Organizational profile

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

Institutional head: Anil Arora

Ministerial portfolio: Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Enabling instrument(s):

• Statistics Act
• Corporations Returns Act
• Corporations Returns Regulations

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

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

Statistics Canada has two primary objectives:

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

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

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

Information on Statistics Canada's raison d'être, mandate and role is available on the agency's website.

Information on Statistics Canada's mandate letter commitments is available in the Minister's mandate letter.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on Statistics Canada's website..

Reporting framework

Statistics Canada's approved departmental results framework and program inventory for 2023–24 are as follows.

Changes to the approved reporting framework since 2022–23

Structure	2023-24	2022-23	Change	Reason for change
Core responsibility	Statistical Information	Statistical Information	No change	Not applicable
Program	Economic and Environmental Statistics	Economic and Environmental Statistics	No change	Not applicable
Program	Socio-economic Statistics	Socio-economic Statistics	No change	Not applicable
Program	Censuses	Censuses	No change	Not applicable
Program	Cost-Recovered Statistical Services	Cost-Recovered Statistical Services	No change	Not applicable
Program	Centres of Expertise	Centres of Expertise	No change	Not applicable

Four departmental results indicators methodologies were updated to improve the quality and transparency of the data provided:

• Number of post-release corrections due to accuracy for mission critical releases
  • The indicator will now include the number of post-release corrections made on the agency's 21 mission critical programs
• Percentage of website visitors that found what they were looking for
  • This indicator will be reported using the Government of Canada Task Success, previously it used the Website Evaluation Survey
• Number of interactions on social media
  • The indicator will now include two new social media platforms (Snapchat and TikTok) for a total of eight platforms
• Percentage of users satisfied with statistical information
  • This indicator will be reported using the Client Experience Index, previously it used the Statistics Canada Client Survey

This section provides an overview of the department's planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2023–24 with actual spending for the current year and the previous year.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2020–21 to 2025–26

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

Departmental spending graph

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

In recent years, respendable cost-recovery revenue has contributed between $120 million and $156 million annually to the agency's total resources. A large portion of this respendable revenue comes from federal departments to fund specific statistical projects.

Statistics Canada's voted spending does not include Budget 2023 announcements. More information will be provided in the 2023–24 Supplementary Estimates and Departmental Results Report, as applicable. Resources do not reflect anticipated funding for the 2026 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture, which is expected to be approved in 2023–24 and would be the first year of funding.

Statistics Canada's statutory spending, as indicated in the graph above, relates to the Employee Benefit Plan, which is a function of planned salary spending. Therefore, it fluctuates along with voted spending.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

The following table shows information on spending for each of Statistics Canada's core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2023–24 and other relevant fiscal years.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

Core responsibilities and internal services	2020–21 actual expenditures	2021–22 actual expenditures	2022–23 forecast spending	2023–24 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2023–24 planned spending	2024–25 planned spending	2025–26 planned spending
Statistical information	666,463,788	920,977,524	710,036,336	579,311,471	579,311,471	571,978,435	571,251,486
Internal services	78,844,148	89,989,424	104,960,965	72,783,788	72,783,788	70,296,376	67,980,043
Total gross expenditures	745,307,936	1,010,966,948	814,997,301	652,095,259	652,095,259	642,274,811	639,231,529
Respendable revenue	-123,989,068	-127,583,773	-156,259,603	-120,000,000	-120,000,000	-120,000,000	-120,000,000
Total net expenditures	621,318,868	883,383,175	658,737,698	532,095,259	532,095,259	522,274,811	519,231,529

The graph and table above show that spending peaked in 2021–22 when the 2021 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture were conducted. This is followed by a significant decrease in subsequent years as these activities wind down. This pattern is typical for the agency because of the cyclical nature of the Census Program. Funding for the 2026 Census has not yet been approved, and this amplifies the decrease in the overall planned spending. Funding for the 2026 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture is expected to be approved in 2023–24, which would be the first year of funding.

In addition, funding received for several initiatives from Budget 2021 and Budget 2022 decreases from 2022–23 to 2025–26.

Internal services spending from 2020–21 to 2022–23 includes planned resources from temporary funding related to an initiative approved in 2018–19 to migrate the agency's infrastructure to the cloud. The decrease in funding for outer years is largely because of ongoing funding related to cloud expenditures not yet secured and how the agency strategically manages its investments. Investments are managed centrally, by priority, within the statistical information core responsibility. Investment funding from past years will end in future years, while new investment decisions will be finalized only later in the year.

2023–24 budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)

The following table reconciles gross planned spending with net planned spending for 2023–24.

2023–24 budgetary gross and net planned spending summary (dollars)

Core responsibilities and internal services	2023–24 gross planned spending	2023–24 planned revenues netted against spending	2023–24 planned net spending
Statistical information	579,311,471	-120,000,000	459,311,471
Internal services	72,783,788	0	72,783,788
Total	652,095,259	-120,000,000	532,095,259

Planned human resources

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of Statistics Canada’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2023–24 and the other relevant years.

Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services

Core responsibilities and internal services	2020–21 actual full-time equivalents	2021–22 actual full-time equivalents	2022–23 forecast full-time equivalents	2023–24 planned full-time equivalents	2024–25 planned full-time equivalents	2025–26 planned full-time equivalents
Statistical information	6,099	7,186	6,873	5,415	5,389	5,367
Internal services	684	713	787	610	584	564
Total gross FTEs	6,783	7,899	7,660	6,025	5,973	5,931
Respendable revenue	-1,340	-1,542	-1,640	-1,189	-1,189	-1,189
Total net FTEs	5,443	6,357	6,020	4,836	4,784	4,742

Similar to trends seen in planned spending, changes in full-time equivalents from year to year are largely explained by the cyclical nature of the Census Program. Activity peaked in 2021–22, when the 2021 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture were conducted, and decreases sharply thereafter as these activities wind down.

Estimates by vote

Information on Statistics Canada's organizational appropriations is available in the 2023–24 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future‑oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of Statistics Canada's operations for 2022–23 to 2023–24.

The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future-oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations to the requested authorities, are available on Statistics Canada's website.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2024 (dollars)

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2024 (dollars)

Financial information	2022–23 forecast results	2023–24 planned results	Difference (2023–24 planned results minus 2022–23 forecast results)
Total expenses	908,684,680	756,935,666	-151,749,014
Total revenues	156,259,603	120,000,000	-36,259,603
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers	752,425,077	636,935,666	-115,489,411

The decrease in planned expenditures for 2023–24 is explained mainly by four factors: a decrease in funding received for the 2021 Census Program, which was going through its dissemination period in 2022–23; a decrease in revenue related to cost-recovered statistical services, which directly impacts the planned spending; new initiatives announced in Budget 2021 for which work continued throughout 2022–23; and the end of the cloud migration project in 2022–23.

The decrease in planned revenue for 2023–24 is mainly due to the reduction of cyclical cost-recovered statistical services.

Description

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

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

Planning highlights

Statistics Canada's internal services will continue to evolve to meet the changing context in which they operate by adapting their processes, controls and oversight practices. The agency's enabling corporate and internal services will provide support and solutions to meet employee and business needs, as the agency continues its efforts to strengthen partnerships, build trust, increase data integration and provide Canadians with the actionable insights they need in a post-pandemic world. Decision making will be informed by a data infrastructure that continues to be more integrated, providing timely insights to foster the agency's cultural values and accountability for outcomes. Internal services will continue providing more efficient and user-centric services.

