Enhancements to the publication of core inflation measures based on the trimmed mean (CPI-trim) and the weighted median (CPI-median) 2023

With the release of the January 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) on February 21, the CPI-trim and CPI-median have been revised back 84 months as per their normal revision policy. Two enhancements have been made at this time:

  1. Statistics Canada has published, for the first time, index-level data series for CPI-trim and CPI-median to accompany the year-over-year figures published monthly since December 2016.
  2. The seasonal adjustment treatment of step-series indexes that are used in the calculation of the CPI-trim and CPI-median has been enhanced as part of the regular review of methodologies.

Statistics Canada is responsible for both these aspects of the core inflation measures, along with their calculation. The Bank of Canada has been advised of the changes, as they set out the methodology for the measures.

These enhancements have no impact on the All-items CPI, seasonally adjusted All-items CPI, or the CPI-common.

Why are index levels now being published for the CPI-trim and CPI-median?

Statistics Canada continually strives to provide the data Canadians need, when they need them, and how they want them. Our users have told us that these data provide more flexibility. The new index-level data allow users to calculate the year-over-year percentage change themselves, along with the changes over any other reference period, including monthly and quarterly, which was previously not possible, nor available.

It should be noted that calculating the year-over-year percentage change using the rounded, published index values could result in slight differences compared to the published year-over-year percentage change, due to the latter figure's calculation prior to index rounding.

Where are the index-level data published?

Index-level data series for CPI-trim and CPI-median have been published in Table: 18-10-0256-01, Consumer Price Index (CPI) statistics, measures of core inflation and other related statistics - Bank of Canada definitions, and Table: 18-10-0259-01, Historical (real-time) releases of Consumer Price Index (CPI) statistics, measures of core inflation - Bank of Canada definitions. The index series are available back to January 1989. The index base period is January 1989=100.

Data currently published for these measures in the form of year-over-year percent changes continue to be published, along with CPI-common, the third Bank of Canada's preferred measure of core inflation.

Why has the seasonal adjustment process been enhanced?

The enhancement is part of Statistics Canada's regular review of methodologies that ensures techniques are improved to produce the most accurate indicators as possible for users. The seasonal adjustment process remains unchanged for the majority of the seasonally adjusted series; seasonal adjustment treatment has been enhanced for 15 of the 43 seasonally adjusted input series – those identified as step series – with one of the step series having already been treated in the enhanced manner. This enhancement aims to avoid potential under- and over-estimation of price change that can be caused by treating index movements of step series as outliers in the seasonal adjustment process. Such changes are best made at the time of annual revision of seasonal adjustment options to avoid creating breaks in series that might then interfere with regular, annual evaluation and modification of seasonal adjustment parameters.

Table 1: Distribution of the core measures input components with respect to seasonal adjustment and step series pattern
  Not currently seasonally adjusted Currently seasonally adjusted Total
Non-step series 11 27 38
Step series 1 16Tablenote 1 17
Total 12 43 55
Tablenote 1

The enhancement has been applied for the first time to 15 of these 16 series, with one having already been treated in this manner previously.

Return to tablenote 1 referrer

What is the enhancement to seasonal adjustment?

The seasonal adjustment process for most series contains two main components: (1) the identification and treatment of outliers, including adjustments for calendar effects when holidays or the number of days between months is not equal and may affect trends in the indicator, and (2) the application of various filters to remove seasonal patterns to parse out underlying economic trends that are not influenced by seasonality – essentially, a trend-smoothing process. Going forward, indexes that display a step series pattern, and that were undergoing the full seasonal adjustment process, will only be subjected to the second component, the trend-smoothing process; this ensures that non-seasonal movements of these series are further captured through the process and more accurately reflected in the CPI-trim and CPI-median indicators.

In the context of price indexes, a step series can be any series that displays periods of flatness, followed by sudden price change, creating a step-like appearance in the charted index over time. It can be evident in the prices of products or services that are collected or may change infrequently (annually or quarterly) or regularly priced series whose movements are stable, followed by periodic larger movements. Examples of step-series subcomponents of the CPI are illustrated in chart 1.

Description: Chart 1 - Examples of step series in the Consumer Price Index, Canada, January 2015 to December 2022
Chart 1
Examples of step series in the Consumer Price Index, Canada, January 2015 to December 2022
  Property taxes and other special charges Local and commuter transportation Health care services Education
Index (2002=100)
2015 Jan. 148.3 150.7 152.3 154.8
Feb. 148.3 150.7 152.3 154.8
Mar. 148.3 150.7 152.4 154.9
Apr. 148.3 150.7 155.3 154.9
May 148.3 150.7 155.3 154.9
Jun. 148.3 150.7 155.3 154.9
Jul. 148.3 152.8 155.4 154.9
Aug. 148.3 152.8 155.4 154.9
Sep. 148.3 152.8 155.7 159.4
Oct. 152.7 152.8 155.7 159.4
Nov. 152.7 152.8 155.8 159.4
Dec. 152.7 152.8 155.8 159.5
2016 Jan. 152.7 153.7 155.8 159.5
Feb. 152.7 153.7 155.8 159.5
Mar. 152.7 153.7 155.9 159.5
Apr. 152.7 153.7 158.6 159.5
May 152.7 153.7 158.6 159.5
Jun. 152.7 153.7 158.6 159.6
Jul. 152.7 154.5 158.6 159.3
Aug. 152.7 154.5 158.6 159.2
Sep. 152.7 154.5 159.8 163.3
Oct. 156.9 154.5 159.8 163.5
Nov. 156.9 154.5 159.8 163.5
Dec. 156.9 154.5 159.8 163.4
2017 Jan. 156.9 156.2 159.8 163.2
Feb. 156.9 156.2 159.8 163.1
Mar. 156.9 156.2 159.9 163.1
Apr. 156.9 156.2 163.9 163.1
May 156.9 156.2 163.9 163.1
Jun. 156.9 156.2 163.9 163.1
Jul. 156.9 156.7 163.9 163.1
Aug. 156.9 156.7 163.9 163
Sep. 156.9 156.7 164.6 167.6
Oct. 161.3 156.7 164.6 167.7
Nov. 161.3 156.7 164.6 167.7
Dec. 161.3 156.7 164.6 167.7
2018 Jan. 161.3 157.4 164.6 167.8
Feb. 161.3 157.4 164.6 167.8
Mar. 161.3 157.4 164.8 167.8
Apr. 161.3 157.4 166.6 167.8
May 161.3 157.4 166.6 167.8
Jun. 161.3 157.4 166.6 167.8
Jul. 161.3 158.7 166.7 167.8
Aug. 161.3 158.7 166.7 167.7
Sep. 161.3 158.7 167.1 172.2
Oct. 163.6 158.7 167.1 172.3
Nov. 163.6 158.7 167.2 172.3
Dec. 163.6 158.7 167.2 172.4
2019 Jan. 163.6 159.2 167.2 172.5
Feb. 163.6 159.2 167.2 172.5
Mar. 163.6 159.2 167.3 172.6
Apr. 163.6 159.2 171.1 172.5
May 163.6 159.2 171.1 172.5
Jun. 163.6 159.2 171.1 172.5
Jul. 163.6 161.9 171.3 172.4
Aug. 163.6 161.9 171.3 172.2
Sep. 163.6 161.9 171.8 167.3
Oct. 167.2 161.9 171.8 167.6
Nov. 167.2 161.9 171.8 167.5
Dec. 167.2 161.9 171.8 167.6
2020 Jan. 167.2 165.9 171.8 167.8
Feb. 167.2 165.9 171.8 167.8
Mar. 167.2 165.9 172 167.8
Apr. 167.2 165.9 174.3 167.8
May 167.2 165.9 174.3 167.9
Jun. 167.2 166 174.3 167.9
Jul. 167.2 166.7 174.6 167.7
Aug. 167.2 166.5 174.6 167.5
Sep. 167.2 166.5 177.2 170.3
Oct. 170.3 166.4 177.2 170.7
Nov. 170.3 166.4 177.4 170.7
Dec. 170.3 166.4 177.4 170.7
2021 Jan. 170.3 167.9 177.4 171
Feb. 170.3 167.9 177.4 171
Mar. 170.3 167.9 177.5 171.1
Apr. 170.3 167.9 183.5 171.1
May 170.3 167.9 183.5 171.1
Jun. 170.3 167.9 183.5 171
Jul. 170.3 161.8 183.7 170.8
Aug. 170.3 161.8 183.7 170.6
Sep. 170.3 161.8 184.3 173.9
Oct. 172.8 161.8 184.3 174.3
Nov. 172.8 161.8 184.3 174.3
Dec. 172.8 161.8 184.3 174.4
2022 Jan. 172.8 162.7 184.3 174.3
Feb. 172.8 162.8 184.3 174.4
Mar. 172.8 162.7 184.4 174.3
Apr. 172.8 162.1 191.8 174.4
May 172.8 162.1 191.8 174.5
Jun. 172.8 162.1 191.8 174.4
Jul. 172.8 165.1 191.8 174
Aug. 172.8 165.1 191.8 173.8
Sep. 172.8 166.8 194.5 178.4
Oct. 179 167.3 194.5 178.7
Nov. 179 167.3 194.5 178.7
Dec. 179 167.3 194.5 178.7
Source: Statistics Canada, table 18-10-0004-01 - Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted.

What is the impact of the enhancement?

An analysis was conducted using the data released for the December 2022 core measures. Over the 84-month revision period, the impact of the modification to the seasonal adjustment method for step series varied on a monthly basis between -0.028 and +0.092 percentage points for the CPI-trim, and between -0.140 and +0.370 percentage points for the CPI-median. As illustrated in charts 2-4, The overall trends remained unchanged.

There is no impact on the All-items CPI, All-items CPI (seasonally adjusted) or the CPI-common.

It is important to note that the All-items CPI not seasonally adjusted series (Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted) is not revised, nor seasonally adjusted, and therefore is not subject to the revisions detailed above.

The All-items CPI seasonally adjusted series (Consumer Price Index, monthly, seasonally adjusted) is also not affected by this enhancement because seasonal adjustment is performed at a higher level than the 55 CPI component-inputs to the core measures, following the aggregation of indexes that are not seasonally adjusted. Seasonal adjustment is performed on the All-items CPI, in addition to the  eight major components, independently, for which traditional seasonal adjustment methods are optimal in the absence of step-series patterns.

The CPI-common measure of core inflation does not use seasonally adjusted data, and is thus not affected by the change.

