistical Information 666,463,788 -123,989,068 542,474,720
Internal Services 78,844,148 0 78,844,148
Total Gross Expenditures 745,307,936 -123,989,068 621,318,868

Statistics Canada has generated $124 million in respendable revenue from the sale of statistical products and services.

Actual human resources

Human resources summary for core responsibilities and Internal Services
Core responsibilities and Internal Services 2018–19 Actual full-time equivalents 2019–20 Actual full-time equivalents 2020–21 Planned full-time equivalents 2020–21 Actual full-time equivalents 2021–22 Planned full-time equivalents 2022–23 Planned full-time equivalents
Statistical Information 5,498 5,595 5,800 6,099 6,026 5,065
Internal Services 645 626 585 684 563 546
Total Gross Expenditures 6,143 6,221 6,385 6,783 6,589 5,611
Respendable Revenue -1,380 -1,366 -1,251 -1,340 -1,231 -1,241
Total Net Expenditures 4,763 4,856 5,134 5,443 5,358 4,370

Similar to trends seen in planned spending, full-time equivalent (FTE) changes from year to year are largely explained by the cyclical nature of the Census Program. Activity decreased in 2018–19, as the 2016 Census of Population and 2016 Census of Agriculture were winding down. Activity then begins to ramp up and peak again in 2021–22, when the 2021 Census of Population and 2021 Census of Agriculture are conducted. There is also a temporary FTE increase in 2020–21 explained by Statistics Canada’s survey interviewers hired under the Statistics Act, to provide additional capacity for provincial and territorial governments to conduct contact tracing.

Included in net expenditure FTEs are approximately 410 public servant FTEs based across Canada outside the National Capital Region (NCR). Also included are approximately 1,095 interviewer FTEs (representing approximately 2,100 interviewers) outside the NCR. These interviewers are part-time workers with assigned workweeks that are determined by the volume of collection work available; they are hired under the Statistics Act, by the authority of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. Interviewers are covered by two separate collective agreements and are employed through Statistical Survey Operations. Many of Statistics Canada’s main outputs rely heavily on data collection and the administration of these activities, which takes place across Canada.

Expenditures by vote

For information on Statistics Canada’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2020–2021.

Government of Canada spending and activities

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

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

Statistics Canada's financial statements (unaudited) for the year ending March 31, 2021, are available on the agency's website.

The agency uses the full accrual accounting method to prepare and present its annual financial statements, which are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, spending authorities presented in the previous sections of this report remain on an expenditure basis. A reconciliation between the bases of reporting is available in Note 3 of the financial statements.

Financial statement highlights

Condensed Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2021 (dollars)
Financial information 2020–21 Planned results 2020–21 Actual results 2019–20 Actual results (restated) Difference (2020–21 Actual results minus 2020–21 Planned results) Difference (2020–21 Actual results minus 2019–20 Actual results)
Total expenses 848,569,377 852,413,139 757,438,321 3,843,762 94,974,818
Total revenues 120,000,000 120,247,616 121,936,643 247,616 -1,689,027
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 728,569,377 732,165,523 635,501,678 3,596,146 96,663,845

Statistics Canada's Future-Oriented Statement of Operations (unaudited) for the year ending March 31, 2021, is available on the agency website. The assumptions underlying the forecasts were made before the completion of the 2019–20 fiscal year.

The net cost of operations before government funding and transfers was $732.2 million, an increase of $96.7 million (15.2%) from $635.5 million in 2019–20. The increase in expenses is mainly because of an overall increase in the agency’s activities, particularly for the 2021 Census of Population Program, the workload migration and cloud program, and the COVID-19 initiatives in partnership with Health Canada. Additionally, salary costs increased because of the ratification of certain collective agreements in 2020–21. This is offset by an immaterial decrease in revenue related to cost-recovery projects mainly with non-federal clients.

The difference between actual and planned net costs for 2020–21 is $3.6 million (0.5%). Expenses were $3.8 million higher than anticipated. The ratification of collective agreements, as well as higher vacation pay and compensatory leave accrual, and additional spending for COVID-19 initiatives in partnership with Health Canada contributed to a significant increase in expenditures. This is mostly offset by a change in the 2021 Census of Population Program spending profile because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, which resulted in a decrease in non-salary spending. Revenues were $0.2 million higher than anticipated.