Data-driven talent management strategy

The 2023–24 data-driven executive performance and talent management program will be anchored in quantitative data and evidence to drive decision making, guide managers in determining performance ratings and help support performance assessment conversations. It will introduce more rigour, with metrics and indicators in the performance review exercise to ensure consistency, reduce bias and improve transparency. Administrative and survey data will be used to validate narrative assessments of key leadership competencies and objectives.

The agency will also continue to focus on modernizing its recruitment practices by solidifying talent pipelines through partnerships with academia and attracting talent in new ways to ensure that people with core and emerging skills are recruited.

Inclusive leadership development program

The implementation of an internal leadership strategy serves to support all employees as true leaders. The strategy seeks to establish

• a culture of ongoing development to promote career growth, encouraging leadership with innovation and supporting curiosity and continuous learning
• a framework that aligns with the agency's values and principles
• a modern program that is cohesive and aligns with current and future initiatives
• leadership development early in an employee's career, with a focus on competency development, soft skills, mentorship, active listening, empowerment of people and communication
• a high standard of leadership and engagement throughout the agency
• renewed and refreshed programs and technologies that resonate with emerging leaders and that are developed with intentional alignment to the future of the agency
• a measurement system to track outcomes and impacts of the leadership program on participants.

This program will include formal training, coaching and mentoring, workshops, keynote speakers, podcasts, videos, fireside chats, and leadership conferences, along with the development of communications products and support for employees as they take ownership of their learning and development journey. It will also offer support to managers as they enable learning and development among their employees.

Well-being

Wellness activities at Statistics Canada will continue to place importance on equipping employees and managers with the appropriate guidance, training and workshops to deal with mental health issues in the workplace. This includes an emphasis on addressing the new challenges that come with working and managing a team within a hybrid environment in an inclusive and equitable way. Furthermore, the agency will continue its analysis of the Statistics Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada Employee Wellness Survey datasets and share new insights in peer-reviewed publications.

Information management

The agency will continue to make progress on the multi-year Enterprise Information and Data Management (EIDM) project, including the implementation of the EIDM roadmap and the information governance framework. Emphasis will be placed on the standards-based privacy protection platform, the onboarding and establishment of standards-based agency metadata and data infrastructure, the management of unstructured information planning, the advancement of an agency data and information framework, and the development and implementation of an effective communications strategy.

The EIDM project is establishing a metadata ecosystem to manage standards-based metadata that will adhere to the findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability (FAIR) principles; provide the necessary metadata to preserve privacy; streamline the statistical business process through metadata-driven automated processes and reuse of metadata; and support the retention and disposition of data. The metadata ecosystem will provide a single point of access via a metadata hub, which will also serve as the integration layer across the ecosystem. The ecosystem will house metadata on datasets to support an enterprise-wide data catalogue, a questionnaire bank to support development of new surveys, and reference data that can be used both internally and throughout the Government of Canada.

The EIDM project will operationalize a FAIR assessment tool to provide real-time information to statistical programs on their adherence to the FAIR principles, as well as continually advance more robust data management principles.

Digital solutions

Statistics Canada has embarked on a critical evolution of its digital ecosystem, with several significant shifts taking place at the same time. The agency is aligning its vision and direction with a clear view of its hybrid future within the Digital Ambition framework. Continuing into 2023–24, the agency will focus on

• pivoting its digital mindset tools and solutions to help employees focus on results, enhance productivity, improve mobility and agility, and ensure that the agency can access the right talent
• enabling its programs to leverage the new Data Analytics as a Service platform to support the development of new data insights; collaboration both within and outside the agency; and the application of new data analytics methods, such as machine learning and data science
• adjusting its working practices to use the cloud and fully leverage the potential of the cloud
• establishing digitized, mobile-enabled and data-driven work practices that enable virtual collaboration
• committing to being an environmentally sustainable agency (e.g., paperless office)
• aligning current processes to hybrid-by-design methods and approaches
• reviewing and prioritizing policies and procedures to ensure that they are consistent and effective for working in a hybrid work environment.

This ongoing modernization will provide the ideal environment for employees to thrive in a hybrid-by-design model, with key objectives to ensure it is user-centric, intuitive, accessible and secure.

Because employees are working not only in this new way, but also in new locations, Statistics Canada's Cyber Security Division has increased its capabilities to support and defend the business of the agency. The division itself continues to grow and evolve to meet the challenging demands of protecting the integrity, confidentiality and availability of Canadians' data. Strengthening the agency's cloud security posture has been a major focus, as Statistics Canada continues to optimize services through comprehensive vulnerability and risk management capabilities, strategic evaluations and benchmarks, and the continuous realignment of people and technologies to meet the demands of the shifting cyber landscape.

The agency has enhanced processes that align with the Government of Canada's strategic direction for incident management to protect, detect and respond to cyber threats, and to safeguard critical systems and data. Another focus is the evolution of a security-conscious workforce as the first line of cyber defence and integration of security into all organizational aspects and functions to ensure resiliency. The agency is committed to ensuring that the cyber security capabilities for the first census in the cloud (in 2026) will meet the highest standard.

Internal audit and evaluation

In 2023–24, the Audit and Evaluation Branch will conduct audits, evaluations and advisory engagements to yield insight into the appropriateness of decision-making and governance structures and processes that enable the agency's employees to operate effectively within a strong management regime. Moreover, evaluations with a user-centric focus will assess the relevance of programs. This will provide insight into the degree to which user needs are being considered and met in program design and delivery.

Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

Statistics Canada incorporates Indigenous businesses as part of its procurement strategy. This includes identifying voluntary Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business set-asides and raising awareness about the initiative within the agency. The agency's target was established based on consultations with key internal stakeholders, such as Security and Facilities Management, and knowledge of forthcoming information technology professional service contracts where a multi-contract procurement strategy allows for set-asides. The target also takes into consideration commodities that have been historically supplied by Indigenous businesses. Although the agency's procurement is primarily targeted to commodities with historically lower Indigenous representation, Statistics Canada is confident in meeting its 5.5% Indigenous procurement target for 2023–24. The agency will also continue to explore future opportunities to help achieve the mandatory minimum target by 2024–25.

Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

5% reporting field description	2021–22 actual % achieved	2022–23 forecasted % target	2023–24 planned % target
Total percentage of contracts with Indigenous businesses	N/A	N/A	5.5%

Planned results for Statistical Information

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned results for Statistical Information

2023–24 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2023–24 planned spending	2024–25 planned spending	2025–26 planned spending
72,783,788	72,783,788	70,296,376	67,980,043

Planned human resources for internal services

The following table shows, in full-time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to carry out its internal services for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for internal services

2023–24 planned full-time equivalents	2024–25 planned full-time equivalents	2025–26 planned full-time equivalents
610	584	564

This section contains information on the agency's planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities. It also contains information on key risks related to achieving those results.