Impact analysis charts

Chart 2 - Impact on CPI-trim of enhanced seasonal adjustment of step series, December 2015 to December 2022
Description: Chart 2 - Impact on CPI-trim of enhanced seasonal adjustment of step series, December 2015 to December 2022
Chart 2
Impact on CPI-trim of enhanced seasonal adjustment of step series, December 2015 to December 2022
  CPI-trim, current CPI-trim, enhanced seasonal adjustment
12-month % change
2015 Dec. 1.798921 1.800643
2016 Jan. 1.796617 1.799190
Feb. 1.772121 1.764928
Mar. 1.809152 1.804864
Apr. 1.952497 1.944652
May 1.960286 1.957635
Jun. 1.990498 1.986186
Jul. 1.905163 1.905628
Aug. 1.848476 1.853151
Sep. 1.848813 1.853213
Oct. 1.789098 1.799292
Nov. 1.559545 1.573039
Dec. 1.571893 1.580595
2017 Jan. 1.585164 1.586950
Feb. 1.514567 1.509918
Mar. 1.372983 1.367215
Apr. 1.333282 1.330765
May 1.235565 1.228044
Jun. 1.223923 1.217442
Jul. 1.306557 1.298094
Aug. 1.365388 1.358202
Sep. 1.362903 1.362886
Oct. 1.403123 1.404992
Nov. 1.688048 1.691929
Dec. 1.745262 1.741364
2018 Jan. 1.802465 1.797627
Feb. 1.966788 1.967619
Mar. 1.858894 1.868355
Apr. 1.934701 1.940951
May 1.816595 1.827392
Jun. 1.926166 1.934108
Jul. 1.976225 1.980156
Aug. 2.044910 2.051745
Sep. 1.949687 1.951019
Oct. 1.991952 1.997794
Nov. 1.853315 1.861428
Dec. 1.877490 1.884054
2019 Jan. 1.841715 1.853573
Feb. 1.930141 1.934278
Mar. 2.174784 2.168455
Apr. 1.998460 1.995482
May 2.186265 2.177439
Jun. 2.029293 2.017583
Jul. 2.015597 2.004818
Aug. 1.965489 1.953355
Sep. 2.022138 2.008404
Oct. 2.024671 2.012853
Nov. 2.124468 2.110340
Dec. 2.003229 1.992085
2020 Jan. 2.020303 2.004573
Feb. 1.936249 1.926248
Mar. 1.808957 1.780521
Apr. 1.819903 1.794826
May 1.594422 1.572336
Jun. 1.784051 1.763843
Jul. 1.666054 1.647988
Aug. 1.648049 1.635453
Sep. 1.713201 1.713946
Oct. 1.813752 1.816431
Nov. 1.841874 1.845841
Dec. 1.776275 1.797217
2021 Jan. 1.854619 1.886161
Feb. 1.888431 1.925423
Mar. 2.060559 2.093048
Apr. 2.316445 2.344129
May 2.607608 2.646845
Jun. 2.600015 2.646973
Jul. 3.023349 3.078551
Aug. 3.246401 3.289678
Sep. 3.422735 3.453382
Oct. 3.410778 3.435752
Nov. 3.424953 3.449884
Dec. 3.772249 3.820751
2022 Jan. 4.008979 4.061422
Feb. 4.324719 4.382364
Mar. 4.752281 4.829291
Apr. 5.076781 5.168717
May 5.428157 5.505363
Jun. 5.544976 5.628756
Jul. 5.456757 5.537062
Aug. 5.267646 5.338828
Sep. 5.298619 5.374260
Oct. 5.337995 5.422819
Nov. 5.431233 5.508166
Dec. 5.259411 5.319893
Source: Consumer Prices program.
Chart 3 - Impact on CPI-median of enhanced seasonal adjustment for step series, December 2015 to December 2022
Description: Chart 3 - Impact on CPI-median of enhanced seasonal adjustment for step series, December 2015 to December 2022
Chart 3
Impact on CPI-median of enhanced seasonal adjustment for step series, December 2015 to December 2022
  CPI-median, current CPI-median, enhanced seasonal adjustment
12-month % change
2015 Dec. 2.054765 2.054765
2016 Jan. 1.977707 1.977707
Feb. 2.008347 1.999595
Mar. 2.028980 2.015468
Apr. 2.137827 2.124301
May 2.152824 2.109574
Jun. 2.161842 2.118588
Jul. 2.026714 2.040895
Aug. 1.972626 1.971713
Sep. 2.066314 2.076776
Oct. 2.065377 2.075839
Nov. 1.908945 1.919391
Dec. 1.881307 1.891750
2017 Jan. 1.898461 1.874690
Feb. 1.811288 1.796270
Mar. 1.700217 1.689960
Apr. 1.639477 1.642173
May 1.570418 1.591766
Jun. 1.552191 1.573535
Jul. 1.689544 1.673727
Aug. 1.732561 1.731786
Sep. 1.629374 1.617274
Oct. 1.604297 1.592200
Nov. 1.748889 1.736775
Dec. 1.771562 1.741779
2018 Jan. 1.823477 1.827866
Feb. 1.916134 1.920528
Mar. 1.899578 1.903971
Apr. 1.947955 1.890312
May 1.866856 1.820194
Jun. 1.913452 1.866769
Jul. 1.931949 1.853830
Aug. 1.945540 1.867411
Sep. 1.935439 1.858911
Oct. 1.970718 1.895141
Nov. 1.837997 1.768641
Dec. 1.842719 1.753373
2019 Jan. 1.822566 1.733237
Feb. 1.919356 1.829942
Mar. 2.046098 1.956574
Apr. 1.951358 1.881618
May 2.047899 1.980765
Jun. 2.041170 1.924034
Jul. 2.007940 1.902230
Aug. 1.990089 1.888033
Sep. 1.998629 1.894970
Oct. 2.014509 1.909857
Nov. 2.116959 2.011684
Dec. 2.040239 1.972770
2020 Jan. 2.072201 1.957133
Feb. 2.038270 1.908623
Mar. 1.944614 1.804732
Apr. 2.029569 1.894745
May 1.864151 1.777421
Jun. 1.903086 1.864265
Jul. 1.867345 1.828538
Aug. 1.880555 1.866829
Sep. 2.028321 2.014574
Oct. 2.046446 2.133852
Nov. 2.028868 2.110632
Dec. 2.050305 2.105705
2021 Jan. 2.104615 2.200554
Feb. 2.087020 2.176978
Mar. 2.177171 2.277610
Apr. 2.227432 2.345522
May 2.509732 2.599735
Jun. 2.593902 2.686006
Jul. 2.754149 2.909340
Aug. 2.964052 3.063700
Sep. 2.996702 3.096381
Oct. 2.970442 3.000204
Nov. 3.039351 3.069133
Dec. 3.300336 3.376876
2022 Jan. 3.480396 3.564328
Feb. 3.744460 3.963352
Mar. 4.125091 4.344786
Apr. 4.574449 4.801917
May 4.852742 5.068521
Jun. 4.912719 5.199994
Jul. 4.999449 5.309737
Aug. 4.803241 5.128372
Sep. 4.801767 5.172303
Oct. 4.948436 5.308136
Nov. 5.133249 5.493582
Dec. 5.039350 5.390177
Source: Consumer Prices program.
Chart 4 - Differences due to enhanced seasonal adjustment for step series are smaller and more stable for CPI-trim than for CPI-median
Description: Chart 4 - Differences due to enhanced seasonal adjustment for step series are smaller and more stable for CPI-trim than for CPI-median
Chart 4
Differences due to enhanced seasonal adjustment for step series are smaller and more stable for CPI-trim than for CPI-median
  CPI-trim, enhanced seasonal adjustment - current CPI-median, enhanced seasonal adjustment - current
% point difference between year-over-year growth rates, enhanced method minus current
2015 Dec. 0.001722 -0.00000011
2016 Jan. 0.002573 -0.00000016
Feb. -0.007193 -0.008751
Mar. -0.004288 -0.013512
Apr. -0.007845 -0.013526
May -0.002651 -0.043250
Jun. -0.004312 -0.043254
Jul. 0.000465 0.014181
Aug. 0.004675 -0.000913
Sep. 0.004400 0.010462
Oct. 0.010194 0.010462
Nov. 0.013494 0.010446
Dec. 0.008701 0.010443
2017 Jan. 0.001786 -0.023770
Feb. -0.004649 -0.015017
Mar. -0.005768 -0.010258
Apr. -0.002518 0.002696
May -0.007520 0.021348
Jun. -0.006481 0.021344
Jul. -0.008463 -0.015817
Aug. -0.007186 -0.000775
Sep. -0.000017 -0.012100
Oct. 0.001869 -0.012097
Nov. 0.003880 -0.012114
Dec. -0.003898 -0.029783
2018 Jan. -0.004839 0.004390
Feb. 0.000831 0.004394
Mar. 0.009461 0.004393
Apr. 0.006251 -0.057643
May 0.010798 -0.046662
Jun. 0.007942 -0.046683
Jul. 0.003931 -0.078119
Aug. 0.006835 -0.078129
Sep. 0.001332 -0.076528
Oct. 0.005842 -0.075577
Nov. 0.008114 -0.069356
Dec. 0.006564 -0.089346
2019 Jan. 0.011858 -0.089328
Feb. 0.004138 -0.089413
Mar. -0.006329 -0.089525
Apr. -0.002978 -0.069740
May -0.008826 -0.067134
Jun. -0.011711 -0.117136
Jul. -0.010779 -0.105711
Aug. -0.012134 -0.102056
Sep. -0.013734 -0.103659
Oct. -0.011818 -0.104653
Nov. -0.014128 -0.105275
Dec. -0.011145 -0.067469
2020 Jan. -0.015730 -0.115068
Feb. -0.010000 -0.129647
Mar. -0.028436 -0.139882
Apr. -0.025077 -0.134824
May -0.022086 -0.086730
Jun. -0.020207 -0.038821
Jul. -0.018066 -0.038807
Aug. -0.012596 -0.013727
Sep. 0.000745 -0.013747
Oct. 0.002679 0.087406
Nov. 0.003967 0.081764
Dec. 0.020942 0.055400
2021 Jan. 0.031542 0.095939
Feb. 0.036992 0.089958
Mar. 0.032489 0.100439
Apr. 0.027684 0.118089
May 0.039237 0.090003
Jun. 0.046958 0.092104
Jul. 0.055202 0.155191
Aug. 0.043277 0.099648
Sep. 0.030647 0.099680
Oct. 0.024974 0.029762
Nov. 0.024930 0.029782
Dec. 0.048502 0.076540
2022 Jan. 0.052443 0.083931
Feb. 0.057645 0.218892
Mar. 0.077010 0.219695
Apr. 0.091936 0.227468
May 0.077206 0.215778
Jun. 0.083780 0.287274
Jul. 0.080306 0.310288
Aug. 0.071182 0.325131
Sep. 0.075642 0.370535
Oct. 0.084824 0.359700
Nov. 0.076933 0.360333
Dec. 0.060482 0.350827
Source: Consumer Prices program.