For more information on the distribution of expenses by program and type, please see the two charts below.

Gross expenditures by core responsibility

Gross expenditures by core responsibility

Total expenses, including respendable revenue and services provided without charge by federal government departments, were $852.4 million in 2020–21. These expenses comprised $763.4 million (89.6%) for Statistical Information and $89 million (10.4%) for Internal Services.

Gross expenditures by type

Gross expenditures by type

Statistics Canada spent $852.4 million in 2020–21. These expenses comprised $685.9 million (80.5%) for salaries and employee benefits, $43.6 million (5.1%) for accommodation, $38.0 million (4.5%) for professional and special services, $31.5 million (3.7%) for amortization, $23.1 million (2.7%) for rentals, $10.8 million (1.3%) for materials and supplies, $10.6 million (1.2%) for transportation and postage, and $8.5 million (1.0%) in other expenses.

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (unaudited) as of March 31, 2021 (dollars)
Financial information 2020–21 2019–20 (restated) Difference (2020–21 minus 2019–20)
Total net liabilities 160,919,348 130,839,608 30,079,740
Total net financial assets 77,141,756 66,957,087 10,184,669
Departmental net debt 83,777,592 63,882,521 19,895,071
Total non-financial assets 170,230,625 170,649,354 -418,729
Departmental net financial position 86,453,033 106,766,833 -20,313,800

The departmental net financial position was $86.5 million at the end of 2020–21, a decrease of $20.3 million from $106.8 million in 2019–20.

The increase in total net liabilities is mainly explained by an increase in accrued liabilities for vacation pay and compensatory leave resulting from employees accumulating vacation days during the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in accounts payable, mostly for the 2021 Census of Population Program.

The increase in total net financial assets is mainly explained by an increase in the amount due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund as of March 31 to pay for accounts payable and accrued salaries and wages. This is offset by a decrease in accounts receivable from other government departments and agencies and external parties.

For more information on the distribution of the balances in the statements of financial position, please see the two charts below.

Assets by type

Assets by type

Total assets, including financial and non-financial assets, were $247.4 million at the end of 2020–21. Tangible capital assets represented the largest portion of assets, at $160.4 million (64.8%). They consisted of informatics software ($77.0 million), software under development ($66.9 million), leasehold improvements ($14.6 million) and other assets ($1.9 million). The remaining portion comprised $71.9 million (29.1%) for amounts due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, $7.9 million (3.2%) for prepaid expenses, $5.3 million (2.1%) for accounts receivable and advances, and $1.9 million (0.8%) for consumable supplies.

Liabilities by type

Liabilities by type

Total liabilities were $160.9 million at the end of 2020–21. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities made up the largest portion of liabilities, at $89.6 million (55.7%). They consisted of accounts payable to external parties ($41.7 million), accounts payable to other federal government departments and agencies ($11.6 million), and accrued salaries and wages ($36.3 million). The next largest portion was vacation pay and compensatory leave, at $53.1 million (33.0%). Employee future benefits made up $18.1 million (11.2%). The remaining portion was composed of deferred revenue, at $0.1 million (0.1%).

Corporate Information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head: Anil Arora

Ministerial portfolio: Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Enabling instrument[s]:

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:

  • to provide statistical information and analysis of 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
  • to 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 located in Ottawa. There are regional offices across the country in Halifax, Sherbrooke, Montréal, Toronto, Sturgeon Falls, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver. There are also 35 research data centres located throughout the country in academic institutions. There are five secure rooms available for access by federal departments and selected provincial ministries. These centres provide researchers with access to microdata from population and household survey programs in a secure setting. Canadians can follow the agency on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, feeds and YouTube.

Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

"Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do" is available on Statistics Canada's website.

For more information on the agency's organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister's mandate letter.

Operating context

A developed, democratic country such as Canada requires vast amounts of information to function effectively. Statistics provide Canadians with vital information to help monitor inflation, promote economic growth, plan cities and roads, adjust pensions, and develop employment and social programs. They help governments, businesses and individuals make informed decisions.

The value placed on data by every segment of society is growing at an exponential pace. At the same time, new tools and new computing power are emerging and multiplying the volume and types of information available.

As the demand for information increases along with its importance and availability, privacy concerns, call-screening technology and the busy lives of Canadians are making it harder to reach and obtain information from households. As a result, the agency is continually seeking out new and innovative approaches to meet emerging data needs.