Statistical information

Description

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

Planning highlights

The agency is seeing positive outcomes and results of its modernization investments in being able to better serve Canadians and decision makers. These modernization efforts have positioned Statistics Canada to build on its strengths, to embed continuous improvement and innovation into its culture, to be a resourceful and resilient organization built on solid values. With the ongoing modernization journey in a post-pandemic context, the agency is focusing its attention to the following four areas to achieve its planned results and ensure the continued success of its core principles:

These four areas of focus were developed in collaboration with stakeholders and data users to better understand their information needs and revolve around the agency's five core modernization principles.

Strengthening the statistical system

Canadians entrust their information and data to Statistics Canada, and the agency has built a world-leading framework to protect and handle data safely without compromising confidentiality or the trust of Canadians.

The Social Data Integration Platform (SDIP) is a tool for collecting social surveys that allows for the integration of administrative data, as well as the direct collection of data from respondents. Statistics Canada will continue the expansion and development of collection options to support direct collection and data integration through the SDIP, replacing some variables and making greater use of administrative data.

The Secure Infrastructure for Data Integration (SIDI) is a set of methods, technologies and protocols that will enhance the way Statistics Canada combines its existing data with data from other organizations. In 2023–24, the agency will continue to develop the SIDI, which connects directly to the existing frameworks of the Longitudinal Social Data Development Program and Social Data Linkage Environment. This platform will enable secure data linkages while aligning with strong privacy principles and bringing value to Canadians.

The agency balances rigorous internal governance with external advice from groups such as the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC), which provides recommendations that reinforce the independence, relevance and quality of the national statistical system.

The council released its third annual report in 2022, Trust, Governance and Data Flows in the National Statistical System. It builds on the first two reports and focuses on the need for new types of partnerships and data coordination to support Canadians and leaders as the country recovers from the pandemic and deals with socioeconomic and global environmental challenges.

The report provides three main recommendations to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and the Chief Statistician: maintaining the authority and responsibilities of Statistics Canada by ensuring that they are not diminished or compromised by privacy or other legislation related to data and digital infrastructure; strengthening data stewardship within the national statistical system to ensure that Canada has the data it needs to successfully tackle social, economic and environmental challenges in a digital world; and strengthening data sharing across jurisdictions to address data needs in Canada, including provincial, territorial and regional data flows. Statistics Canada continues to make good use of CSAC's expert advice on an ongoing basis and is ensuring that the work planned for the upcoming year aligns with key recommendations.

Modernization principle: Working in collaboration and partnerships

To better respond to the evolving information needs of Canadians and to remain relevant, Statistics Canada will continue working in collaboration with federal departments; provincial and territorial governments; international partners; and other organizations, such as businesses and non-governmental organizations. This post-pandemic engagement will build on dialogue with national Indigenous organizations—based on the recognition of rights, respect, collaboration and partnership—to better understand their information needs, and with equity-deserving groups and organizations to further identify their data needs as the Canadian population continues to evolve.

The following partnerships contribute to supporting and measuring progress and outcomes for key government priorities.

Business data lab

Statistics Canada's partnership with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce sparked the creation of a business data lab that will bring together business data from multiple sources and support the development of a hub on business trends during the pandemic recovery. This type of collaboration, which includes the intake, manipulation and visualization of data in real time, enables the production of more timely and policy-relevant information that can be used to make government and business decisions. In addition to the recently created dashboard on workplace mobility, additional dashboards will be created to shed light on the recovery of Canada's business sector.

Canadian Centre for Energy Information

The Canadian Centre for Energy Information (CCEI) provides value to Canadians regarding energy information by integrating federal data and facilitating data sharing across federal departments. This collaborative work improves the accessibility, interpretability and quality of energy information for all, while bringing a rich set of tools and resources to one convenient place. Statistics Canada, along with the partner departments, will continue to build on the CCEI to meet the demand for new energy information, data coherence and reconciliation. A key area for future work will be to share and integrate data across all levels of government, as well as academia and the private sector. This includes broader consultation and engagement with stakeholders and data users, such as the research and modelling communities.

Census of Environment

The Census of Environment aims to provide foundational data on Canada's ecosystems to help monitor environmental trends. It will enable evidence-based decision making on issues affecting the well-being of all Canadians. In 2023–24, the agency will continue to develop key ecosystem products based on an internationally accepted ecosystem accounting standard so outside researchers can use these data for their own work. Collaboration with key partners, such as other federal departments and Indigenous organizations, will be crucial to the success of this program to incorporate scientific information and ensure data needs are addressed. This investment will deliver accessible, detailed time-series data products on ecosystem assets. Policy departments, academics and the general public will be able to use these to answer questions on key issues, such as climate change and mitigation. Statistics Canada will also develop and maintain partnerships with public and private (e.g., non-governmental) organizations to position itself as a key source of ecosystem data. These partnerships will bring data, methods and opportunities for collaboration. Finally, the agency will contribute to the development of critical international statistical frameworks related to ecosystem accounting to better measure and report comparable data and use common methods.

Crime and justice statistics

Through collaboration with Public Safety Canada, the Pan-Canadian Recontact Project will examine subsequent convictions among adults sentenced to a term of correctional supervision, including key demographic, socioeconomic and systemic factors associated with subsequent convictions. This initiative will help monitor the effects of policies and programs designed to reduce the likelihood of subsequent convictions. Furthermore, the agency will work with Public Safety Canada and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to expand firearm data collection to further inform firearm policies and monitor the impact of efforts to reduce the number of illegal firearms.

The agency will also collaborate with the Department of Justice Canada to examine racial disparities in criminal court outcomes, specifically between Indigenous and non-racialized accused people. This will include socioeconomic and systemic factors that may account for disproportionate outcomes. This analysis will help shed further light on criminal justice system biases experienced by Indigenous people.

Improving the availability of data on immigration

Non-permanent residents (NPRs) are people who have been legally granted the right to live in Canada on a temporary basis under the authority of a temporary resident permit, along with family members who live with them. NPRs have become a critical component of population growth in the country because of an increase in the last few years to address labour shortages. This is why Statistics Canada is working with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to release new estimates on NPRs from the Demographic Estimates Program, improving the availability of data on permanent and temporary immigration.

Missing persons data standards

Statistics Canada will work with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and non-governmental organizations to develop consistent mechanisms for reporting missing persons (including Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQI+ people, racialized populations and other groups). The goals are to help improve investigations of missing persons cases and support further research and analysis on this issue.

Municipal data plan

Statistics Canada will advance its work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and other key municipal stakeholders and ensure that the data and information collected reach the key targets, such as municipalities and associations. The agency is developing an integrated municipal data portal and collaboration platform and a municipal finance and socioeconomic dashboard to make disaggregated information at municipal and local levels more user friendly and accessible. A targeted communications and engagement plan aimed at facilitating a collaborative environment with other producers, users and integrators of municipal data is also being developed. These projects constitute the foundation for a municipal data strategy that aligns with the Disaggregated Data Action Plan and the rural and northern data strategies.

Pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy

To address the data needs of Canadians and provide a long-term vision for better health care data management, the federal, provincial and territorial governments developed the Pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy (PCHDS). This strategy aims to provide a data foundation that enables better health outcomes and public health responses for individuals, communities and Canadian society through learning health systems.

As a key partner in the development of the PCHDS, the agency will play a central role in implementing it; contributing to the PCHDS's governance structure; developing, promoting and maintaining data content standards in the area of population health; creating platforms for timelier, easier and more comprehensive data access; and filling critical information gaps.