For more information, please see section "revisions and seasonal adjustment" of Consumer Price Index: The Bank of Canada's Preferred Measures of Core Inflation Methodology Document (statcan.gc.ca) or A Comprehensive Evaluation of Measures of Core Inflation for Canada - Bank of Canada. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at (statcan.cpddisseminationunit-dpcunitedediffusion.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).

Amendment to the Employee Wellness Surveys and Pulse Check Surveys PIA - Supplemental Assessment of the Hard-to-Reach Populations Internal Pilot

Introduction

This is a Supplemental assessment related to the activities originally assessed in the Employee Wellness Surveys and Pulse Check Surveys (EWS) Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA).

Objective

A privacy impact assessment for the Hard-to-Reach Populations Internal Pilot was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues with this activity and, if so, to make recommendations for their resolution or mitigation.

Description

Statistics Canada's Hard-to-Reach Populations (H2RP) internal pilot component of the EWS aims to gain insight into the factors that contributed to nonresponse by employees who could have participated in the November and December 2021 collection of the EWS, but who chose not to do so. The EWS program is comprised of a main survey and series of pulse check surveys administered to the employees of StatCan, all conducted under the Financial Administration Act (FAA). It was conceived to help assess and improve employee wellness across the agency, but the recent survey only achieved an estimated 56% response rate. The H2RP internal pilot will follow-up with a small sample of the EWS nonrespondents using a respondent-driven sampling (RDS) methodology in order to reach employees who are reluctant, or who do not tend, to respond to more-traditional survey approaches. Short personal interviews will be conducted by the Consultative Engagement (CE) team from Stakeholder Relations and Engagement. Participants will be encouraged and told how to recruit more participants from amongst their peers, who will in turn contact the CE team in order to schedule an appointment for an interview to be conducted.

The pilot addresses an HR business need (program-related policy updates to motivate nonrespondents - in this case, employees - to respond to future surveys) by using respondent-driven sampling to reach and convince EWS nonrespondents to participate.

To address the new focus, the following activities will be carried out:

  1. Hard-to-Reach Populations pilot
    The pilot targets nonrespondents from the EWS. Each participant will complete a short 15-minute personal interview before being provided with a "coupon-code" and asked to pass it on to three of their colleagues. In turn, those secondary (recruited) individuals will also be asked to do the same until the respondent-driven sampling activity concludes. The follow-up study targets 300 participants over six to eight waves with the expectation that the realized sample reaches a point of pseudo-randomness. In addition to the content related specifically to nonresponse, the study questionnaire will collect demographic information, a self-assessment by participants of how many peers are in their "personal network", and a number of wellness indicators (as asked in the EWS). The demographic and held-over wellness items will be used, respectively, to assess the realized sample's randomness and to gauge the relationship between the EWS survey topic and nonresponse.
  2. EWS follow-up and use of results
    Through the follow-up questionnaire, the business needs as they pertain to survey nonresponse will be investigated. These business needs target barriers to and facilitators of survey response that may, respectively, hinder or enhance employees' willingness to participate in future survey-based research (e.g., the second iteration of the EWS or other internal surveys).
    The business needs to be addressed are related to identifying factors that are psychosocial in nature (e.g., workload, burn-out) and those that are not (e.g., inadequate explanation of the purpose of the survey, benefits of completing the survey). As such, personal interviews will include questions aimed at investigating various barriers and facilitators which nonrespondents may have encountered, and contributed to their nonresponse to the original survey. Additionally, a limited subset of questions from the original EWS have been included which may be considered psychosocial barriers or facilitators.
    In order to address these business needs, de-identified microdata from the pilot will be used to conduct statistical analyses of differences between responses from participants in the pilot study and previously collected information from respondents to the EWS. Any disaggregation of data will only be considered if the subsamples of interest (e.g., gender) are large enough to mitigate any potential privacy concerns and are amenable to statistical analysis.
    Only aggregate statistical outputs conforming to the confidentiality provisions of what would have been required if the information had been collected under the Statistics Act will be considered for release. Research findings, if disseminated outside of the project team, would be through peer-reviewed academic publications.

Risk Area Identification and Categorization

The PIA identifies the level of potential risk (level 1 is the lowest level of potential risk and level 4 is the highest) associated with the following risk areas:

Risk Area Identification and Categorization

a) Type of program or activity

Risk scale

Program or activity that does not involve a decision about an identifiable individual.

1

b) Type of personal information involved and context

Only personal information, with no contextual sensitivities, collected directly from the individual or provided with the consent of the individual for disclosure under an authorized program.

1

c) Program or activity partners and private sector involvement

Within the institution (among one or more programs within the same institution)

1

d) Duration of the program or activity

Short-term program or activity.

2

e) Program population

The program's use of personal information is not for administrative purposes. Information is collected for statistical purposes, for use by programs operating under the authority of the Statistics Act.

N/A

f) Personal information transmission

The personal information is transmitted using wireless technologies.

4

g) Technology and privacy

No issues identified.

h) Potential risk that in the event of a privacy breach, there will be an impact on the individual or employee.

The risk of privacy breach and the impact on the individual or employee are both low.

i) Potential risk that in the event of a privacy breach, there will be an impact on the institution.

The risk of privacy breach and the impact on the institution are both low.

Conclusion

This assessment of the Supplemental Assessment of Hard-to-Reach Populations Internal Pilot
did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Amendment to the Microsoft 365 PIA

Privacy Impact Assessment Amendment Summary

Introduction

A Privacy Impact Assessment Amendment was conducted to evaluate changes to Microsoft 365.

Objective

An amendment to the privacy impact assessment (PIA) for Microsoft 365 (M365) was conducted to determine if there were any privacy, confidentiality or security issues with changes to this product and, if so, to make recommendations for their resolution or mitigation.

Description

The following amendments shall be applied to the Microsoft 365 PIA (signed by the Chief Statistician October 5, 2021):

  • The M365 Teams application now includes Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) functionality for use by statistical survey operations interviewers in place of traditional telephones to conduct Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI).
  • M365 may now also be used with deemed employees to discuss personal information or statistically sensitive information.
  • Users are no longer being discouraged from completing M365 personal profile information.
  • Sensitive statistical information that could be contained or referenced within M365 could now also include pre-release data.

Risk Area Identification and Categorization

The risk area identification and categorization remains unchanged.

Conclusion

This assessment of changes to Microsoft 365 did not identify any privacy risks that cannot be managed using existing safeguards.

Monthly Survey of Manufacturing: National Weighted Rates by Source and Characteristic - November 2022

National Weighted Rates by Source and Characteristic - October 2022
Table summary
The information is grouped by Sales of goods manufactured, Raw materials and components, Goods / work in process, Finished goods manufactured, Unfilled Orders, Capacity utilization rates (appearing as row headers), and Data source as the first row of column headers, then Response or edited, and Imputed as the second row of column headers, calculated by percentage.
  Data source
Response or edited Imputed
%
Sales of goods manufactured 87.1 12.9
Raw materials and components 73.9 26.1
Goods / work in process 79.7 20.3
Finished goods manufactured 75.2 24.8
Unfilled Orders 85.6 14.4
Capacity utilization rates 71.5 28.5

Monthly Survey of Manufacturing: National Level CVs by Characteristic - November 2022

National Level CVs by Characteristic
Table summary
This table displays the results of Monthly Survey of Manufacturing: National Level CVs by Characteristic. The information is grouped by Month (appearing as row headers), and Sales of goods manufactured, Raw materials and components inventories, Goods / work in process inventories, Finished goods manufactured inventories and Unfilled Orders, calculated in percentage (appearing as column headers).
Month Sales of goods manufactured Raw materials and components inventories Goods / work in process inventories Finished goods manufactured inventories Unfilled Orders
%
November 2021 0.73 1.00 1.62 1.57 1.34
December 2021 0.75 1.01 1.81 1.56 1.46
January 2022 0.78 1.12 1.82 1.85 1.43
February 2022 0.73 1.14 1.64 1.77 1.38
March 2022 0.71 1.13 1.52 1.66 1.44
April 2022 0.69 1.19 1.51 1.62 1.49
May 2022 0.67 1.16 1.54 1.68 1.41
June 2022 0.69 1.15 1.55 1.75 1.44
July 2022 0.70 1.13 1.68 1.47 1.36
August 2022 0.70 1.15 1.79 1.57 1.39
September 2022 0.68 1.07 1.84 1.57 1.48
October 2022 0.68 1.10 1.86 1.54 1.48
November 2022 0.67 1.10 1.67 1.54 1.47

Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales (Third Quarter 2022)

Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales (October 2022)
Table summary
This table displays the results of Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for total sales (third quarter 2022). The information is grouped by NAPCS-CANADA (appearing as row headers), and Quarter (appearing as column headers).
NAPCS-CANADA Quarter
2022Q1 2022Q2 2022Q3
Total commodities, retail trade commissions and miscellaneous services 1.17 0.93 0.58
Retail Services (except commissions) [561] 1.20 0.95 0.57
Food at retail [56111] 0.97 1.66 0.98
Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, at retail [56112] 0.49 0.68 0.54
Cannabis products, at retail [56113] 0.00 0.00 0.00
Clothing at retail [56121] 1.25 2.96 1.45
Footwear at retail [56122] 1.50 2.61 1.69
Jewellery and watches, luggage and briefcases, at retail [56123] 6.58 6.12 4.50
Home furniture, furnishings, housewares, appliances and electronics, at retail [56131] 1.45 1.81 0.89
Sporting and leisure products (except publications, audio and video recordings, and game software), at retail [56141] 1.96 3.25 1.81
Publications at retail [56142] 5.80 7.06 5.96
Audio and video recordings, and game software, at retail [56143] 0.50 1.04 0.44
Motor vehicles at retail [56151] 1.86 1.78 2.04
Recreational vehicles at retail [56152] 3.65 3.02 3.22
Motor vehicle parts, accessories and supplies, at retail [56153] 1.62 1.63 1.59
Automotive and household fuels, at retail [56161] 1.90 1.60 1.51
Home health products at retail [56171] 2.10 2.59 2.74
Infant care, personal and beauty products, at retail [56172] 2.20 3.55 2.18
Hardware, tools, renovation and lawn and garden products, at retail [56181] 2.14 2.08 1.93
Miscellaneous products at retail [56191] 2.00 3.08 2.08
Total retail trade commissions and miscellaneous services Footnotes 1 1.76 1.57 1.70