As it innovates and modernizes, the agency will be well positioned to play a more active role in guiding and shaping this information age.

Reporting framework

Statistics Canada's Departmental Results Framework and program inventory of record for 2020–21 are shown below.

Departmental Results Framework

Core Responsibility: Statistical Information

Statistics Canada produces objective, high-quality statistical information for the whole of Canada. The statistical information produced relates to commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic, environmental and general activities and conditions of the people of Canada.

Result 1

High quality statistical information is available to Canadians.

  • Indicator 1: Number of post-release corrections due to accuracy.
  • Indicator 2: Percentage of international standards with which Statistics Canada conforms.
  • Indicator 3: Number of statistical products available on the website.
  • Indicator 4: Number of Statistics Canada data tables available on the Open Data Portal.

Result 2

High quality statistical information is accessed by Canadians.

  • Indicator 1: Number of visits to Statistics Canada website.
  • Indicator 2: Number of interactions on social media.
  • Indicator 3: Percentage of website visitors that found what they were looking for.

Result 3

High quality statistical information is relevant to Canadians.

  • Indicator 1: Percentage of users satisfied with statistical information.
  • Indicator 2: Number of media citations on Statistics Canada data.
  • Indicator 3: Number of journal citations.

Internal Services

Program Inventory

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

Supplementary information tables

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

Reporting on green procurement

This supplementary information table supports reporting on green procurement activities in accordance with the Policy on Green Procurement.

1. Context

Although Statistics Canada is not bound by the Federal Sustainable Development Act and is not required to develop a full Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy, Statistics Canada adheres to the principles of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) by complying with the Policy on Green Procurement.

The Policy on Green Procurement supports the Government of Canada's effort to promote environmental stewardship. In keeping with the objectives of the policy, Statistics Canada supports sustainable development by integrating environmental performance considerations into the procurement decision‑making process through the actions described in the 2019 to 2022 FSDS "Greening Government" goal.

2. Commitments

Greening Government: The Government of Canada will transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient and green operations.
Federal Sustainable Development Strategy target(s) Federal Sustainable Development Strategy contributing action(s) Corresponding departmental action(s) Starting point(s), performance indicator(s), target(s) Results achieved Contribution by each departmental result to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy goal and target

Actions supporting the Greening Government goal and the Policy on Green Procurement

Departments will use environmental criteria to reduce their environmental impact and ensure best value in government procurement decisions.
  • Integrate environmental considerations into procurement management processes and controls.
  • Ensure paper purchased by Statistics Canada is made from recycled material.
  • To reduce waste generated and minimize the environmental impacts of assets throughout their lifecycle, Statistics Canada will continue to embed environmental considerations in public procurement in accordance with the Policy on Green Procurement.
  • Copy paper purchased by Statistics Canada contains a minimum of 30% recycled content and has a forest certification, ECOLOGO certification or equivalent certification.
  • Statistics Canada incorporates environmental considerations into all public procurement by releasing all solicitations electronically, accepting electronic bids, and using existing procurement instruments available through Public Services and Procurement Canada that include environmental considerations.
  • 100% of copy paper purchased contains a minimum of 30% recycled content and is certified to a recognized environmental standard to reduce the environmental impact of its production.

Motivate suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of their goods, services and supply chains.

Departments will adopt clean technology and undertake clean technology demonstration projects.

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Support for green procurement will be strengthened, including guidance, tools and training for public service employees.
  • Ensure that decision makers and materiel management and procurement specialists have the necessary training and awareness to support green procurement.
  • Ensure that key officials include support for and contributions to the Government of Canada's Policy on Green Procurement objectives in their performance evaluations.
  • 100% of specialists in procurement and materiel management have completed training on green procurement.
  • Performance evaluations of managers and functional heads of procurement and materiel management include support for and contributions to green procurement in the given fiscal year.
  • 100% of specialists in procurement and materiel management have completed the Canada School of Public Service Green Procurement course (C215) or equivalent.
  • 100% of performance evaluations of managers and functional heads of procurement and materiel management are aligned to support the objectives of the Government of Canada Policy on Green Procurement.

Motivate suppliers to green their goods, services and supply chain.