Modernization principle: Being user-centric

The agency will prioritize its users and partners at every step in the data value chain, with the aim of making it simple for Canadians to connect with their data.

Action Plan for Official Languages

Building on the success of the 2021 Census

Following a successful census, the release of 2021 Census information will continue in 2023–24, with a focus on more detailed, targeted and granular data. This includes dissemination of

• additional immigration and ethnocultural data from the 2021 Census (data products and indicators)
• additional analytic results (e.g., financial impacts of COVID-19 on racialized groups and non-permanent residents)
• the postcensal Canadian Survey on Disability in December 2023—this information will be used to plan, deliver and evaluate services, programs and policies for Canadians with disabilities to strengthen their full participation in society.

Engaging with Canadians

To ensure that insights are easily understood and reach more Canadians, the agency will

• provide timely information in an accessible format by continuing to develop dashboards on topics of interest for economic development, such as traffic flow, real-time local business indicators, infrastructure and supply chain analysis
• launch a consultation program with potential providers of administrative data and expertise for its housing program (New Housing Price Index, New Condominium Apartment Price Index); new housing associations and major builders will be contacted to ensure that the program is relevant and to explore opportunities to work together
• continue developing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) portal, data visualizations and web-based information that are accessible to all Canadians; in 2023–24, the CPI will continue to enhance the set of CPI tools and resources to engage with Canadians—plans include webinars, podcasts, Reddit Ask Me Anything events, technical briefings and enhancements to existing tools
• help users easily analyze rich information on the macroeconomic accounts with a number of new data visualization tools that have been created for gross domestic product, satellite accounts and many subcomponents; these tools will continue to evolve and improve.

Statistics Canada launched Phase I of the text-to-speech (TTS) pilot project on selected pages of its website. TTS is an assistive technology on the rise that provides users with another way to consume content published online by making it audible. A phased approach is being used to implement this technology, to ensure that it is relevant and user friendly for all Canadians, particularly readers with low literacy and those with visual disabilities, dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Phase I of this pilot project will implement two different features of TTS technologies and collect feedback on user expectations, tool functionalities and suggestions for improvements.

Statistics Canada continues to work toward its vision to be more client centric and improve outcomes for Canadians. The agency's new Client Relationship Management program helps it take another step forward on its journey by

• placing the client experience at the front and centre of its business model
• prioritizing the client experience at all points of the customer journey
• helping provide seamless access to products and services through a more consistent, cross-functional and horizontal approach for Statistics Canada employees.

By leveraging the capabilities of the new program, the agency will be able to continuously and strategically adjust its service delivery to respond to the needs of Canadians.

Statistics Canada will continue leveraging The Daily, the StatsCAN app, the Eh Sayers podcast, social media and data portals to ensure that statistical information reaches more Canadians and is accessible to a broader audience.

Statistics Canada's publishing strategy will ensure that Canadians are getting the data they need through new communications tools in a timely manner, and that communications products reach the agency's many target audiences and provide information in the format users want. Key components of the strategy include reaching audiences in a timelier fashion and increasing the agency's reach as a whole; adjusting the storytelling narrative to be shorter and more user-friendly; focusing on visuals, graphics and visually pleasing layouts to engage with readers; and creating data stories that connect with more Canadians and invite them to explore more of the agency's products and data.

Ensuring the privacy of Canadians in an increasingly digital world

As part of Statistics Canada's commitment to demonstrating and providing assurances to Canadians that it can be trusted with their information, the agency is continually adjusting to new realities and adapting existing mechanisms, or developing new ones, to protect the privacy of Canadians and ensure that their data will not be misused. The agency will continue to foster a responsible approach to privacy and meet the demands of a digital world in the 21st century through the implementation of the Privacy Management Program (PMP). While many of its components are already part of the agency's activities, the PMP provides a systematic and strategic approach that reinforces Statistics Canada's commitment to Canadians regarding their personal information.

Through collaboration between internal and international experts, and with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Statistics Canada will strengthen and promote the updated Necessity and Proportionality Framework, and ensure communication and engagement with users through the redesigned Trust Centre. In particular, the agency will work to strengthen the data ethics function and develop related policy instruments and tools.

To enable the confidential compilation of data that reflect the lived experiences of a variety of demographic groups—such as Indigenous people, racialized Canadians, people in 2SLGBTQI+ communities and Canadians living with disabilities—a set of methods, technologies and protocols will enhance the way Statistics Canada combines its existing data with those from other organizations, while ensuring the confidentiality of records.

Statistics Canada will also build on the work done on the Trust Agenda while taking the pulse of Canadians. Collaboration will continue with departments and agencies to provide data and information that can inform policy and program options to help Canada move forward in a changing world.

Informing a post-pandemic recovery and critical structural changes

The CPI program will continue to monitor consumer prices for goods and services during the post-pandemic recovery period, as well as consumer spending patterns. Annual basket updates will be done as spending patterns continue to stabilize, while the impact of structural changes in specific sectors will be measured in terms of their effect on consumer prices.

The Canadian Survey on Business Conditions will continue to produce results on a quarterly basis and provide timely indicators of the business environment and the impacts of labour challenges, rising costs and supply chain pressures.

Statistics Canada will also continue to play a leading role in shedding light on government measures taken during the pandemic by providing a single source of comprehensive information on who accessed them (small and medium enterprises, industries) and to what extent. This analytical tool will help policy makers assess the impact of government measures and provide insights on the financial health of firms.

To inform post-pandemic recovery in the tourism sector, the agency will publish insights on car rentals resulting from pent-up household and business demand, on inflationary pressures, and on supply-chain disruption to rental car inventories. Similarly, a subprovincial analysis of traveller accommodation services industries, including short-term rentals, will shed light on post-pandemic shifts.

Data from the agency's social surveys, such as the Survey on Time Use and Survey on Family Transitions, will be used to support a number of indicator frameworks and provide analytical insights related to post-pandemic societal changes.

In response to the increasing demand for detailed economic data for regional and rural development, the agency will develop fine geographic estimates of business values (e.g., gross domestic product, gross domestic income, revenue, employment), as well as measures of business dynamics (e.g., entry, exit). This work will form a foundation for future studies on the growth of cities, urban and rural dynamics, and geographically sourced structural change. It will also improve the ability to link business estimates with other domains. Statistics Canada will continue to develop new products and complete studies to address user needs for emerging economic and environmental concerns.

Responding to the disaggregated data needs of Canadians

The Disaggregated Data Action Plan supports a broader movement of zero tolerance toward inequities and systemic biases and racism in all parts of society and institutions. It aims to provide Canadians with the detailed data they need to help address gender gaps, racism and other systemic barriers, as well as to apply fairness and inclusion to decisions that affect the entire population.

The agency will continue to support building a whole-of-government approach for the improved collection, analysis, availability and publication of disaggregated data in 2023–24. This includes collaborating with federal and external partners on methods to increase and accelerate data disaggregation; producing estimates for racialized populations; integrating the agency's business and special surveys with social surveys; increasing data linkages between existing administrative and survey data; and releasing the redesigned Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub.

This work includes providing more granular economic data on the Indigenous population by breaking down employment statistics, such as average wages and salaries, by sociodemographic characteristics.