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Comprises the following North American Product Classification System (NAPCS): 51411, 51412, 53112, 56211, 57111, 58111, 58121, 58122, 58131, 58141, 72332, 833111, 841, 85131 and 851511.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales October 2022

Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales October 2022
Table summary
This table displays the results of Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales (October 2022). The information is grouped by NAPCS-CANADA (appearing as row headers), and Month (appearing as column headers).
NAPCS-CANADA Month
202207 202208 202209 202210
Total commodities, retail trade commissions and miscellaneous services 0.74 0.61 0.67 0.55
Retail Services (except commissions) [561] 0.73 0.61 0.66 0.56
Food at retail [56111] 1.84 0.82 0.52 0.39
Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, at retail [56112] 0.71 0.57 0.53 0.51
Cannabis products, at retail [56113] 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Clothing at retail [56121] 0.88 1.47 2.02 0.84
Footwear at retail [56122] 1.55 2.19 1.60 2.66
Jewellery and watches, luggage and briefcases, at retail [56123] 5.87 5.28 4.56 4.72
Home furniture, furnishings, housewares, appliances and electronics, at retail [56131] 1.02 0.94 0.89 0.91
Sporting and leisure products (except publications, audio and video recordings, and game software), at retail [56141] 1.84 1.92 2.38 2.28
Publications at retail [56142] 5.65 9.82 5.33 5.63
Audio and video recordings, and game software, at retail [56143] 1.00 0.34 0.27 0.46
Motor vehicles at retail [56151] 2.44 2.13 2.51 2.07
Recreational vehicles at retail [56152] 3.71 4.60 4.34 3.97
Motor vehicle parts, accessories and supplies, at retail [56153] 1.81 1.78 1.83 1.66
Automotive and household fuels, at retail [56161] 1.66 1.72 1.47 1.62
Home health products at retail [56171] 2.47 2.66 3.37 2.85
Infant care, personal and beauty products, at retail [56172] 2.03 2.19 2.56 2.56
Hardware, tools, renovation and lawn and garden products, at retail [56181] 2.06 2.09 2.12 1.83
Miscellaneous products at retail [56191] 2.41 2.47 2.25 3.18
Total retail trade commissions and miscellaneous servicesFootnote 1 1.96 1.75 2.03 2.25
Footnote 1

Comprises the following North American Product Classification System (NAPCS): 51411, 51412, 53112, 56211, 57111, 58111, 58121, 58122, 58131, 58141, 72332, 833111, 841, 85131 and 851511.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Place of Residence Information

Q1. Is this your correct address and telephone number?

Select "No" if the address requires any changes (e.g., a spelling mistake or the apartment number is incorrect).

  1. Yes
  2. No (Please correct your address)

Q2. Please correct your address.

  • Apartment or unit (if applicable)
  • Civic number
  • Civic suffix
  • Street name
  • Street type
  • Street direction
  • City, municipality, town, village, First Nations Reserve
  • Province or territory
  • Postal code
  • Telephone number (including area code)
  • Extension number (if applicable)

Q3. Is this also your mailing address?

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q4. Please provide your mailing address.

  • Apartment or unit (if applicable)
  • Civic number
  • Civic suffix
  • Street name
  • Street type
  • Street direction
  • City, municipality, town, village, First Nations Reserve
  • Province or territory
  • Postal code
  • Telephone number (including area code)
  • Extension number (if applicable)

The next questions refer to your household's usual place of residence and collective dwellings. To make sure you are asked the right questions, we need to correctly identify the dwelling in which you live.

Q5. Is the address displayed on the previous screen your household's usual place of residence?

The usual place of residence is the dwelling where a household usually lives and typically corresponds to the address on the driver's licence.

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q6. Does your household live in a collective dwelling?

Include:

  • residences for non-autonomous senior citizens
  • school residences
  • hotels and motels
  • halfway houses
  • work camps
  • camps occupied by military personnel only
  • lodging and rooming houses
  • religious or communal dwelling, e.g., a Hutterite colony and non-religious communes.
  1. Yes
    In which type of collective dwelling does your household live?
    • A residence for non-autonomous senior citizens (dwelling without a kitchenette)
    • A school residence
    • A hotel or a motel (Is this your household's usual place of residence?)
    • A halfway house
    • A work camp
    • A camp occupied by military personnel only
    • A lodging or a rooming house (Was the room number included in the address?)
    • A religious or other communal dwelling, e.g., a Hutterite colony
  2. No

Household Information

The next few questions ask for important information about the people in your household.

Q7. Including yourself, how many persons are staying at this address?

Include all persons who have their main residence at this address, even if they are temporarily away.

Q8. [Please provide your first name, last name, and age./Beginning with yourself, please provide the first name, last name, and age of all the people usually living at this address.]

To add or remove a person, return to the previous question and change the number of persons staying at this address. Review and enter the names of the household members in the table.

Q9. Verify that you are listed first and all of the information is correct.

If all the information is correct, press the Next button.

To make changes, press the Previous button.

Q10. The following section asks questions about each member of your household. Press the Start button to provide the information for each person.

Q11. What is [your/NAME's] date of birth?

Q12. What is [NAME's] relationship to you?

  1. Husband or wife
  2. Common-law partner
  3. Father or mother
  4. Son or daughter (birth, adopted or step)
  5. Brother or sister
  6. Foster father or mother
  7. Foster son or daughter
  8. Grandfather or grandmother
  9. Grandson or granddaughter
  10. In-law
  11. Other related
  12. Unrelated

Q13. What is [your/NAME's] gender?

Gender refers to current gender which may be different from sex assigned at birth and may be different from what is indicated on legal documents. Is it:

  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Or please specify (Specify this person's gender)

Q14. [Is/Are] [NAME's/you] First Nations, Métis or Inuk (Inuit)?

First Nations (North American Indian) includes Status and Non-Status Indians.

If "Yes", select the responses that best describes this person now.

  1. No, not First Nations, Métis or Inuk (Inuit)
  2. Yes, First Nations (North American Indian)
  3. Yes, Métis
  4. Yes, Inuk (Inuit)

Q15. The following question collects information in accordance with the Employment Equity Act and its Regulations and Guidelines to support programs that promote equal opportunity for everyone to share in the social, cultural, and economic life of Canada.

Select all that apply.

[Is NAME's/Are you]:

  1. White
  2. South Asian
    e.g., East Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan
  3. Chinese
  4. Black
  5. Filipino
  6. Arab
  7. Latin American
  8. Southeast Asian
    e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai
  9. West Asian
    e.g., Iranian, Afghan
  10. Korean
  11. Japanese
  12. Other (specify other)

Q16. What is [your/NAME's] marital status?

Is it:

  1. Married
    For Quebec residents only, select the "Married" category if your marital status is "civil union".
  2. Living common law
    Two people who live together as a couple but who are not legally married to each other.
  3. Never married (not living common law)
  4. Separated (not living common law)
  5. Divorced (not living common law)
  6. Widowed (not living common law)

Q17. What is the highest certificate, diploma or degree that [you/NAME's] [have/has] completed?

  1. Less than high school diploma or its equivalent
  2. High school diploma or a high school equivalency certificate
  3. Trade certificate or diploma
  4. College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma (other than trades certificates or diplomas)
  5. University certificate or diploma below the bachelor's level
  6. Bachelor's degree (e.g., B.A., B.A. (Hons), B.Sc., B.Ed., LL.B.)
  7. University certificate, diploma or degree above the bachelor's level

Q18. Currently, what is [your/NAME's] main activity?

Is it:

  1. Working at a job, a business or self-employed
  2. Looking for work
  3. Going to school
  4. Doing household work
  5. Caring for family members including young children
  6. Retired
  7. Experiencing a long term illness or disability
  8. Doing volunteer work
  9. No main activity
  10. Other (Specify the other main activity)

This completes the questions for [HHMEMBER].

Press the Return to Summary button to return to the household members list.

Dwelling Information

The next section refers to the characteristics and tenure of your dwelling.

Q19. In what type of dwelling do you live?

Would you say:

  1. A single detached
  2. A semi-detached or double
    i.e., side by side
  3. A garden home, town house or row house
  4. A duplex
    i.e., one above the other
  5. A low-rise apartment of fewer than 5 stories or a flat
  6. A high-rise apartment of 5 stories or more
  7. A hotel, rooming or lodging house or camp
  8. A mobile home
  9. Other (Specify the other type of dwelling)

Q20. In what year was this dwelling originally built?

If exact year is not known, give your best estimate.

Q21. Is this dwelling in need of any repairs?

Exclude desirable remodelling or additions.

Would you say:

  1. No, only regular maintenance is needed, e.g., painting, furnace cleaning
  2. Yes, minor repairs are needed, e.g., missing or loose floor tiles, bricks or shingles, defective steps, railings or siding
  3. Yes, major repairs are needed, e.g., defective plumbing or electrical wiring, structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings

Q22. How many bedrooms are in this dwelling?

Count all rooms designed as bedrooms, even if they are now used for something else. Also count basement bedrooms and rooms that are used as bedrooms now, even if they were not originally built as bedrooms.

Do not count rooms used solely for business purposes.

Q23. When did [you/your household] move to this dwelling?

Report the first year and month that any current household member moved to the dwelling.

Year, Month

Q24. Is this dwelling owned by a member of this household?

Would you say:

  1. Yes, owned, even if it is still being paid for
  2. No, rented, even if no cash rent is paid

Q25. Is there a mortgage on this dwelling?

Exclude other types of financing.

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q26. If you were to sell this dwelling today, how much would you expect to sell it for?

Q27. How many cellphones [do you/does your household] have?

Exclude cellphones used for work only.

Q28. Which of the following services [do you/does your household] have?

Include services received from telecommunication providers.

Exclude online streaming services, e.g., Netflix, Crave.

Select all that apply.

  1. Landline telephone service Include IP and VOIP services.
  2. Television service
    What type of television services [do you/does your household] have?
    Select all that apply.
    • Cable
    • Satellite dish
    • Phone line or IPTV
    • Fibre-optic
    • Other (Specify the other type of service)
  3. Internet access from your dwelling
    What type of internet connections [do you/does your household] have?
    Select all that apply.
    • Fibre-optic
    • Cable
    • High speed telephone or DSL
    • Dial-up through telephone line
    • Satellite
    • Wireless
      Include Internet access through cellphones, tablets, sticks and fixed wireless connections.
      Exclude wireless routers.
    • Other (Specify the other type of connection)

OR

None of the above

Dwelling Expenses

The survey only collects information about household expenses.