3. Report on integrating sustainable development

During the 2020–21 reporting cycle, Statistics Canada had no proposals that required a strategic environmental assessment and no public statements were produced.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

Section 1: Institutional Gender-based Analysis Plus capacity

As Canada's national statistical agency, Statistics Canada ensures Canadians have the information they need on Canada's economy, society and environment. With the importance of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) steadily increasing over the past several years, the need for more detailed statistical information and disaggregated data has also increased. To best support its data users—including other government departments—and better its own organizational and accountability outcomes, Statistics Canada continues to increase its GBA+ capacity across the agency.

A significant GBA+ milestone occurred in 2018–19 with the development of Statistics Canada's Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics, which is responsible for reporting to Canadians and other government departments, generating new information, and building statistical capacity. To reach these objectives, the Centre developed a public-facing Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub, allowing data users to easily access and analyze Statistics Canada's GBA+ data holdings. The Centre is well placed to ensure that the agency is exercising leadership both internally and externally.

Within the agency, the Centre conducts GBA+ training, and all Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions continue to include a GBA+ analysis and commitment to disaggregate data to the fullest extent possible. Externally, the Centre supports federal departments in their commitment to GBA+ analysis through data development and capacity building. In 2020–21, to further the availability of information on gender, diversity and inclusion, the agency worked extensively with Women and Gender Equality Canada to conduct research, training and other initiatives related to GBA+.

Statistics Canada strives to build a workforce that is representative of the Canadian population and continues to set objectives to further diversify and enrich its talent pool at all levels throughout the agency.

In 2020–21, the agency recognized the importance of greater accountability through structured governance and reporting to employment equity committees. As a result, the agency introduced the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Accountability Framework to better serve its employees and community through clearly identified roles and responsibilities.

Finally, the agency continued the development of two action plans to improve diversity and inclusion within the workplace—the 2021–25 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan: Moving Forward Together, and the Integrity and Respect Action Plan. These action plans are dynamic and data-driven strategies that include concrete measures, processes and tools designed to promote diversity and inclusion, eliminate systemic barriers in appointment processes, and increase representation across the agency.

Section 2: Gender and diversity impacts by program

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Program name: Economic and Environmental Statistics

The Economic and Environmental Statistics program produces a wide range of economic and environmental statistics such as national and international accounts, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, research and development, price indexes, finance, tourism, transportation, agriculture, and the environment.

Target population: All Canadians

Key impacts:

Economic and Environmental Statistics: Key impacts
Performance indicators Observed results 2020–21 Data source Comment
Availability of economic and environmental analytical products relevant to GBA+

Number of Economic and Environmental Statistics analytical products and insights relevant to GBA+ and made available on Statistics Canada's website

Description: This indicator measures the number of Economic and Environmental Statistics analytical products and insights (e.g., research articles, studies, fact sheets) relevant to GBA+ released through The Daily and made available on the Statistics Canada website. GBA+ factors used to calculate this indicator include one or more of the following: sex or gender, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, people with disabilities, immigrants, people who identify as LGBTQ2+, and those living in rural areas.

 45 Statistics Canada website None

Other:

As part of the agency's commitment to making GBA+ disaggregated data available to Canadians, the Economic and Environmental Statistics program accomplished the following in 2020–21:

  • National Economic Accounts program: To support the economic participation and prosperity pillar of the Gender Results Framework, the human resources modules for the infrastructure accounts and selected satellite accounts (natural resources, environment) contain detailed breakdowns for men and women.
  • Corporations Returns Act: In March 2021, Statistics Canada released new data on the gender composition of corporate boards in Canada in 2017 and 2018. These data highlight women in leadership and strategic decision-making roles in corporations that conduct business in Canada.

GBA+ data collection plan:

In 2020–21, Statistics Canada continued to identify and address data gaps across its statistical programs. Statistics Canada responded by enhancing existing survey programs and integrating data sources to enable reporting on key population groups. Measures taken included integrating existing data sources, developing new survey questions, oversampling key population groups to allow for disaggregation and adding indicators to existing surveys.

Statistics Canada is currently developing a set of key performance indicators to measure the availability of disaggregated data relevant to GBA+ and exploring the possibility of measuring the relevance and impact of the data.

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Program name: Socio-economic Statistics

The Socio-economic Statistics program provides integrated information and relevant analysis on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individuals, families and households, as well as on the major factors that affect their well-being. Many of the statistical products produced allow for GBA+ analyses for key population groups.