Strengthening health programs

In 2023–24, Statistics Canada will strengthen its health programs by focusing on the following four areas:

• enhancing external engagement to improve national population health reporting and participate in meaningful health data collaborations
• expanding health data holdings to address the growing information needs of governments in their efforts to improve the health of Canadians
• strengthening data disaggregation to broaden and deepen the country's understanding of health inequities in Canada
• participating in the governance, development and implementation of the Pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy

Statistics Canada will continue to lead the development of the Health Care Access, Experiences and Related Outcomes initiative in the areas of supportive care, primary care, virtual care, pharmaceuticals, sexual and reproductive health, and mental health. Data on virtual care and electronic health information, as well as on access to and experiences with primary care, will be released in 2023–24.

The agency will also improve and ensure the relevance of existing health data programs that address data gaps and needs regarding sexual and reproductive health, substance use, children's health, and oral health. Specifically, Statistics Canada will:

• continue to work with Health Canada on the Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey
• collaborate with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University to collect data for the Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth in 2023
• plan the Sexual and Reproductive Health Survey, with the main collection anticipated for early 2024 and Rapid Stats collection planned for spring 2023.

The agency will also continue to address key priorities, deliver on projects related to COVID-19 (e.g., excess mortality, case-based data, immunity task force testing, health care workers and long-term care data) and create a new monitoring program for health conditions. For example, Statistics Canada is conducting a third cycle of the Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health in winter 2023.

Modernization principle: Using leading-edge methods

Statistics Canada is responding to the demand for rapid access to integrated data and insights and ensuring that Canadians have the information necessary to make decisions on complex emerging issues. The agency will use leading-edge approaches and tools to produce integrated data and insights efficiently and sustainably. Attention will be directed toward producing more actionable insights while remaining at the leading edge in acquiring, processing, integrating and analyzing data.

Broadening Canadians' access to data

The following initiatives will ensure that academic researchers and partner government organizations are well positioned to draw insights from Statistics Canada's data:

• The Virtual Data Lab (VDL) environment, which provides seamless and flexible access from authorized workspaces, will be expanded. Through targeted outreach, the agency will expand access and diversify data availability. There are also plans to include the 2021 agriculture and population database in the VDL.
• The Virtual Research Data Centre environment will provide high-performance computing for academic research and facilitate access from smaller academic institutions located in remote regions. In collaboration with the Canadian Research Data Centres Network, the agency will improve and expand access for academic researchers. Business data will also be included more broadly.
• The agency will increase the use of various aggregate and microdata products by ensuring that public use microdata files and confidential microdata files are made available through all access solutions, are representative of all Statistics Canada subject-matter areas and align with the interests of data users.

Canada–United States supply chain

Statistics Canada and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis initiated a collaborative effort to develop a set of joint Canada–U.S. supply and use tables, building on national supply and use data currently produced by each statistical agency. The resulting integrated dataset will facilitate macroeconomic modelling and the analysis of pre- and post-pandemic global value chain linkages between Canada and the United States, including the eventual development of bilateral trade in value added statistics.

Criminal justice system microsimulation

Within the scope of the Justice Data Modernization initiative, Statistics Canada will collaborate with the Department of Justice Canada to build a simulation model of criminal justice system pathways. The purpose of the model is to project the impacts of hypothetical justice and social sector interventions (such as improvements in education and housing) on reducing contact with the justice system and, in particular, reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous and racialized groups. This work will help determine the most effective types of interventions in preventing crime and reducing the costs of the criminal justice system.

Modelling, methods and standards expertise

Statistics Canada will strengthen its horizontal research and modelling capacity to provide Canadians with integrated, timely and comprehensive insights, including on the impacts of COVID-19 and post-pandemic economic growth and recovery.

Through horizontal collaboration between internal and external experts, the agency will continue to establish the statistical infrastructure, systems and methods that can respond to the real-time and disaggregated data needs of Canadians, while maintaining the statistical and analytical rigour that partners expect of their national statistical office. The agency will foster a culture of quality based on established open standards and leading-edge methods, in adherence with world-class values of statistical quality and rigour.

Statistics Canada will also support the development of standards, data acquisition, data integration, training and data strategies that enable the development of disaggregated data products. This will include providing leadership in various committees and internal working groups to position projects for success.

The agency will build on its long-standing expertise in modelling to advance the development and use of advanced techniques and will support their use by policy makers to inform critical social and economic issues.

Data Science Strategy

As part of Statistics Canada's Data Science Strategy, the agency will

• develop novel proofs of concept and deploy machine learning and automation to address business problems
• integrate open-source and cloud-based tools in support of program areas, establishing efficient data ingestion practices
• create a variety of specialized recruitment and training initiatives
• advance the adoption of responsible data science by sharing knowledge and engaging the federal public service community through the Data Science Network for the Federal Public Service.

For example, the AgZero initiative will continue to use alternative methods, such as data science, satellite images and administrative data, to produce high-quality agricultural statistics to reduce the burden imposed by collecting information directly from farmers.

The agency is exploring the use of low-resolution Earth observation images by developing and adopting leading-edge enhancement technology to reduce data acquisition costs, enabling the replacement of field collection when measuring construction starts.

Work will continue on developing and deploying machine learning tools to enhance the accuracy of automated classification and support faster integration of new data sources, including scanner data and web-scraped data. Additionally, the agency will research new methods for active learning frameworks and create training data for new retailers in a cost-effective way by creating an efficient feedback loop for improving classifiers over time.

Driving digital transformation

Statistics Canada will implement the Government of Canada's digital ambitions across the agency, in adherence with the Policy on Service and Digital, Directive on Service and Digital, Guideline on Service and Digital, and Government of Canada Digital Standards. The agency will also ensure alignment with the Government of Canada's enterprise architecture principles and strategic opportunities presented by emerging technologies to drive digital transformation.

Key activities planned for 2023–24 will allow a greater alignment with the Policy on Service and Digital. A review of the target-state enterprise architecture and the departmental architecture review board will be undertaken to ensure alignment with the current business context and agency needs. Statistics Canada will collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to identify emerging technologies that have the potential to be transformational for the agency through research and proof-of-concept activities.

The agency will continue to leverage its new cloud environment for digital transformation and its newly built Data Analytics as a Service platform to support the use of modern statistical methods and enable collaboration with partners.

The agency will ensure that its digital solutions remain viable and secure, while measuring business value and effectiveness, to ensure that its products are providing good value to Canadians.

Population projections

Demosim is a microsimulation model developed and maintained at Statistics Canada that is designed to produce population projections. The agency will complete the rebasing of the model with the 2021 Census to add relevant new content, including gender and children eligible to receive instruction in the minority official language. This rebasing will allow Demosim to keep contributing to labour market availability targets for the Employment Equity Act.

Preparing for the 2026 Census

Planning for the 2026 Census is underway. The agency is leveraging the success of the 2021 Census while adapting to accelerating societal and technological changes to ensure that high-quality, relevant data are produced in a cost-effective, environmentally friendly way that builds and maintains trust with Canadians.

Statistics Canada will conduct extensive consultations with data users, stakeholders and the general public across Canada, allowing them to share their views on both the content and the dissemination strategy of the census. In addition, the agency will conduct field testing of the Census of Agriculture questionnaire content with a sample of farm operations in 2023–24.