Exclude expenses charged against business or rental income.

The next section refers to mortgage related expenses.

Q29. How many mortgages [do you/does your household] currently have on this dwelling?

Q30. Press the Start button to provide the mortgage information.

Q31. How much was the last regular payment for this mortgage?

Include premiums for mortgage-related insurance and property taxes if they are part of the mortgage payments.

Exclude any irregular or lump sum payments.

Q32. What was the payment frequency?

Was it:

  1. Weekly
  2. Biweekly
  3. Semi-monthly
  4. Monthly
  5. Every two months
  6. Quarterly
  7. Annually
  8. Other (Specify the other payment frequency)

Q33. Were the premiums for mortgage-related insurance included in this mortgage payment?

Mortgage-related insurance includes mortgage life insurance, loan insurance and disability insurance.

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q34. Were the property taxes included in this mortgage payment?

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q35. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], what was the total premium paid for mortgage-related insurance for this mortgage?

Include mortgage life insurance, loan insurance and disability insurance even if included in the mortgage payments.

Q36. What is the balance owing for this mortgage?

Q37. For this mortgage, in which of the following groups is your current balance owing?

Is it:

  1. Less than $25,000
  2. $25,000 to less than $50,000
  3. $50,000 to less than $75,000
  4. $75,000 to less than $100,000
  5. $100,000 to less than $150,000
  6. $150,000 to less than $200,000
  7. $200,000 to less than $250,000
  8. $250,000 to less than $300,000
  9. $300,000 to less than $500,000
  10. $500,000 or more

Q38. What is the amortization period for this mortgage, i.e., the total number of years you agreed to pay off the mortgage in full?

Is it:

  1. Less than 10 years
  2. 10 to 14 years
  3. 15 to 19 years
  4. 20 to 24 years
  5. 25 years
  6. 30 years
  7. 35 years
  8. 40 years
  9. Other (Specify the other amortization period)

This completes the questions for [MORTGAGE]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of mortgages.

[This section refers to other expenses related to this dwelling. The survey only collects information about household expenses. Exclude expenses charged against business or rental income. The next section refers to expenses related to this dwelling.]

Q39. How much was [your/your household's] last payment for the following?

  1. Home insurance
    Payment frequency for home insurance
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  2. Condominium fees
  3. Include strata fees.
  4. Payment frequency for condominium fees
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually

Q40. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Property and school taxes
    Include special service charges and local improvements.
    Include taxes even if included in mortgage payments.
  2. Legal charges related to the dwelling
    Include title searches and title transfers.
  3. Registration fees, renewal fees, early renewal fees or closing penalties associated with mortgages
    Exclude mortgage payments.
  4. Other fees related to the dwelling (Specify the other fees)
    Include:
    • building permits
    • appraisals and inspections
    • surveying fees
    • special assessments for condo owners
    • pad rental for mobile homes.
    The next section refers to the purchase and sale of your principal residences.
    Exclude:
    • purchase and sale of secondary residences
    • dwellings bought or sold solely for business purposes, e.g., dwellings purchased solely for renting
    • dwellings bought or sold for persons who are not household members.

Q41. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how many principal residences did [you/your household] purchase?

Q42. Press the Start button to provide information about the purchase of the residence.

Q43. What was the purchase price of this principal residence?

Exclude adjustments to property taxes and heating oil.

Q44. How much did [you/your household] pay for the land transfer tax, the welcome tax and the land registration fees for this residence?

This completes the questions for [purchased residence]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of residences purchased.

Q45. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how many principal residences did [you/your household] sell?

Q46. Press the Start button to provide information about the sale of the residence.

Q47. What was the selling price of this principal residence?

Q48. How much did [you/your household] pay for real estate commissions for this residence?

Include fixed fees paid to online real estate brokers, e.g., FairSquare, For Sale By Owner, DuProprio.

Report as an amount or a percentage.

  1. Amount
  2. Percentage

At two decimal places, e.g., 4.25%

This completes the questions for [residence sold]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of residences sold.

The survey only collects information about household expenses.

Exclude expenses charged against business or rental income.

The next section refers to expenses related to this dwelling.

Q49. How much was [your/your household's] last payment for the following?

  1. Rent
    Payment frequency for rent
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  2. Tenants' insurance
    Payment frequency for tenants' insurance
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  3. Parking
    Exclude parking included in rent.
    Payment frequency for parking
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually

Q50. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], what additional amounts were paid to the landlord which were not included in regular rent payments, e.g., security deposits?

Q51. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on improvements, renovations, repairs and maintenance for this dwelling?

Exclude amounts reimbursed by the landlord.

Q52. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Legal charges related to the sale of the residence
    Include title searches and title transfers.
  2. Registration fees, renewal fees, early renewal fees or closing penalties associated with mortgages
  3. Other fees related to the sale of the residence (Specify the other fees)
    Include:
    • building permits
    • appraisals and inspections
    • surveying fees.

The next section refers to spending on utilities.

Exclude expenses already included in condo fees and rent payments.

Q53. How much was [your/your household's] last payment for the following?

Exclude rental of heating equipment.

  1. Water and sewage charges
    Include pumping services and water tankers that deliver water and fill water tanks at private homes.
    Payment frequency for water and sewage charges
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  2. Electricity
    Payment frequency for electricity
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  3. Natural gas

    Payment frequency for natural gas

    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually

Q54. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] receive in credits or subsidies to help pay utility bills for the following

Report the total amount received.

Credits and subsidies are funds received from provincial or municipal support programs, energy provider assistance programs, emergency financial assistance or social assistance allowances.

  1. Electricity
  2. Natural gas

Q55. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Propane
    Include propane for barbecues.
  2. Heating oil
  3. Wood and other fuel
    Include wood, charcoal and wood pellets used for heating, cooking or for pleasure, e.g., fireplace.
  4. Rental of heating equipment
    e.g., hot water tank and propane tank
    The next section refers to spending on repairs, maintenance, improvements and renovations.
    Exclude:
    • expenses for vacation homes, secondary residences, rented principal residences and other properties
    • expenses charged against business or rental income.

Q56. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following for [the principal residence which was sold/the current principal residence/all residences including the current principal residence and the principal residence which was sold]?

  1. Repairs and maintenance
    Work to keep the property in working order without improving its quality.
    e.g., painting a fence, replacing a broken windowpane or replacing a furnace filter
  2. Improvements and renovations
    Work that leads to an increase in value and overall quality of the property.
    e.g., adding to the structure, installing a pool, adding a new fence, replacing windows or installing a new furnace

Q57. How much was spent on contract work or hired labour for the following?

Include the cost of materials if they were billed with the labour.

Report as an amount or a percentage.

  1. Repairs and maintenance
    You reported [Q56a].
  2. Improvements and renovations
    You reported [Q56b].

Secondary Residence Expenses

The next section refers to spending on secondary residences and other properties.

Exclude dwellings owned by the household, but rented out for the whole year, as they are considered a business.

Q58. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how many secondary residences did [you/your household] own?

A secondary residence is defined as any other dwelling used by the household as secondary living quarters, e.g., cottages, hobby farms or summer residences.

Include timeshares and properties outside of Canada.

Exclude moveable secondary residences, e.g., trailers or motor homes.

Q59. Press the Start button to provide information about each secondary residence.

Q60. Was this secondary residence purchased in the 12-month period between [12 month reference period]?

  1. Yes (What was the purchase price?)
    If [you are/your household is] not the sole owner of the secondary residence, report only [your/your household's] portion of the expense.
  2. No

Q61. Is there a mortgage on this secondary residence?

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q62. How much was the last regular payment on this mortgage?

Q63. What was the payment frequency?

Was it:

  1. Weekly
  2. Biweekly
  3. Semi-monthly
  4. Monthly
  5. Every two months
  6. Quarterly
  7. Annually
  8. Other (Specify the other payment frequency)

Q64, What is your best estimate of the amount owing on this mortgage?

Q65. What is the amortization period for this mortgage, i.e., the total number of years you agreed to pay off the mortgage in full?

Is it:

  1. Less than 10 years
  2. 10 to 14 years
  3. 15 to 19 years
  4. 20 to 24 years
  5. 25 years
  6. 30 years
  7. 35 years
  8. 40 years
  9. Other (Specify the other amortization period)

Q66. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend for this secondary residence on the following?

Exclude expenses charged against business or rental income.

  1. Property taxes, school taxes, water and sewage charges
  2. Property insurance
  3. Electricity and fuel charges
    Include natural gas and wood.
  4. Home security and communication services
    Include landline telephone, television, satellite radio and Internet.

Q67. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend for this secondary residence on the following?

Exclude expenses charged against business or rental income.

  1. Repairs and maintenance
  2. Improvements and renovations
  3. Other expenses
    Include:
    • condominium and strata fees
    • survey costs
    • timeshare arrangements
    • legal fees
    • mortgage-related insurance premiums.

Exclude snow removal, garbage disposal and groundskeeping services.

This completes the questions for [secondary residence]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of secondary residences.

Q68. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how many secondary residences did [you/your household] sell?

Q69. Press the Start button to provide information about each secondary residence sold.

Q70. What was the selling price?

If [you are/your household is] not the sole owner of the secondary residence, report only [your/your household's] portion of the sale.

Q71. What were the real estate commissions?

Include fixed fees paid to online real estate brokers, e.g., FairSquare, For Sale By Owner, DuProprio.

Report as an amount or a percentage.

  1. Amount
  2. Percentage

At two decimal places, e.g., 4.25%

This completes the questions for [secondary residence sold]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of secondary residences sold.

Other Property Expenses

Q72. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how many other properties did [you/your household] own?

Include land, lots and dwellings owned and not used.

Exclude:

  • principal and secondary residences
  • rental or business property
  • farm property.

Q73. Press the Start button to provide information about the other properties.

Q74. Was this other property purchased in the 12-month period between [12 month reference period]?

  1. Yes (What was the purchase price?)
    If [you are/your household is] not the sole owner of this property, report only [your/your household's] portion of the expense.
  2. No

Q75. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend for this other property on the following?

Exclude expenses charged against business or rental income.

  1. Mortgage payments
  2. Improvements, renovations, repairs and maintenance
  3. Other expenses
    Include:
    • property taxes
    • survey costs
    • appraisal fees
    • utilities.

This completes the questions for [other properties]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of other properties.

Q76. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how many other properties did [you/your household] sell?

Include land, lots and dwellings owned and not used.

Exclude:

  • principal and secondary residences
  • rental or business property
  • farm property.

Q77. Press the Start button to provide information about the other properties sold.

Q78. What was the selling price?