Target population: All Canadians

Key impacts:

Socio-economic Statistics: Key impacts
Performance indicators Observed results 2020–21 Data source Comment
Initiatives that support GBA+ capacity building
Number of GBA+ consultations, training sessions and presentations conducted by the agency for external stakeholders
Description: This indicator measures the number of GBA+ capacity building activities conducted by the agency for external stakeholders.		 18 Administrative data contained in an Excel spreadsheet titled "Number of GBA+ consultations" None
Availability of socio-economic analytical products relevant to GBA+
Number of Socio-economic Statistics analytical products and insights relevant to GBA+ and made available on Statistics Canada's website
Description: This indicator measures the number of Socio-economic Statistics analytical products and insights (e.g., research articles, studies, fact sheets) relevant to GBA+ released through The Daily and made available on the Statistics Canada website. GBA+ factors used to calculate this indicator include one or more of the following: sex or gender, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, people with disabilities, immigrants, people who identify as LGBTQ2+, and those living in rural areas.		 224 Statistics Canada website None
Number of Gender Results Framework indicators released by sex or gender
Description: This indicator measures the number of sex or gender disaggregated data tables, which correspond to Gender Results Framework indicators, made available through the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub.		 36 Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub This represents 84% of the Gender Results Framework indicators.
Number of Gender Results Framework indicators released by sex or gender and other identity factor
Description: This indicator measures the number of data tables disaggregated by sex or gender and other identity factors, which correspond to Gender Results Framework indicators, made available through the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub.		 7 Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub This represents 16% of the Gender Results Framework indicators.
Number of GBA+ socio-economic products related to the impacts of COVID-19
Description: This indicator measures the number of analytical products related to the impacts of COVID-19 on diverse population groups in Canada that have been made available.		 15 Administrative data from Diversity and Sociocultural Statistics None
Number of page visits to the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub
Description: This indicator measures the number of page visits to the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub in a given fiscal year.		 47,024 Adobe Analytics None

Other:

Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics: The creation of the Centre in 2018–19 brought together much of the agency's GBA+ expertise, and its Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub centralized resources relevant to GBA+; promoted and provided greater access to research and detailed statistical information, including data disaggregated by sex, gender and other diversity characteristics; and reported on the Government of Canada's Gender Results Framework indicators.

Given the importance of statistical standards in the agency's work, the Centre released an infographic defining what statistical standards are and their importance. Moreover, the Centre, in collaboration with the Centre for Statistical and Data Standards, began developing a standard for measuring sexual orientation and completed the first round of consultations with experts within the federal government, academia and community organizations in early 2020. The second phase, which included 17 focus groups, took place in summer 2020. Since late January 2021, the proposed sexual orientation standards have been available for public review. A final round of qualitative testing will take place in late March 2021. This work is ongoing.

In collaboration with other government departments, Statistics Canada played a substantive role in filling important data gaps and making national standards available. Furthermore, recognizing the increasing need for GBA+ disaggregated data, the Centre worked with other Statistics Canada program areas to develop strategic priorities and an action plan to ensure that the data needed to disaggregate at the lowest level of population or geographic detail possible were available, while meeting quality requirements and respecting confidentiality. The action plan proposal outlined the need for data to be disaggregated by gender, for Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and people in groups designated as visible minorities. Additional disaggregation priorities include people who identify as LGBTQ2+, children and youth, seniors, immigrants, veterans, people living in minority official language communities, and those living in low-income situations.

In addition, as part of the agency's commitment to making GBA+ disaggregated data available to Canadians, the Socio-economic Statistics program had the following key developments in 2020–21:

  • Social inclusion program: From the funding provided by Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy, Diversity and Sociocultural Statistics continued to work on developing its conceptual framework on social inclusion, including a large number of social inclusion indicators based on 2016 Census data (to be later updated with 2021 Census data) and data from other surveys such as the General Social Survey. Work continues to progress on this project. These indicators will be presented in the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub using a new disaggregated classification of ethnocultural groups that combines the population group question with the ethnic and cultural origin question. Work is currently underway on the Social Indicators Visualization Project to produce indicators that will be used in a new interactive tool presented on the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub.
  • General Social Survey on Social Identity: The new cycle of the General Social Survey on Social Identity will allow for the disaggregation of data for some specific ethnocultural groups.
  • Labour Force Survey: The survey was updated in July 2020 to begin collecting information on the labour market activities of population groups designated as visible minorities.
  • Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics: The agency published 11 justice-related analytical reports and 34 fact sheets from a GBA+ perspective. In addition, the agency engaged with police, academics and community groups to develop new variables to capture more detailed information on hate-motivated crime. Gender and selected diversity indicators are available on the accused and victim files.

Supplementary information sources:

Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub

GBA+ data collection plan:

In 2020–21, Statistics Canada continued to identify and address data gaps across its statistical programs. Statistics Canada responded by enhancing existing survey programs and integrating data sources to enable reporting on key population groups. Measures taken included integrating existing data sources, developing new survey questions, oversampling key population groups to allow for disaggregation and adding indicators to existing surveys.

Statistics Canada is currently developing a set of key performance indicators to measure the availability of disaggregated data relevant to GBA+ and exploring the possibility of measuring the relevance and impact of the data.

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Program name: Cost-recovered Statistical Services

Through the Cost-recovered Statistical Services program, Statistics Canada conducts special surveys to gather new data; produces high-quality statistics that are currently not part of the agency's data holdings; and conducts on-demand special analytical projects to meet specific needs of federal, provincial and territorial institutions and other clients.

Target population: All Canadians

Key impacts:

At this time, indicators for cost-recovered products are included in their respective program area (i.e., Economic and Environmental Statistics, Socio-economic Statistics, Centres of Expertise) and not identified separately.

Other:

In 2020–21, the Cost-recovered Statistical Services program had requests from a few departments to produce statistical information with a focus on GBA+ analysis.

  • Funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada:
    • Economic analysis projects focused on human capital by gender, gross domestic product by gender, the performance gaps between women-owned and men-owned enterprises, Black business owners, and people with disabilities and business ownership in Canada.
    • Social analysis projects focused on gender differences in science, technology, engineering and math enrolment and graduation; education and work experiences of women with disabilities; fathers' use of parental leave; gender gaps and characteristics of elected and appointed members of legislative bodies; and neighbourhoods, vulnerable populations and well-being across genders.
    • Health analysis projects focused on the extent to which the timing and the type of abuse are associated with receiving social assistance in adulthood, and whether there are differential effects of abuse on the probability of receiving social welfare according to the sex of the individual.
  • Funded by Employment and Social Development Canada, information was provided related to early learning and child care, which has a strong effect on women as it impacts their participation in the labour force and they make up a majority of the child care workforce.
  • Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, information was provided focusing onspecific immigrant groups in the labour market (including during the pandemic), predicting factors for employment earnings, and trends in the number and characteristics of international students in Canada.

GBA+ data collection plan:

In 2020–21, Statistics Canada continued to identify and address data gaps across its statistical programs. Statistics Canada responded by enhancing existing survey programs and integrating data sources to enable reporting on key population groups. Measures taken included integrating existing data sources, developing new survey questions, oversampling key population groups to allow for disaggregation and adding indicators to existing surveys.

Statistics Canada is currently developing a set of key performance indicators to measure the availability of disaggregated data relevant to GBA+ and exploring the possibility of measuring the relevance and impact of the data.

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Program name: Census Program

The Census Program provides statistical information and analyses that measure changes in the Canadian population and its demographic characteristics, and in the agricultural sector. The program includes the Census of Population and the Census of Agriculture.

Target population: All Canadians

Key impacts:

Census Program: Key impacts
Performance indicators Observed results 2016 Census Data source Comment
Availability of Census Program indicators relevant to GBA+

Number of GBA+ factors for which Census of Population statistical products are disaggregated

Description: This indicator measures the number of GBA+ factors for which the Census of Population statistical products are made available on Statistics Canada's website.

 16 Statistics Canada website

Factors included are:

  • Indigenous peoples
  • Age and sex
  • Education
  • Families, households and marital status
  • Housing
  • Immigration and ethnocultural diversity
  • Income
  • Labour
  • Language
  • Language of work
  • Mobility and migration

Percentage of Census of Population analytical products and insights relevant to GBA+ and made available on Statistics Canada's website

Description: This indicator measures the percentage of Census of Population products and insights (e.g., data tables, census profile, highlight tables) relevant to GBA+ released through The Daily and made available on the Statistics Canada website. GBA+ factors used to calculate this indicator include one or more of the following: age, sex, language, Indigenous peoples, education, immigration, income, etc.

 100% Statistics Canada website All Census of Population products include one or more GBA+ factors.

Number of GBA+ factors for which Census of Agriculture statistical products are disaggregated

Description: This indicator measures the number of GBA+ factors for which the Census of Agriculture statistical products are made available on Statistics Canada's website.

 11 factors Statistics Canada website

Factors included are:

  • Sex
  • Language
  • Geography
  • Income
  • Age
  • Education
  • Indigenous peoples
  • Immigration status
  • Employment class
  • Operating arrangement (e.g., ownership)
  • Capital

Percentage of key users and clients satisfied with the level of detail in the census statistical products.

Description: This indicator measures the overall satisfaction of key users and clients with the level of detail available in the census statistical products they used. The level of detail is not exclusive to GBA+ factors. The question is answered on a five-point satisfaction scale (very dissatisfied, dissatisfied, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, satisfied, and very satisfied). Only the responses of satisfied and very satisfied are included in the result.

 75% Census Dissemination Consultation None

Other:

The 2021 Census of Population added and modified more than 30 questions that measure concepts such as immigration, language group, ethnic origin and visible minority status, as well as new questions for Métis and Inuit. These indicators allow for robust intersectional analysis across all key identity characteristics, age groups and geographies.

Supplementary information sources:

2021 Census questionnaires

GBA+ data collection plan:

In 2020–21, Statistics Canada continued to identify and address data gaps across its statistical programs. Statistics Canada responded by enhancing existing survey programs and integrating data sources to enable reporting on key population groups. Measures taken included integrating existing data sources, developing new survey questions, oversampling key population groups to allow for disaggregation and adding indicators to existing surveys.

Statistics Canada is currently developing a set of key performance indicators to measure the availability of disaggregated data relevant to GBA+ and exploring the possibility of measuring the relevance and impact of the data.

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Program name: Centres of Expertise

The Centres of Expertise support all Statistics Canada programs to ensure that Canadian citizens, businesses, governments, universities and other institutions have access to the most detailed, timely and accurate information at the lowest cost possible—both in terms of dollars and response burden—while protecting the privacy of their information. The Centres undertake innovative research, analysis and data development activities and continually seek new data sources, leading-edge methods and systems, cost-effective operations, and new statistical products to address the current and future information needs of Canadians.

Target population: All Canadians

Key impacts:

Census Program: Key impacts
Performance indicators Observed results Data source Comment
Availability of analytical products relevant to GBA+ produced by Statistics Canada's Centres of Expertise

Number of Centres of Expertise analytical products and insights relevant to GBA+ and made available on Statistics Canada's website

Description: This indicator measures the number of Centres of Expertise analytical products and insights (e.g., research articles, studies, fact sheets) relevant to GBA+ released through The Daily and made available on the Statistics Canada website. GBA+ factors used to calculate this indicator include one or more of the following: sex or gender, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, people with disabilities, immigrants, people who identify as LGBTQ2+ and those living in rural areas.

 63 Statistics Canada website None

Other:

In 2020–21, as part of the agency's commitment to make GBA+ disaggregated data available to Canadians, the Centres of Expertise program had the following key developments:

  • Sustainable development goals:

    Statistics Canada updated data for the Global Indicator Framework, which includes disaggregation and published 17 fact sheets. Additionally, to monitor progress on national priorities, Statistics Canada developed and released the Canadian Indicator Framework, which includes 76 indicators and GBA+-relevant disaggregation.

  • Economic analysis focused on statistical information on private enterprises by gender of primary owner, age of primary owner and enterprise size. Statistics on hours worked, labour compensation and other labour market information by gender, education, age, and paid versus self-employed were updated and used for calculating the contribution of labour skills to productivity and economic growth.
  • Health analysis: The 2016 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort was updated with deaths from 2016 to 2019 to allow the use of detailed information (e.g., age, sex, ethnicity). In addition, four GBA+-relevant papers using an immigration lens or a quality-of-life lens were published. Other reports completed include hospitalizations and mortality among immigrant men and women, among Indigenous men and women, and, in some instances, among various ethnic groups.

  • Social analysis: The Centres further developed income-tax-related data sources in terms of data validation, additional linkage feasibility, and the retrospective addition of a gender variable to files (1983 to 2018). New indicators were developed to measure multi-dimensional income mixing and distribution at the neighbourhood level, and social inclusion across a set of economic, social and health variables.

    A number of intersectional research projects that examined the gender pay gap, economic and labour market trends among diverse groups, and educational and social outcomes such as life satisfaction of women, racialized groups, seniors, youth, and immigrants were published.

    As part of Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy, two research projects were completed on the economic participation of racialized groups, including differences in weekly earnings of men and women in designated visible minority categories and differences across broad workplace sectors (e.g., private versus public, large versus small firms).

  • Social Policy Simulation Database and Model: Three COVID-19-specific versions of the Social Policy Simulation Database and Model were released. The models allow users to analyze the distributional effects of tax and transfer policies across a number of dimensions, including gender.

Supplementary information sources:

Sustainable Development Goals Data Hub

GBA+ data collection plan:

In 2020–21, Statistics Canada continued to identify and address data gaps across its statistical programs. Statistics Canada responded by enhancing existing survey programs and integrating data sources to enable reporting on key population groups. Measures taken included integrating existing data sources, developing new survey questions, oversampling key population groups to allow for disaggregation and adding indicators to existing surveys.

Statistics Canada is currently developing a set of key performance indicators to measure the availability of disaggregated data relevant to GBA+ and exploring the possibility of measuring the relevance and impact of the data.

Section 3: Program links to Gender Results Framework

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Program links to Gender Results Framework
Program name Education and skills development Economic participation and prosperity Leadership and democratic participation Gender-based violence and access to justice Poverty reduction, health and well-being Gender equality around the worldTable note 1
Economic and Environmental Statistics No No Yes No No No
Socio-economic Statistics Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Cost-recovered Statistical Services Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Census Program Yes No No No Yes No
Centres of Expertise Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Table note 1

Statistics Canada disseminates Gender Results Framework indicators via the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub. At present, Statistics Canada does not report on indicators related to gender equality around the world.

Return to table note 1 referrer

Section 4: Program links to Quality of Life Framework

Core responsibility: Statistical information

Program links to Quality of Life Framework
  Prosperity Health Environment Society Good governance
Economic and Environmental Statistics Yes No Yes No Yes
Socio-economic Statistics Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Cost-recovered Statistical ServicesTable note 1 Yes No No No Yes
Census ProgramTable note 2 Yes Yes No Yes No
Centres of Expertise Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Table note 1

Further examination is required to assess the feasibility of using cost-recovered statistical services to produce health-, environment- and society-related indicators within the Quality of Life Framework.

Return to table note 1 referrer

Table note 2

Further examination is required to assess the feasibility of using the Census of Population or Census of Agriculture to produce environment-related indicators within the Quality of Life Framework.

Return to table note 2 referrer

Response to parliamentary committees and external audits

Response to parliamentary committees

There were no parliamentary committee reports requiring a response in 2020–21.

Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

There were no audits in 2020–21 requiring a response.

Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

There were no audits in 2020–21 requiring a response.

Federal 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 and evaluations and GBA+ of tax expenditures.

Catalogue no. 11-628-X
ISSN 2368-1160

Departmental Results Report 2020-2021 (PDF, 1.53 MB)

Table of contents

Appendix: definitions

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, organizations 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 priority (priorité ministérielle)
A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.
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.
experimentation (expérimentation)
The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works, for whom and in what circumstances. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.
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+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.
government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2020–21 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government's agenda in the 2019 Speech from the Throne, namely, fighting climate change, strengthening the middle class, walking the road of reconciliation, keeping Canadians safe and healthy, and positioning Canada for success in an uncertain world.
horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare with what the organization 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 an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.
plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization 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 Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. Determining 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.
respendable revenues (revenus disponibles)
A type of revenue that, once received, increases the departmental spending authority. A department requires specific authority from Parliament to respend revenues. Respending authority is derived from the Financial Administration Act (FAA), subsection 29.1(1); the FAA and an Appropriation Act, subsection 29.1(2); legislation specific to a department (e.g., enabling and/or program); or other specific legislation.
result (résultat)
A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization'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.
synthetic data (données synthétiques)
Stochastically generated data with analytical value geared towards data protection and disclosure control
target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified 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.
web panel (panel en ligne)
Access panel of people willing to respond to web questionnaires.
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