Streamlining business processes

The Global Environment for the Economic Statistics Ecosystem project involves developing a new platform for economic statistics programs within the agency. It will include a full overhaul of the way work is carried out and the tools used to do it. The aim is to eliminate repetitive processes, allow for more time devoted to analysis, respond to new demands as required without impacting regular production, and enable resources to move freely between different sections in a common infrastructure.

In 2023–24, this project will

• partner with the Enterprise Information and Data Management project to increase and promote the use of statistical standards in the compilation of official statistics; this work will be done by leveraging the international Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange initiative, which aims to standardize and modernize the mechanisms and processes for exchanging data, and the result will be a standardized and searchable data catalogue, useable by data consumers within and outside Statistics Canada
• collaborate with other national statistical offices and international statistical organizations to modernize the digital ecosystem used to compile the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (CSMA); this international collaboration focuses on sharing best practices for open-source development, sharing project plans and lessons learned, and working toward sharing methods and functions built in open-source software for international comparability and interoperability of national accounting
• develop a new cloud-based environment for the production of the CSMA; the vision for this project is for all CSMA data to be produced in an environment that is flexible, reliable, traceable, reusable, integrated through metadata-driven systems, directly accessible and with code editable by analysts, and designed to incorporate future developments as new tools and technologies become available.

Modernization principle: Having a modern workforce and workplace

Statistics Canada's most precious asset is its people. A modern workforce and workplace means providing employees with access to the services and modern work environment that enable them to deliver results, mitigate organizational challenges and pursue business opportunities.

Building a workforce for digital-first delivery

In 2023–24, the agency will focus on implementing digital talent and leadership strategies to build a workforce for digital-first delivery. Statistics Canada's digital program will evolve through the lens of the user experience and will focus on enabling the agency's hybrid workplace environment, digitalizing the onboarding process for new employees, and increasing the availability of accessible tools and technologies.

Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility

Statistics Canada is committed to supporting equity-seeking employees and providing opportunities for the development, visibility and career advancement of diverse talent while fostering a tradition of inclusion, awareness and belonging.

The agency will continue to encourage a culture of accountability, where everyone understands their responsibilities in achieving a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace. The agency will continue to prioritize diversity in language training programs and will introduce a multi-pronged sponsorship program that supports diverse talent and informs succession planning up to and including the executive level. It will focus specifically on advancing the careers of Black and Indigenous employees and employees with disabilities.

The agency will also implement its first multi-year accessibility plan, Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility, which aims to establish a barrier-free Statistics Canada by articulating commitments across a range of areas of focus, including culture, employment practices, the physical built environment, accommodation policies and practices, communications, information technologies, programs and services, and procurement, to enable the full participation of all employees.

Transition to a hybrid and modern work environment

After more than two years in which employees primarily worked remotely and successfully delivered critical data to Canadians and policy makers to inform complex decisions during the pandemic, Statistics Canada recognizes the need to move forward collectively and shift to a post-pandemic world. The agency is implementing a sustained hybrid model, while pursuing a multi-year plan to modernize its office spaces. These actions align with the common hybrid work model for the Federal Public Service and agency-wide human resources strategies, such as adopting a national hiring strategy, increasing diversity and inclusion, and creating an environment that attracts and retains talent.

The approach taken balances the value demonstrated by empowering and trusting employees with the flexibility to work remotely, while ensuring a sustained onsite presence to maximize results for activities that are inherently more effective in a face-to-face environment. Statistics Canada is committed to both virtual and onsite work as complementary to one another and has adopted a truly hybrid model. Tools such as space booking systems and team charters have been developed to support employees with the transition to hybrid work.

Modernization principle: Building numeracy and data literacy skills

As Canada's national statistical organization, the agency is committed to sharing its knowledge and expertise to support statistical capacity building, build numeracy and literacy, and help Canadians use data as a strategic asset to improve decision making and outcomes.

Building Indigenous statistical capacity

Statistics Canada will continue to be an important resource that respects self-government and provides support for Indigenous data capacity, while improving the visibility of Indigenous peoples in Canada's national statistics through its partnership with Indigenous Services Canada.

This includes

• working with Indigenous partners to develop distinctions-based work plans that prioritize data and research projects that are pertinent to their needs
• supporting Indigenous organizations and communities in developing and sustaining their own statistical capacity by offering various training courses through the expanded Indigenous Statistical Capacity Development Initiative
• focusing efforts on targeted research products related to key priorities and new Indigenous-specific data collected to populate priority national indicators and improve data disaggregation for First Nations people, Métis and Inuit.

Data stewardship

Statistics Canada will provide leadership, expertise and support functions to establish a renewed roadmap for the Government of Canada data strategy and will continue to develop data governance standards in collaboration with the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). In particular, the agency will advance work on data standards through this collaboration and initiatives of interest, such as environmental, social and governance frameworks and digital identity work, including participation in the SCC's National Standards Advisory Committee for the National Standards Strategy. Statistics Canada will also continue to make progress on elements of the Open Science Action Plan and promote open data.

Fostering data literacy

The agency will continue to show leadership on data literacy by further developing the Data Literacy Training Initiative and providing online accessibility training products to support the data literacy journey of its many partners, and Canadians more broadly, as they seek to improve their competencies.

International engagement and leadership

Statistics Canada will play a significant role in the international statistical system through its involvement in over 150 international technical groups, of which it chairs or co-chairs approximately 25. In addition to these groups, Statistics Canada will continue to hold influential positions, such as

• chair of the High-level Group for the Modernisation of Official Statistics
• co-chair of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators
• co-chair of the United Nations' Network of Economic Statisticians
• member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Committee on Statistics and Statistical Policy
• member of the Conference of European Statisticians of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
• member of the UNECE Blue Skies Thinking Network
• local organizer of the International Statistical Institute's 64th biennial World Statistics Congress, to be held in Ottawa in 2023.

Statistics Canada's Project for the Regional Advancement of Statistics in the Caribbean will conclude in 2023–24, after eight years of helping Caribbean countries improve their statistical systems. During this time, the agency will have provided training and support to enable Caribbean national statistical offices to build, maintain and improve their national systems, as well as support in creating and enhancing their websites and dissemination mechanisms.

Statistical geomatics

Statistics Canada is implementing its statistical geomatics vision with a whole-of-agency approach to maximize value for Canadians, while following internationally recognized foundational principles. This will enable the integration and use of additional geospatial information and geolocated statistics through interoperable solutions, common geographies and standards, while taking into account ethics, privacy and confidentiality concerns. This initiative will support the production of additional geolocated statistical insights on the environment, society and the economy.

Quality of Life Framework

Statistics Canada will further develop the Quality of Life Framework for Canada and the Quality of Life Statistics Program in conjunction with key partners, such as the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Department of Finance Canada and the Privy Council Office. The agency will continue to support interdepartmental governance for the Quality of Life Statistics Program, actively engage with other federal departments and agencies to align efforts, and ensure that the program continues to support the integration of quality of life measurements into budgeting and decision making.