If [you are/your household is] not the sole owner of the secondary residence, report only [your/your household's] portion of the sale.

Q79. What were the real estate commissions?

Include fixed fees paid to online real estate brokers, e.g., FairSquare, For Sale By Owner, DuProprio.

Report as an amount or a percentage.

  1. Amount
  2. Percentage

At two decimal places, e.g., 4.25%

This completes the questions for [other properties sold]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of other properties sold.

Household Furnishings Expenses

The next section refers to spending on household furnishings and equipment.

Include:

  • new and used goods
  • gifts purchased for persons who are not household members
  • purchases for use in principal residences, secondary residences or other properties
  • the total cost of goods purchased even if not fully paid at the time of purchase, e.g., installment plans and "buy now, pay later" agreements
  • taxes, customs duties and any additional charges.

Exclude:

  • purchases for a dwelling rented to another household
  • expenses charged against business or rental income.

Q80. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Furniture for indoor and outdoor use
    Include mattresses, home-made and home-finished furnishings.
    Exclude rental costs.
  2. Rugs, mats and under-padding
    Exclude wall-to-wall carpeting.
  3. Works of art, carvings and other decorative ware
    Include vases, candlesticks, figurines and wall hangings.
    Exclude curtains.

Q81. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following household appliances?

Include built-in appliances.

  1. Refrigerators and freezers
  2. Cooking appliances
    Include stoves, ranges, convection ovens and barbecues.
  3. Microwave ovens
  4. Small appliances
    Include small electric food preparation appliances, e.g., electric grills, toaster ovens, pressure cookers, air fryers, coffee makers, blenders, and bread makers.
  5. Washers, dryers and dishwashers
  6. Air conditioners, portable humidifiers and dehumidifiers
    Exclude central air conditioners and heat pumps.

Q82. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Power lawn, garden and snow removal equipment
    Include mowers, tractors, snowblowers, rotary tillers and hedge trimmers.
  2. Power tools
    Include electric drills, circular saws, sanders, jigsaws, motors and pumps.

Q83. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on rental, maintenance, repair and services for household items?

e.g., services for carpet cleaning, rental of power tools, service agreements for appliances, lawn or snow removal equipment tune-ups and making keys.

Q84. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

Exclude value of equipment when part of a plan with a communications service provider.

  1. Purchase of telephones, cellphones, answering and fax machines
    Include devices only.
  2. Smartwatches, fitness trackers and other wearable technology devices and accessories?
  3. Tablets
    e.g., iPad and Galaxy Tab
  4. E-book readers
    e.g., Kobo and Kindle

Q85. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Portable and non-portable audio equipment and home theatre systems
    Include headphones and smart speakers, e.g., Google Home and Amazon Echo.
    Exclude televisions, DVD and Blu-Ray players.
  2. Cameras, camcorders and drones
    Include parts, accessories and equipment.
  3. Televisions
  4. Video and television components
    Include media streaming players, video recorders, DVD and Blu-Ray players and other related parts and accessories.
    Exclude game consoles.

Q86. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on desktop computers, laptops and other types of computer hardware?

Include accessories, parts and equipment.

Exclude video game consoles and tablet computers.

Q87. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on rental, maintenance, repair and services for electronic equipment?

Include repairs of cellphones, computers, audio and video equipment, configuration and restoration of computers, maintenance, protection or insurance plans offered by telecommunication service providers or electronic devices sellers.

Exclude expenses for communication services.

Communication Service Expenses

The next section refers to spending on home security and communication services.

Communication services include landline telephone, cellphone, pager, television, satellite radio and Internet.

Include services used in your principal residence and rented accommodations, e.g., vacation homes rentals, campgrounds and accommodations rented by household members while away at school or working away from home.

Exclude:

  • services associated with secondary residences and other owned properties
  • services included in rent or condominium fees
  • expenses charged against business or rental income.

Q88. [Do you/Does your household] pay for two or more services together as a package or bundle?

Include:

  • home security services
  • landline telephone
  • cellphone and pager
  • television and satellite radio
  • Internet.
  1. Yes
  2. No

Q89. How many bundles [do you/does your household] have?

Q90. Press the Start button to provide information about each bundle.

Q91. How much was [your/your household's] last payment for [bundle]?

Include:

  • installation
  • service charges
  • long distance charges after discounts
  • equipment rental charges.

Q92. What was the payment frequency for [bundle]?

  1. Monthly
  2. Every two months
  3. Quarterly
  4. Annually

Q93. Which of the following services are included in [bundle]?

Select all that apply.

  • Landline telephone
  • Cellphone and pager
  • Television and satellite radio
  • Internet
  • Home security services

Q94. Are you able to provide the cost of each service included in [bundle]?

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q95. What was the cost of each service included in [bundle]?

  1. Landline telephone
  2. Cellphone and pager
  3. Television and satellite radio
    Include:
    • movie rentals and special events paid to television providers
    • satellite radio for vehicles, e.g., Sirius XM.
  4. Internet
  5. Home security services
    Include monitoring and response.
    Exclude installation charges and equipment, e.g., fire extinguishers and alarm systems.

This completes the questions for [bundle]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of your bundles.

Q96. [Do you/Does your household] pay for additional home security and communication services, e.g., landline telephone, cellphone, pager, television, satellite radio and Internet?

[Remember to include/Include] any payments made for non-household members.

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q97. [Excluding any bundles, how much was/How much was] [your/your household's] last payment for the following services?

[Remember to include/Include] any payments made for non-household members.

Include:

  • service charges
  • long distance charges after discounts
  • equipment rental charges
  • installation charges, except for home security.
  1. Landline telephone
    Payment frequency for landline telephone
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  2. Cellphone and pager
    Payment frequency for cellphone and pager
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  3. Television and satellite radio
    Include:
    • movie rentals and special events paid to television providers
    • satellite radio for vehicles, e.g., Sirius XM.
    Exclude video streaming subscriptions, e.g., Netflix.
    Payment frequency for television and satellite radio
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  4. Internet
    Payment frequency for Internet
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually
  5. Home security services
    Include monitoring and response.
    Exclude installation charges and equipment, e.g., fire extinguishers and alarm systems.
    Payment frequency for home security services
    1. Monthly
    2. Every two months
    3. Quarterly
    4. Annually

Child Care Expenses

The next question refers to spending on child care and children's camps.

Q98. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Child care outside the home
  2. Child care inside the home
    Include occasional babysitting.
  3. Children's camps
    e.g., day camps and summer camps

Regular Expenses

The next section refers to spending on food, beverages, cannabis, cigarettes and gasoline. The reference period is 2 weeks.

Include expenses for all household members.

Include all taxes, tips and delivery fees.

Q99. In the 2-week period between [DT_DAYSTART] and [DT_DAYEND], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Alcoholic beverages purchased in stores
    Include purchases made in liquor stores, beer stores, wine stores and grocery stores.
    Exclude non-alcoholic beer and wine.
  2. Alcoholic beverages purchased in bars, cocktail lounges and restaurants
  3. Food and non-alcoholic beverages purchased from restaurants, vending machines and lunch programs
    Include:
    • home delivery, fast-food restaurants, snack bars, cafeterias, bars, coffee shops and caterers
    • online food ordering services, e.g., Uber Eats and SkipTheDishes.

    Exclude alcoholic beverages.
  4. Food and non-alcoholic beverages purchased in stores and markets
    Include self-made beer and wine.
    Exclude non-food items and alcohol bought with your groceries.
  5. Ready-to-cook meal delivery services
    Include meal kit delivery businesses, e.g., Goodfood, Chefs Plate and HelloFresh.

Q100. In the 2-week period between [DT_DAYSTART] and [DT_DAYEND], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Cannabis for non-medical use
    Include all cannabis products.
    Exclude cannabis prescribed by a doctor.
  2. Cigarettes
    Exclude e-cigarettes.
  3. Other tobacco products and smokers' supplies
    Include e-cigarettes.

Q101. In the 2-week period between [DT_DAYSTART] and [DT_DAYEND], how much did [you/your household] spend on gasoline?

Exclude expenses charged against business income and expenses that will be reimbursed.

Clothing Expenses

The next section refers to spending on clothing and footwear. The reference period is 3 months.

Include:

  • new and second-hand clothing
  • gifts for persons who are not household members
  • purchases for unborn children
  • sales taxes.

Q102. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following footwear categories?

Include shoes, sandals, boots and slippers.

Exclude sport or activity-specific footwear, e.g., running shoes, cleats or skates.

  1. Footwear for women and girls 14 and over
  2. Footwear for men and boys 14 and over
  3. Footwear for children under 14

Q103. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following clothing categories?

Exclude rented clothing.

  1. Clothing for women and girls 14 and over
  2. Clothing for men and boys 14 and over
  3. Clothing for children under 14

Include cloth diapers.

Exclude diaper service.

Q104. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Athletic footwear
    Include running shoes.
    Exclude sport or activity-specific footwear, e.g., skates, cleats, dance shoes, bowling shoes and fisherman's boots.
  2. Accessories
    Include gloves, hats, mitts, purses, ties, belts, wallets and umbrellas.
  3. Watches and other jewellery
    Exclude smartwatches, fitness trackers and other wearable electronic devices.

Q105. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on material used to make clothing, e.g., fabric, knitting yarn, thread and other notions?

Exclude yarn used for crafting and cloth for curtains and furnishings.

Q106. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on coin-operated washers or dryers, dry-cleaning and laundry services?

Include diaper service and self-service dry cleaning.

Exclude disposable items, e.g., diaper liners.

Q107. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on services related to footwear, jewellery and clothing?

Include:

  • tailoring and dressmaking
  • clothing and costume rental
  • clothing repair, alteration and storage
  • purse, shoe, jewellery and watch repair
  • engraving of jewellery.

Health Care Expenses

The next section refers to spending on health care.

Include:

  • direct costs, i.e., out-of-pocket expenses incurred by household members for all personal health care received
  • amounts not covered by insurance, e.g., exclusions, deductibles and expenses over limits.

Exclude payments that have been or will be reimbursed.

Q108. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], what were [your direct costs/the direct costs to members of your household] for the following?

  1. Medicines, drugs and pharmaceutical products prescribed by a doctor
  2. Cannabis for medical use prescribed by a doctor
    Include all cannabis products.
  3. Non-prescribed medicines, drugs and pharmaceutical products
    Include headache and pain remedies, vitamins, herbal and homeopathic remedies.
  4. Non-prescribed eyewear and eye care goods
    Include eyeglass cases and supplies for contact lenses.
  5. Other health care supplies and goods
    Include first aid kits, bandages, thermometers and elastic hosiery.

Q109. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], what were [your direct costs/the direct costs to members of your household] for health care equipment?

Include:

  • CPAP machines
  • hearing aids
  • wheelchairs
  • three or four-wheeled scooters
  • hospital beds
  • patient lifts.

Q110. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], what were [your direct costs/the direct costs to members of your household] for the following?

  1. Prescription eyewear
    Include contact lenses, eyeglasses, frames and insurance on lenses.
  2. Eye care services
    Include eye exams, eye surgery, e.g., laser eye surgery.
  3. Dental care, orthodontics and periodontics

Q111. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], what were [your direct costs/the direct costs to members of your household] for weight control programs, quit-smoking programs and other medical services, e.g., ambulances, rental of medical equipment and laboratory services?

Exclude expenses for weight control and smoking cessation programs in a hospital or from a physician or other health care practitioner.

Q112. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], what were [your direct costs/the direct costs to members of your household] for the following?

  1. Hospital care, nursing homes and other residential care facilities
    Include all charges, e.g., telephone and TV rentals.
  2. General practitioners, family doctors and specialists
    Include uninsured services, e.g., doctor's notes, renewals of prescriptions by phone, tests required for insurance and services received in private clinics.
    Include acupuncture expenses if the acupuncturist is a medical doctor.

Q113. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], what were [your direct costs/the direct costs to members of your household] for other health care practitioners?

Include physiotherapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, dietitians, nutritionists, homeopaths, podiatrists, osteopaths, acupuncturists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, naturopaths, nurses and attendant care workers.

Exclude non-therapeutic massage therapists and acupuncturists who are medical doctors.

  1. For in-home care
  2. For care outside the home

The next question refers to premiums for health care insurance and life insurance.

Q114. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on premiums for the following?

  1. Private health and dental insurance plans
    Include group insurance plans financed in part by employers.
    Exclude public health plans, e.g., provincially or territorially administered hospital, medical and drug plans.
  2. Life, term and endowment insurance
    Include:
    • disability insurance if included in a life insurance plan
    • group insurance
    • loan insurance.
    Exclude premiums paid for mortgage life insurance.
  3. Accident or disability insurance
    Include group insurance plans financed in part by employers.

Vehicle Expenses

The next section refers to spending on vehicles, e.g., cars, vans and trucks.

Include all vehicles owned, leased, traded-in, sold or operated at any time during the last 12 months.

Exclude expenses charged against business income.

Q115. How many vehicles did [you/your household] own, lease, trade-in, sell or operate in the 12-month period between [12 month reference period]?

Include vehicles not owned by your household only if expenses were incurred, e.g., parking, insurance premiums or registration fees.

Exclude rented or recreational vehicles.

Q116. Press the Start button to provide information about each vehicle.

Q117. Describe the year, make and model of this vehicle.

If unable to provide year, make and model, enter any other description, e.g., blue car.

Q118. Which of the following best describes this vehicle?

Is it:

  1. A car
  2. A van or mini-van
  3. A truck or SUV

Include jeeps.

Q119. What was the status of this vehicle at the end of last month?

Was it:

  1. Owned by a member of your household
  2. Leased by a member of your household
  3. Sold, traded-in or returned to dealership
  4. Owned or leased by non-household member
  5. Other (Specify the other ownership status)

Q120. Was this vehicle purchased in the 12-month period between [12 month reference period]?

Include vehicles previously leased and purchased during the last 12 months.

Exclude vehicles purchased exclusively for business.

  1. Yes
  2. No

Q121. Was this vehicle purchased from a dealer or private household?

  1. A dealer
    Was this vehicle new or used?
    1. New
    2. Used
  2. A private household

Q122. What was the purchase price [after the trade-in allowance and manufacturer's rebates were deducted/] for this vehicle?

Include all sales taxes.

Q123. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following for this vehicle?

  1. Lease payments
    Exclude operating costs and vehicles leased exclusively for business.
  2. Other leasing costs
    Include deposits and closing costs.
    Exclude any amounts credited for a trade-in vehicle used towards a lease down payment or vehicles leased exclusively for business.

This completes the questions for [vehicle]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of vehicles.

The reference period is 3 months for the next question only.

[For the next questions, combine expenses for all vehicles. /The next questions refer to other vehicle-related expenses.]

Q124. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Vehicle maintenance and repairs
    Include oil and tire changes, tune-ups, car washes, emissions tests, brakes and body work.
    Exclude amounts paid by insurance, amounts paid by persons who were not members of your household and towing fees.
  2. Tires, batteries and other parts and supplies purchased separately
    Include mufflers, spark plugs, oil and windshield washer fluid.
  3. Accessories and attachments
    Include alarm systems, car starters, radios, block heaters, car top carriers and seat covers.

Q125. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Vehicle registration fees
    Registration fees are also referred to as "renewing plates", "tags" or "vehicle licence".
    Include insurance that is paid with registration fees.
  2. Insurance premiums
    Exclude insurance that is paid with registration fees.
  3. Auto association fees, towing, toll and bridge fees, security and communication services, e.g., OnStar
    Exclude satellite radio, e.g., Sirius XM.

Q126. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Drivers' licences and tests
    Include government insurance if part of the fee.
  2. Driving lessons
    Include:
    • the cost of using a driving school vehicle to take a driving test
    • driving lessons for other types of vehicles, e.g., motorcycles.
  3. Rental fees for cars, vans and trucks
    Include:
    • mileage
    • insurance charges
    • taxes
    • drop-off fees
    • rental fees for moving vehicles
    • annual dues and usage fees for car sharing services, e.g., Vrtucar, Communauto and Zipcar.
    Exclude amounts paid by insurance.
  4. Children's car seats and boosters
    Include gifts.
    Exclude combination stroller, carrier and car seat systems.

The reference period for the next few questions is 3 months.

Q127. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on all parking costs?

[Include parking costs at place of residence. /Exclude parking costs at place of residence. /]

Include parking at work, school, hospital, airport, park-and-ride and parking meters.

Exclude money paid for traffic and parking tickets.

Transportation and Accommodation Expenses

The next section refers to spending on transportation services and accommodations.

Include:

  • deposits even if services will be received after the reference period
  • expenses made in Canada and outside Canada.

Exclude expenses charged against business income and expenses that will be reimbursed.

Q128. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. City or commuter bus, subway, streetcar and commuter train
  2. Peer-to-peer ride services, e.g., Uber and Lyft
    Exclude car sharing services, e.g., Vrtucar, Communauto and Zipcar.
  3. Taxi
  4. Other local passenger transportation, e.g., carpool, airport shuttle, limousine or ferry services and sightseeing tours

Include annual subscription fees and additional fees for bicycle rental, e.g., Bixi.

Q129. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on package trips that included transportation?

Package trips offer a combination of services for which costs are not identified separately, e.g., transportation, accommodation, meals and sightseeing.

Q130. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

Exclude expenses previously reported in packages.

  1. Airplane
  2. Train, e.g., VIA Rail
    Include sleeping cars.
  3. Inter-city bus, e.g., Greyhound
    Inter-city buses run between cities and towns or between points on highways.
  4. Other inter-city passenger transportation, e.g., sightseeing tours, ferries, water taxis, river shuttles and carpooling

Q131. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Moving services
    Include expenses paid to companies offering moving and packing services
    Exclude fees for moving trucks rented by the household.
  2. Rental of storage space, e.g., storage locker

Q132. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

Exclude expenses previously reported in packages with transportation.

  1. Hotels or motels
  2. Any other accommodations, e.g., cottage rentals, vacation home rentals, Airbnb rentals and campgrounds
    Include accommodations for household members away at school or temporarily away from home.

Recreational Vehicle Expenses

The next section refers to spending on bicycles and recreational vehicles. The reference period is 12 months.

Include all sales taxes.

Report purchase price after the trade-in allowance was deducted.

Q133. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], which of these vehicles did [you/your household] own or operate?

Exclude rented or leased vehicles.

Did [you/your household] own or operate:

  1. Bicycles
    Exclude children's bicycles with wheels under 35 centimetres (14 inches).
  2. Kayaks, canoes, rowboats, paddleboats or stand up paddle boards (SUP boards)
  3. Sailboats
  4. Motorized watercraft
    Include boats and personal watercraft.
  5. Snowmobiles
  6. Motorcycles, scooters or dirt bikes
  7. Motor homes
  8. Tent trailers
  9. Fifth wheel or travel trailers
  10. Truck campers
  11. All-terrain vehicles (ATV)
  12. Utility trailers
  13. Other (Specify the other types of vehicles)
  14. None of the above

How much did [you/your household] spend on:

... the purchase?

Include amount only if purchased in the last 12 months.

... maintenance and repairs?

... parts and supplies?

... registration fees and licences?

In some provinces, government insurance fees are paid with registration fees.

Include insurance that is paid with registration fees.

... insurance premiums?

Exclude insurance that is paid with registration fees.

Q134. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on parking, storage fees and other dues for all recreational vehicles combined?

Include:

  • boat storage
  • harbour dues and mooring fees
  • hangar and airport fees.

Q135. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on rented or leased recreational vehicles?

The next section refers to spending on education, personal interest courses and recreation.

Exclude:

  • day care expenses
  • lodging expenses
  • expenses that have been or will be reimbursed.

Education and Recreation Expenses

The next section refers to spending on education, personal interest courses and recreation.

Exclude:

  • day care expenses
  • lodging expenses
  • expenses that have been or will be reimbursed.

Q136. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following tuition expenses?

Include direct costs only, i.e., out-of-pocket costs.

Exclude textbooks, school supplies, school trips and other educational services.

  1. Nursery school, kindergarten, elementary or secondary school
    Include special and private schools.
    Exclude day care expenses.
  2. University
  3. Other training, e.g., college, CEGEP, trade and professional institutions

Q137. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Textbooks
    Include digital and electronic textbooks.
  2. School supplies
  3. Other educational services (Specify the other educational services)
    Include:
    • tutoring
    • outings and field trips
    • school application fees
    • textbook rental
    • fees charged by the school for learning materials.
    Specify the other educational services

Q138. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on personal interest courses and lessons, e.g., music, dance, language, photography, computer, pottery, computer, first aid?

Exclude:

  • sports-related courses and lessons
  • membership fees and dues to join a sports team or a league
  • driving lessons.

Q139. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on books?

Include e-books.

Exclude textbooks, magazines and magazine subscriptions.

Q140. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on admission to the following?

  1. Movie theatres
  2. Live sporting events
  3. Live performing arts events
    Include plays, concerts and dance performances.
  4. Museums, historic sites, zoos, heritage facilities, ice shows, craft shows, fairs and festivals

Q141. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Sporting services
    Include:
    • entry fees and dues for ski hills, sports clubs, fitness centres, golf courses, fishing and hunting clubs
    • out-of-school individual and group lessons, e.g., aerobics, skating, swimming and other sports
    • hunting and fishing licences
    • rental of sport and activity-specific footwear, e.g., ski boots, golf shoes and skates.
  2. Recreational and leisure services
    Include:
    • admission fees to water parks, amusement parks and provincial parks
    • pin-ball machines, arcade games and other games for adults
    • party planning for receptions and events, e.g., children's birthday parties and weddings
    • services of mountain guides and tour guides
    • entrance fees for dancing establishments and nightclubs.
    Exclude games of chance.
  3. Rental, maintenance and repairs of recreation, sports, fitness and photographic equipment or musical instruments
    Exclude expenses for rental, maintenance and repairs of recreational vehicles, e.g., bicycles and kayaks.

Miscellaneous Expenses

The next section refers to miscellaneous expenses.

Q142. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Administration fees for brokers and commissions on stock and bonds
  2. Legal services, e.g., notary and lawyer fees
    Exclude expenses related to dwellings, e.g., purchase or sale of homes.
  3. Funeral services, tombstones, cemetery plot purchase and upkeep
    Include pre-paid funeral services.
    Exclude food and flowers.
  4. Fines
    Include money paid for traffic and parking tickets.

Q143. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Service charges for banks and other financial institutions
    Include:
    • monthly bank charges
    • withdrawal fees
    • safety deposit box charges
    • annual fees for credit cards
    • fees related to annuity contracts and transfers to RRIFs.
  2. Financial services
    Include:
    • financial planning
    • tax preparation and advice
    • accounting services.
    Exclude income tax software.
  3. Government services
    Include:
    • passports and visas
    • birth certificates and citizenship certificates
    • marriage licences
    • NEXUS membership fees.
    Exclude:
    • vehicle registrations and drivers' licences
    • passport photo services and drivers' licence photo services
    • licences for hunting, fishing and firearms.

Q144. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Online and other wholesale and retail memberships
    Include memberships that provide advantages to members, e.g., Costco, Amazon Prime.
  2. Contributions and dues for social clubs, co-operatives, political and fraternal organizations and alumni associations
    Exclude professional association dues, union dues and charitable donations.

Q145. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Housekeepers, cleaners and house-sitters
    A house-sitter is a person who lives in or takes care of a home by agreement with the usual occupants while they are away.
  2. Snow removal, garbage disposal and groundskeeping services
    Include:
    • lawn mowing, trimming of hedges and shrubs
    • tree removal, planting, weeding, pruning and spraying
    • soil and plant testing
    • landscape design services and consulting services
    • water analysis.

Q146. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on digital services, i.e., online services?

Exclude:

  • audiobooks and e-books
  • Internet versions of newspapers and magazines
  • expenses for goods and services purchased via Internet, e.g., clothes, books and plane tickets.
  1. Streaming services, e.g., Spotify and Netflix
    Include podcasts
  2. Movies, music and video downloands, e.g., iTunes
  3. Online gambling
    Include sports betting and online casinos.
    Exclude government managed gambling platforms and lotteries
  4. Online gaming, e.g., video games and gaming apps
    Include virtual reality games, gaming subscriptions and in-game purchases
  5. Other digital services, e.g., online software subscriptions, online storage and dating and genealogy services.
    Specify the other digital services

Q147. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Purchase of pets
  2. Pet food and pet-related goods
  3. Veterinarian services, kennels, grooming and other pet-related services
    Include pet insurance and items prescribed by a veterinarian, e.g., medicine and shampoo.

The reference period for the next few questions is 3 months.

Q148. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

Include tips.

  1. Hairdressing and barber services
  2. Other personal care services
    Include:
    • hair removal, manicures and facials
    • non-therapeutic massages
    • tattoos and piercings
    • spa services and non-surgical cosmetic services.
    Exclude expenses for massages as part of a medical treatment.

Q149. In the 3-month period between [3 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Postage and delivery services
    Include:
    • parcel delivery and shipping
    • postage stamps
    • couriers
    • registered mail
    • post office boxes
    • fax services.
    Exclude memberships that provide free or faster shipping, e.g., Amazon Prime.
  2. Services related to reading materials
    Include:
    • photocopying services
    • library charges
    • book rentals
    • announcements, e.g., wedding, birth and death
    • classified ads in newspapers and online.
  3. Photographic services
    Include:
    • printing and mounting of photographs and posters
    • film processing and processing of digital images
    • school pictures
    • passport and drivers' licence photos
    • photographer's fees.
    Exclude cameras, photo paper and ink cartridges.

Donations and Gifts of Money

The next question refers to donations and gifts of money, including cheques and pre-paid credit cards.

Q150. In the 12-month period between [12 month reference period], how much did [you/your household] spend on the following?

  1. Donations to religious and other charitable organizations
    e.g., workplace charitable campaigns, Heart & Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, Red Cross and Amnesty International.
  2. Gifts of money given directly to persons living in Canada
    Exclude gifts of money exchanged between household members.
  3. Gifts of money given directly to persons living outside Canada
    The next section asks about income and weeks worked. The questions are asked for each member of the household aged 16 years and over.

Income

Q151. Press the Start button to provide information about each household member listed below.

Now a question about total personal income.

Q152. What is your best estimate of [your/NAME's] total personal income, before taxes and deductions, from all sources during the year ending December 31, [2022]?

Income can come from various sources such as from work, investments, pensions or government. Examples include Employment Insurance, social assistance, child benefits and other income such as child support, spousal support (alimony) and rental income.

Capital gains should not be included in the personal income.

Q153. In which of the following groups did [your/NAME's] total personal income fall for the year ending December 31, [2022]?

Would you say:

  1. Less than $30,000 including income loss
  2. $30,000 or more

Q154. In which of the following groups did [your/NAME's] total personal income fall for the year ending December 31, [2022]?

Would you say:

  1. Less than $5,000
  2. $5,000 to less than $10,000
  3. $10,000 to less than $15,000
  4. $15,000 to less than $20,000
  5. $20,000 to less than $25,000
  6. $25,000 to less than $30,000

Q155. In which of the following groups did [NAME's/your] total personal income fall for the year ending December 31, [2022]?

Would you say:

  1. $30,000 to less than $40,000
  2. $40,000 to less than $50,000
  3. $50,000 to less than $60,000
  4. $60,000 to less than $70,000
  5. $70,000 to less than $80,000
  6. $80,000 to less than $90,000
  7. $90,000 to less than $100,000
  8. $100,000 and over

Q156. In [2022], how many weeks [did you/did NAME] work?

Include paid holidays.

  1. 30 hours or more per week
  2. Less than 30 hours per week

Q157. In [2022], how much [did you/did NAME] pay or receive for support payments?

A support payment is an amount payable or receivable as an allowance on a periodic basis to support the recipient, children of the recipient or both.

Include alimony, separation allowance and child support.

Exclude gifts.

  1. Support payments paid to a former spouse or partner
  2. Support payments received from a former spouse or partner

This completes the questions for [each household member]. Press the Return to Summary button to return to the list of household members.

Summary of the Evaluation of Statistics Canada’s Canadian Housing Statistics Program

The Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) was launched as a modernization pathfinder projectFootnote 1 in 2017 to provide comprehensive information on non-resident ownership and the financing of residential properties. Its first release focused on the cities of Toronto and Vancouver and has since expanded to cover other geographies and topical issues through the creation of a micro-level database. This standalone database was one of the CHSP's main deliverables and involved standardizing, cleaning, and integrating various databases (e.g., property assessment rolls, land titles, Census of Population, tax data, the Business Register, and the Longitudinal Immigration Database) from internal and external data providers. Data and data products were released as soon as development and analysis were completed.

This evaluation was conducted by Statistics Canada in accordance with the Treasury Board's Policy on Results and Statistics Canada's Risk-based Audit and Evaluation Plan (2021/2022 to 2025/2026). The objective of the evaluation was to provide a neutral, evidence-based assessment of the CHSP. The evaluation aimed at providing valuable information about the relevance and usefulness of data produced by the CHSP. It also looked at some of the lessons learned from the CHSP so far to inform future direction.

Overall, users reported that the CHSP database and data products were relevant and useful and filled important existing data gaps. CHSP data were used to generally understand the housing market, prepare reports, inform policy, conduct research, and communicate with the public. Possible improvements in areas such as timeliness, accessibility, and available data were noted. Users also identified several needs including information about the rental market, increased granularity and increased geographic coverage. The CHSP is aware of these needs and is currently exploring options to meet them moving forward.

Several key lessons can be learned from the CHSP as a modernization pathfinder project. These lessons include the importance of supporting innovation, recruiting and retaining skilled staff, and developing relationships with stakeholders. The CHSP also highlighted the complexity involved and the resources required to work with administrative data. At the broader agency level, the CHSP has highlighted the need for Statistics Canada to be clear about the complexities of working with administrative data, the opportunity to continue to support partnerships and coordination across housing divisions, and the importance of supporting innovation and expediency while managing risk.

The evaluation proposed two recommendations:

Recommendation 1:

The Assistant Chief Statistician (ACS), Economic Statistics (Field 5), should ensure a comprehensive strategic plan is developed that defines the CHSP's core priorities:

  • The strategic plan should consider the development of new products that meet users' needs and existing gaps, the CHSP's communications goals, and provide a roadmap on how to efficiently achieve these in a standardized and sustainable way.
    • The plan should be based on a risk analysis that accounts for the CHSP's evolution from a developing program to a more established one — thus impacting the balance between innovation, expediency, and risk appetite.
  • The strategic plan, either annual or multi-year, should be reviewed periodically by the ACS or appropriate oversight group.

Recommendation 2:

The ACS, Economic Statistics (Field 5), in consultation with relevant partner ACSs, should ensure that there are processes in place, informed by CHSP's lessons learned, to support the CHSP's continued collaboration with other partners across the agency. This includes:

  • Developing mechanisms and/or governance structures that support coordination and collaboration across divisions that work on housing as well as clearly defining the housing divisions' roles and responsibilities.
  • Assessing the CHSP's relationships with internal corporate partners (e.g., Stakeholder Relations and Engagement, the Data Integration Division, and the International Cooperation and Methodology Innovation Centre) given it is nearing the end of the first developmental phase. This assessment should identify opportunities for further collaboration, including sharing innovations the CHSP has developed, identifying opportunities to leverage internal partners' expertise, and defining their roles moving forward.
  • Reviewing and documenting lessons learned from the CHSP, and sharing these lessons, including innovative in-house solutions, with key partners to promote innovation and expediency.