Statistics Canada will also continue to consult broadly with federal partners to ensure that quality of life indicator definitions are fully developed and kept relevant over time. The agency will collaborate with internal and external partners to fill data gaps and expand current data holdings, and ensure that disaggregated quality of life statistics are available for the Canadian population. Statistics Canada will continue to develop the Quality of Life Hub by adding functionality to enhance the user experience and to manage and integrate data efficiently, making well-being statistics easily accessible and interpretable for all Canadians.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) fuels Statistics Canada's organizational decision making. The agency supports other government departments with respect to GBA Plus and relevant initiatives and ensures that its work is beneficial to the public—in all of its diversity—by disseminating data disaggregated by sex, gender and other intersecting identity factors, as well as gender-based and intersectional analyses. Statistics Canada provides statistical leadership and analytical expertise for the development of progress metrics and relevant statistical standards. It is also building GBA Plus knowledge and capacity, and monitoring and addressing emerging data needs.

In 2023–24, Statistics Canada will continue to report to Canadians about the state and progress of gender, diversity and inclusion in Canada. This includes updating the Gender Results Framework indicators and improving the Sex, Gender and Sexual Orientation Statistics Hub. Through the release of new analytical products, the agency will generate new information to increase knowledge and will develop new concepts and measures to address intersecting identity characteristics, including the release of a new statistical standard on sexual orientation. Further, Statistics Canada will build awareness, knowledge and capacity relevant to gender, diversity and inclusion in Canada and GBA Plus, notably through the GBA Plus Responsibility Network and the GBA Plus Community of Practice.

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

Statistics Canada will continue to play a key role in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Internationally, the agency is a senior member and co-chair of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs). Beginning in late 2023 and continuing into 2024, the IAEG-SDGs will begin the revision process of the Global Indicator Framework for SDGs. This will include examining the existing 232 global indicators and undertaking a global consultation to determine whether any changes should be made to the framework.

Statistics Canada will also continue to be a member of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Steering Group on Statistics for SDGs. In 2023–24, this group will continue to help UNECE countries implement the SDGs through various capacity development initiatives, expert meetings and webinars; share best practices and open-source tools; and help SDG experts in national statistical offices build relationships with policy makers to ensure that high-quality official statistics are used in the development of policies designed to achieve the SDGs.

Statistics Canada will also continue to report on the Global Indicator Framework for Canada and migrate the agency's global indicator data hub to the Open SDG platform, which will provide users with an interactive experience to view Canada's reporting on the global indicators.

Domestically, Statistics Canada will continue to report on the Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) for SDGs through the CIF data hub. In 2023, the agency will begin a review of the CIF to determine whether changes to the indicators are necessary. This includes a government-wide consultation.

Innovation

Statistics Canada will continue to strengthen its innovation ecosystem with investment, governance, infrastructure and skills development to promote innovation and experimentation. This will accelerate the response to both agency-wide and Government of Canada priorities.

In 2023–24, the agency will continue to implement a modern data analytics open-source ecosystem, supporting the agency's network of grassroots communities of practice, advancing the Lean culture transformation strategy and supporting program areas in their use of experimentation approaches.

The agency will continue to engage internal and external partners by hosting monthly hackathon series, encouraging design thinking and co-creation activities, and realizing the goals of the 2022–-23 Public Service Data Challenge.

Other planned innovations include

• developing experimental indexes to help policy makers better understand the inflation pass-through effect from the business to the consumer sector and to inform work on rent affordability
• developing production-ready harmonized indicators that better leverage administrative data, and continuing to experiment with variable replacement to see how it can be used to reduce response burden
• developing capacity in life-course analysis using survey and administrative data through the Longitudinal Social Data Development Program, and mapping population trajectories regarding the differential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on different populations
• modernizing tools for the production of population projections.

Key risks

By continuously monitoring its internal and external environment, Statistics Canada addresses uncertainties related to its core responsibilities. The agency adopted an integrated risk management process to identify, assess and prioritize risks and respond to them. This approach guides the agency's business planning to ensure the timeliness, reliability and quality of its statistics. The agency has identified, assessed and ranked the following five corporate risks and developed corresponding strategies to mitigate each risk.

Planned results for Statistical Information

The following table shows, for Statistical Information, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2023–24, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Planned results for Statistical Informatio

Departmental result	Departmental result indicator	Target	Date to achieve target	2019–20 actual result	2020–21 actual result	2021–22 actual result
High-quality statistical information is available to Canadians	Number of post-release corrections due to accuracy for mission critical programsTablenote 1	0	March 31, 2024	1	19	7
	Percentage of international standards with which Statistics Canada conforms	90%Tablenote 2	March 31, 2024	88%	88%	88%
	Number of statistical products available on the website	48,000	March 31, 2024	37,254	40,738	43,184
	Number of Statistics Canada data tables available on the Open Data Portal	8,790	March 31, 2024	7,386	7,755	8,088
High-quality statistical information is accessed by Canadians	Number of visits to Statistics Canada website	22,500,000Tablenote 3	March 31, 2024	20,285,269	28,193,955Tablenote 4	45,972,326Tablenote 5,Tablenote 6
	Number of hits on Statistics Canada's Application Programming Interface (API)	6,001,400	March 31, 2024	Not available	3,899,779	5,950,252
	Percentage of website visitors that found what they were looking forTablenote 7	78%	March 31, 2024	Not available	Not available	Not available
	Number of interactions on social media	500,000Tablenote 3	March 31, 2024	521,441	1,211,316Tablenote 4	13,174,481Tablenote 5,Tablenote 6
High-quality statistical information is relevant to Canadians	Number of media citations on Statistics Canada data	82,000Tablenote 3	March 31, 2024	56,921	253,171Tablenote 4	139,078Tablenote 6
	Number of journal citations	38,000	March 31, 2024	26,505	33,596Tablenote 4	40,248Tablenote 8
	Percentage of users satisfied with statistical informationTablenote 9	80%	March 31, 2024	Not available	Not available	Not available
Tablenote 1 An amendment to the methodology of this indicator will take effect in 2023–24. The indicator will now include the number of post-release corrections made on the agency's 21 mission critical programs. This change was made to be more transparent about the post-release corrections related to accuracy made to important programs. Return to tablenote 1 referrer Tablenote 2 The target is set at 90% because international standards (international classifications and frameworks) are constantly evolving, and the agency can take a few cycles to reach alignment. Return to tablenote 2 referrer Tablenote 3 The target is a decrease from the previous two years, as activity will no longer be influenced by the 2021 Census or peak pandemic years. Return to tablenote 3 referrer Tablenote 4 In 2020, the agency responded to the demand for an evidence-based response to COVID-19 by releasing and promoting numerous new and timely statistical products, which were well received by Canadians. This resulted in a significant increase in the number of visits to the website, interactions on social media, and media and journal citations. Return to tablenote 4 referrer Tablenote 5 In early 2021, the agency experienced higher-than-expected interest in the 2021 Census awareness and recruitment campaigns, which resulted in an increase in the number of visits to the website and interactions on social media. Return to tablenote 5 referrer Tablenote 6 In February 2022, the agency published its first 2021 Census of Population release, which was much anticipated by the Canadian population. There was higher-than-anticipated interest from the public, which resulted in a significantly higher number of visits to the website, interactions on social media and media citations. Return to tablenote 6 referrer Tablenote 7 This indicator will be reported using the Government of Canada Task Success Survey for the first time in 2023–24 which represents a new methodology; therefore, no previous results are available. Return to tablenote 7 referrer Tablenote 8 Statistics Canada published many analytical papers related to the pandemic, which were highly relevant to the public and garnered a high number of journal citations. Return to tablenote 8 referrer Tablenote 9 Satisfaction with statistical information will be reported from the client experience index for the first time in 2023–24 which represents a new methodology; therefore, no previous results are available. Return to tablenote 9 referrer

The financial, human resources and performance information for Statistics Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned budgetary spending for Statistical Information

The following table shows, for Statistical information, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned budgetary spending for Statistical Information

	2023–24 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2023–24 planned spending	2024–25 planned spending	2025–26 planned spending
Gross planned expenditures	579,311,471	579,311,471	571,978,435	571,251,486
Respendable revenue	-120,000,000	-120,000,000	-120,000,000	-120,000,000
Net planned expenditures	459,311,471	459,311,471	451,978,435	451,251,486

Financial, human resources and performance information for Statistics Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for Statistical Information

The following table shows, in full-time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for Statistical Information

	2023–24 planned full-time equivalents	2024–25 planned full-time equivalents	2025–26 planned full-time equivalents
Gross planned expenditures	5,415	5,389	5,367
Respendable revenue	-1,189	-1,189	-1,189
Net planned expenditures	4,226	4,200	4,178

Overall, Statistics Canada is expecting to maintain its capacity for the delivery of ongoing statistical programs in future years, with no significant shifts in resources. The decrease in planned resources from 2023–24 to future years reported above relates largely to the cyclical nature of the Census Program, as funding for the 2021 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture winds down. Funding for the 2026 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture has not yet been approved but is expected to be approved in 2023–24, which would be the first year of funding.

Also reflected in all three years are planned resources for several initiatives from Budget 2021, as well as new initiatives from Budget 2022. These new initiatives include Taking More Action to Eliminate Plastic Waste, Building a World-Class Intellectual Property Regime and Dental Care for Canadians.

Financial, human resources and performance information for Statistics Canada's program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.

Modernization principle: Working in collaboration and partnerships

To ensure that more data are integrated from a variety of sources and that more end users have the information they need to make evidence-based decisions, the agency has identified further opportunities to collaborate with new and existing partners. The number of partnerships will only increase as the country transitions to a post-pandemic environment.

Modernization principle: Being user-centric

The agency will prioritize the experience of users and partners at every step in the data value chain, with the aim of making it simple for Canadians to connect with their data. This includes leveraging existing tools, such as podcasts, mobile applications and data portals, to share insights with Canadians. Statistics Canada will continue to complete studies and develop new products to address user needs and emerging concerns.

Modernization principle: Using leading-edge methods

Statistics Canada is responding to the demand for rapid access to integrated data and insights and ensuring that Canadians have the necessary information to make decisions on complex emerging issues. The agency will use leading-edge approaches and its new data analytics platform to produce integrated data and insights efficiently and sustainably. Attention will be directed toward producing more actionable insights while remaining at the forefront in acquiring, processing, integrating, analyzing and disseminating data.

Modernization principle: Having a modern workforce and workplace

Statistics Canada provides its employees with access to the services and work environment that enable them to deliver results, mitigate organizational challenges and pursue business opportunities. This includes a multi-year plan currently underway to modernize its office spaces, agency-wide human resources strategies to increase diversity and inclusion, and an environment that attracts and retains talent. The agency is also establishing a barrier-free Statistics Canada through the implementation of its first multi-year accessibility plan.

Modernization principle: Building numeracy and data literacy skills

Statistics Canada is globally recognized for its expertise and ongoing leadership role on the world stage. The agency will also continue to be a national data literacy leader through its three key data strategy initiatives: data literacy and training, a data stewardship engagement strategy, and a data science community of practice. The agency will maintain a proactive and coordinated approach to drive the use of data as a strategic asset throughout the Government of Canada and provide support to other federal organizations.
Through partnerships with Indigenous peoples, organizations and communities, Statistics Canada will continue to be an important resource to assist in building capacity and maintaining Indigenous peoples' statistical programs that are grounded in their needs and based on the recognition of rights, respect and collaboration.

For more information on Statistics Canada's plans, see the "Core responsibilities: planned results and resources, and key risks" section of this plan.

In the past several years, Canadians have faced many uncertainties, from the COVID-19 pandemic and political unrest to economic challenges and calls for social change. Throughout this period, Statistics Canada's expertise and reputation as a trusted source of information have been integral to the success of Canada's response and recovery planning. Data have proved to be vital in understanding what is happening and in guiding strong policies to move society forward while leaving no one behind. This report outlines how Statistics Canada will meet the nation's evolving data needs as Canadians seek to establish a more informed, stable and inclusive future.

The agency continues to include recommendations provided by the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council (CSAC) as part of its plans for the coming year. The work outlined in this departmental plan aligns with the three key recommendations provided in CSAC's third annual report:

• maintain the authority and responsibilities of Statistics Canada
• strengthen data stewardship within the national statistical system
• strengthen data sharing across jurisdictions.

The agency plans to work with new and existing partners, within the country and around the world, to integrate different sources of high-quality data. This will enhance its ongoing efforts to deliver the best information and insights available to help Canadians make timely, evidence-based decisions. Statistics Canada will also continue to work in partnership with First Nations peoples, Métis and Inuit to support strengthening the statistical capacity of these communities. As a national leader in data literacy, the agency will also implement innovative, engaging tools to reach more audiences and enhance their ability to extract value from data.

Canadians have been calling for more detailed information to address emerging socioeconomic and environmental concerns. To that end, Statistics Canada will continue implementing its Disaggregated Data Action Plan (DDAP) and integrating the richness of 2021 Census data into more of its programs. The DDAP has enabled the release of data that will guide policies supporting women, racialized populations, Indigenous communities, people with disabilities and others experiencing systemic barriers to inclusion. Additionally, Statistics Canada's Census of Environment will help Canadians develop a better understanding of the state of the country's ecosystems. It will provide insight into how Canadians are adapting to new and emerging environmental challenges, improve awareness about the health impacts of the climate crisis, and inform strategies to repair the damage already done.

Statistics Canada is proud to play a leadership role in Canada's data network. The agency will continue exploring modern methods, tools and strategies to enable it to lead the way in acquiring, processing, integrating and analyzing data, while expanding access to the information and insights the agency produces.

As many industries and governments around the world implement new policies to reshape their work environments, Statistics Canada is transitioning to the Government of Canada's common hybrid work model. Most employees from across the country are working in the hybrid model that facilitates collaboration and innovation. Statistics Canada is modernizing its office spaces and refining its hiring, development and retention strategies to increase diversity and inclusion among employees.

For more than a century, the agency has steadfastly carried out its legal and ethical duty to collect, store and use data responsibly, as well as to protect the data that come into its care. Through Statistics Canada's online Trust Centre, the agency engages in an ongoing dialogue with Canadians about how it collects and uses data on their behalf, while protecting their privacy and safeguarding the confidentiality of the data they entrust to the agency. I invite Canadians to visit the Trust Centre to learn more about how the agency operates, as well as how the data-driven insights it produces contribute to the public interest.

Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada