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

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

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

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

Reducing duplication and focusing resources

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

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

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

Revised activities:

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

Discontinued and ending activities

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

The Canadian international merchandise trade program

Introduction

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

Conceptual framework

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

List of Canada's Principal Trading Partners

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

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

Contact information

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

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

A) Introduction

Statistics Canada's mandate

Statistics Canada ("the agency") is a member of the Innovation, Science and Industry portfolio.

Statistics Canada's role is to ensure that Canadians have access to a trusted source of statistics on Canada that meets their highest priority needs.

The agency's mandate derives primarily from the Statistics Act. The Act requires that the agency collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical information on the economic, social, and general conditions of the country and its people. It also requires that Statistics Canada conduct the Census of Population and the Census of Agriculture every fifth year and protects the confidentiality of the information with which it is entrusted.

Statistics Canada also has a mandate to co-ordinate and lead the national statistical system. The agency is considered a leader, among statistical agencies around the world, in co–ordinating statistical activities to reduce duplication and reporting burden.

More information on Statistics Canada's mandate, roles, responsibilities and programs can be found in the 2025-2026 Main Estimates and in the Statistics Canada 2025-2026 Departmental Plan.

The Quarterly Financial Report:

• should be read in conjunction with the 2025-2026 Main Estimates;
• has been prepared by management, as required by Section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act, and in the form and manner prescribed by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat;
• has not been subject to an external audit or review.

Statistics Canada has the authority to collect and spend revenue from other federal government departments and agencies, as well as from external clients, for statistical services and products.

Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the agency's spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the agency consistent with the Main Estimates for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. This quarterly report has been prepared using a special purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before moneys can be spent by the Government. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

The agency uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

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

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

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

Significant changes to authorities

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

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

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

Significant changes to expenditures

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C) Significant changes to operations, personnel and programs

In 2025-26, the following changes in operations, personnel and program activities are underway:

• The 2026 Census of Population program is ramping up in preparation for next year when the Census will be conducted. As a result, expenditures for this program are increasing.
• Cloud funding is secured for 2025-26; however, funding to continue cloud operations beyond 2026–27 is not included in the agency’s appropriations, as an enterprise-wide funding model is pending. In December 2023, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat announced the GC Application Hosting Strategy which included the centralization of cloud operations within Shared Services Canada (SSC). As per the direction, a temporary transfer agreement, effective September 2024, was signed by Statistics Canada (StatCan) and SSC, to transfer certain cloud operations functions from StatCan to SSC which includes the corresponding human resource capacity to ensure continuity of StatCan’s cloud infrastructure operations. 

D) Risks and uncertainties

Statistics Canada continues to address financial and operational uncertainties through its corporate risk management framework. Budget variations, particularly from cyclical programs such as the Census and anticipated adjustments stemming from the Comprehensive Expenditure Review are being managed through agile planning and strategic resource management. To ensure long-term financial sustainability, the agency is strengthening partnerships with government entities and modernizing its digital infrastructure. 

To support its modernization efforts, Statistics Canada is strengthening its statistical operations and continuing to invest in workforce development and organizational efficiency. The agency remains dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace while streamlining operations and optimizing resources. Through continued collaboration with federal partners, the agency is reinforcing its financial stewardship and ensuring a resilient, adaptable organization that meets the evolving needs of Canadians.

Approval by senior officials

Approved by:

André Loranger, Chief Statistician
Ottawa, Ontario
Signed on: February 9, 2026     

Kathleen Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer
Ottawa, Ontario
Signed on: February 3, 2026    

Appendix

Statement of Authorities (unaudited)

This table displays the departmental authorities for fiscal years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. The row headers provide information by type of authority, Vote 105 – Net operating expenditures, Statutory authority and Total Budgetary authorities. The column headers provide information in thousands of dollars for Total available for use for the year ending March 31; used during the quarter ended December 31; and year to date used at quarter-end of both fiscal years.

	Fiscal year 2025-2026			Fiscal year 2024–2025
	Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2026Table note *	Used during the quarter ended December 31, 2025	Year-to-date used at quarter-end	Total available for use for the year ending March 31, 2025Table note *	Used during the quarter ended December 31, 2024	Year-to-date used at quarter-end
	in thousands of dollars
Vote 1 — Net operating expenditures	755,124	154,186	496,552	679,138	126,562	470,342
Statutory authority — Contribution to employee benefit plans	103,926	25,951	77,854	88,672	22,105	66,314
Total budgetary authorities	859,050	180,137	574,406	767,810	148,667	536,656
Table note 1 Includes only Authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end. Return tothe first table note * referrer

Departmental budgetary expenditures by Standard Object (unaudited)

This table displays the departmental expenditures by standard object for fiscal years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. The row headers provide information by standard object for expenditures and revenues. The column headers provide information in thousands of dollars for planned expenditures for the year ending March 31; expended during the quarter ended December 31; and year to date used at quarter-end of both fiscal years.

	Fiscal year 2025-2026			Fiscal year 2024–2025
	Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2026	Expended during the quarter ended December 31, 2025	Year-to-date used at quarter-end	Planned expenditures for the year ending March 31, 2025	Expended during the quarter ended December 31, 2024	Year-to-date used at quarter-end
	in thousands of dollars
Expenditures:
(01) Personnel	812,216	188,748	563,655	744,253	183,572	543,423
(02) Transportation and communications	32,317	5,241	13,086	20,048	4,130	11,652
(03) Information	15,029	6,482	10,345	23,141	1,743	5,157
(04) Professional and special services	49,469	6,408	14,803	41,537	7,866	18,154
(05) Rentals	52,701	13,081	30,783	38,973	4,447	25,999
(06) Repair and maintenance	1,327	228	451	1,245	188	402
(07) Utilities, materials and supplies	2,722	1,546	2,316	1,439	273	712
(08) Acquisition of land, buildings and works	507	12	13	632	36	36
(09) Acquisition of machinery and equipment	9,071	-135	1,362	12,615	896	2,302
(10) Transfer payments	-	-	-	-	-	-
(12) Other subsidies and payments	3,691	217	494	3,927	154	362
Total gross budgetary expenditures	979,050	221,828	637,308	887,810	203,305	608,199
Less revenues netted against expenditures:
Revenues	120,000	41,691	62,902	120,000	54,638	71,543
Total revenues netted against expenditures	120,000	41,691	62,902	120,000	54,638	71,543
Total net budgetary expenditures	859,050	180,137	574,406	767,810	148,667	536,656

Why are we conducting this survey?

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

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

• Obtaining information on the supply of and demand for energy in Canada.
• Enabling governmental agencies to fulfill their regulatory responsibilities in regards to public utilities.
• Enabling all levels of government to establish informed policies in the energy area.
• Assisting the business community in the corporate decision-making process.
• Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes:
• Supporting the government in making informed decisions about fiscal, monetary and foreign exchange policies.
• Enabling academics and economists to analyze the economic performance of Canadian industries and to better understand rapidly evolving business environments.

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

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

Other important information

Authorization to collect this information

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

Confidentiality

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

Record linkages

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

Data sharing agreements

To reduce the response burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data. Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon.

The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory. Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and mailing it to the following address:

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

You may also contact us by email at Statistics Canada Help Desk or by fax at 613-951-6583.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, as well as with the provincial government ministries responsible for the energy sector, Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

For a complete list of the provincial government ministries responsible for the energy sector, you can visit the following link: Information for survey participants.

Note that there is no right of refusal with respect to sharing the data with the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Energy and Resources for businesses also required to report under The Oil and Gas Conservation Act and Regulations (Saskatchewan) and The Mineral Resources Act (Saskatchewan).

The Saskatchewan Ministry of the Energy and Resources will use the information obtained from these businesses in accordance with the provisions of its Acts and Regulations.

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Business or organization and contact information

1. Verify or provide the business or organization’s legal and operating name, and correct information if needed.

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

Note: Press the help button (?) for additional information.

• Legal name
• Operating name (if applicable)

2. Verify or provide the contact information for the designated contact person for the business or organization, and correct information if needed.

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

• First name
• Last name
• Title
• Preferred language of communication
• Mailing address (number and street)
• City
• Province, territory or state
• Postal code or ZIP code Example: A9A 9A9 or 12345-1234
• Country
• Email address Example: user@example.gov.ca
• Telephone number Example: 123-123-1234
• Extension number (if applicable)
• Fax number (including area code)

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

• Operational
• Not currently operational e.g., temporarily or permanently closed, change of ownership

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

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

Note: Press the help button (?) for additional information, including a detailed description of the activity with example activities and any applicable exclusions.

Description and examples

• This is the current main activity
• This is not the current main activity

Main activity

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

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

• Yes
• No

Main activity

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

How to search:

• If desired, you can filter the search results by first selecting the business or organization’s activity sector.
• Enter keywords or a brief description that best describe the business or organization’s main activity.
• Press the Search button to search the database for an industry activity classification that best matches the keywords or description you provided.
• Select an industry activity classification from the list.

Select this business or organization’s activity sector

Enter keywords or a brief description, then press the Search button

Reporting period information

1. What are the start and end dates of this operation’s most recently completed fiscal year?

• Fiscal year start date Example: YYYY-MM-DD
• Fiscal year end date Example: YYYY-MM-DD

Operating revenue and expense accounts

1. What were this business’ operating revenues and expenses for the fiscal year?

Operating revenue — gross sales

1. Coal of own production
2. Purchased coal
3. All other products

Total gross sales (Sum of a. to c.)

Operating revenue — marketing expenses

1. Outward transportation — road
2. Outward transportation — rail
3. Outward transportation — water

Total outward transportation (Sum of a. to c.)

4. Port handling charges
5. All other marketing expenses

Total marketing expenses (Sum of Total outward transportation + Port handling charges + All other marketing expenses)

Total net sales (Sum of Total gross sales - Total marketing expenses)

Other operating revenue

1. Contract mining
2. Subsidies (operating only)
3. All other operating revenue

Total operating revenue (Sum of Total net sales + Contract mining + Subsidies (operating only) + All other operating revenue)

2. What were this business’ operation, maintenance and administration costs for the fiscal year?

Direct mining costs

1. Salaries and wages
2. Supplementary labour benefits e.g., employer contributions
3. Materials and supplies
4. Contracted services

Repair and maintenance costs

1. Salaries and wages
2. Supplementary labour benefits e.g., employer contributions
3. Materials and supplies
4. Contracted services

Other costs

1. Labour
2. Supplementary labour benefits e.g., employer contributions
3. Purchased fuel and electricity
4. Coal purchased for resale
5. Taxes — non income e.g., royalties, acreage, business, municipal school
6. All other costs

Total operation, maintenance and administration (Sum of Direct mining costs + Repair and maintenance costs + Other costs)

Other expenses

1. Depreciation
2. Income tax
3. All other deductions

Total operating expenses (Sum of Total operation, maintenance and administration + Depreciation + Income tax + All other deductions)

Net income

(Sum of Total operating revenue - Total operating expenses)

Net income (Sum of Total operating revenue - Total operating expenses)

3. What was the quantity of coal produced and purchased in the fiscal year?

1. Coal of own production
   Metric tonnes
2. Foreign purchased coal
   Metric tonnes
3. Domestic purchased coal
   Metric tonnes

Operations payroll

4. What were the salary and wages and total number of employees by category in the fiscal year?

Salaries and wages for the year
Total number of full time employees during the year

1. Executive, administrative, office and sales

   Salaries and wages for the year
   Total number of full time employees during the year

2. Mine and related

   Salaries and wages for the year
   Total number of full time employees during the year

3. Preparation plant and related

   Salaries and wages for the year
   Total number of full time employees during the year

All other payroll

1. All other payroll

   Salaries and wages for the year
   Total number of full time employees during the year

   Total employees at this location (Sum of Operations payroll + All other payroll)
   Salaries and wages for the year

2. Employees at other locations within province

   Salaries and wages for the year
   Total number of full time employees during the year

   Total employees (Sum of Total employees at this location + Employees at other locations within province)
   Salaries and wages for the year

   Total number of full time employees during the year

Changes or events

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

Select all that apply.

• Strike or lock-out
• Exchange rate impact
• Price changes in goods or services sold
• Contracting out
• Organizational change
• Price changes in labour or raw materials
• Natural disaster
• Recession
• Change in product line
• Sold business or business units
• Expansion
• New or lost contract
• Acquisition of business or business units
• Vacation or maintenance periods
• Equipment failure
• Seasonal operations
• Increased or decreased market demand
• Other
• Specify the other change or event
• OR
• No changes or events

Contact person

6. Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information. Is the best person to contact?

• Yes
• No

Feedback

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

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

• Hours
• Minutes

8. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?

On this page

• Overview
• Reference period
• Data sources and methodologies
• Revisions and seasonal adjustment
• Data accuracy
• Notes
• References
• Appendix

Overview

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) plays a key role in the Bank of Canada's conduct of monetary policy.

In 1991, the Bank of Canada and the Government of Canada jointly established an inflation-targeting framework for the conduct of monetary policy. This framework is reviewed every five years, with the most recent renewal occurring in October 2016. Based on this framework, the Bank of Canada conducts monetary policy aimed at keeping inflation, as measured by the change in the All-items CPI, at 2 per cent, the midpoint of an inflation-control range of 1 to 3 per cent.

To help it achieve this target, the Bank of Canada uses a set of measures of core inflation. The purpose of these measures is to capture persistent price movements by eliminating transitory or sector-specific fluctuations in some components of the CPI. From 2001 until the most recent renewal of the inflation control target, the Bank of Canada's focal measure of core inflation was the All-items CPI excluding eight of its most volatile components (as defined by the Bank of Canada) as well as the effect of changes in indirect taxes on the remaining components (CPIX). For more information, see the Bank of Canada Review article (Macklem (2001)).

As discussed in the Renewal of the Inflation-Control Target – Background Information, the Bank of Canada has identified three preferred measures of core inflation to help assess underlying inflation in Canada.^Note 1 The Bank of Canada chose these three measures based primarily on analysis conducted in 2015 by its researchers (Khan, Morel and Sabourin (2015)). While the Bank's emphasis will be on these three measures, Statistics Canada will continue to calculate and publish CPIX.

Although no measure of core inflation was superior across all the evaluation criteria, three measures showed the best performance. Based on the results of this analysis, the Bank of Canada decided to change its approach by jointly using all three measures: i) a measure based on the trimmed mean (CPI-trim); ii) a measure based on the weighted median (CPI-median); and, iii) a measure based on the common component (CPI-common). For more information on how the three measures were chosen, see the background document on the renewal of the inflation-control target (Bank of Canada (2016)). In the rest of this document, we will present detailed information on the methodologies and data used to produce these measures of core inflation.^Note 2

Reference period

These measures are expressed as a year-over-year percentage change (i.e., comparing any month in a given year to the same month in the previous year). Accordingly, they are not available in the form of an index level and do not have a reference period (e.g., 2002=100).

Data sources and methodologies

The three preferred measures of core inflation are computed by Statistics Canada using data from the CPI Survey. For more information on the data sources, error detection, imputation rules, estimation and calculation of price indexes, quality evaluation of the data collected, and data disclosure control for the CPI survey, see the description of this survey. Below, we will describe the CPI data used and the methods for calculating these three measures of core inflation.

The three measures require historical series of consumer price indexes based on the disaggregation of the All-items CPI into a fixed number of components. These components are exhaustive and mutually exclusive. Therefore, the sum of their respective weights in the CPI basket is equal to 100. These measures are based on a 55-component disaggregation of the CPI basket; a complete list of these components is provided in Table A1 in the appendix of this document. These historical series are available on a monthly basis. Owing to data limitations, these 55 components are calculated since January 1989.^Note 3 Since we use price indexes calculated at the national level, the three measures are only calculated at that level of detail.

The consumer price indexes of the 55 components are first adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes.

Measure of core inflation based on the trimmed mean (CPI-trim)

CPI-trim excludes from the 55 components those whose monthly rates of change in the CPI are located in the tails of the distribution of the monthly rates of change of all the price indexes in a given month. This measure is calculated as a weighted arithmetic average of the price changes of the non-excluded components. The weight of a component corresponds to its weight in the CPI basket at the basket link month. The procedure for calculating CPI-trim every month can be described as follows.

Step 1: The historical series of price indexes for the 55 components, adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes, are seasonally adjusted. For more information on the seasonal adjustment methodology, see the "Revisions and seasonal adjustment" section below.

Step 2: We obtain the distribution of all monthly inflation rates calculated for the 55 components based on the percentage changes in price indexes for the current month versus those for the previous month. These monthly inflation rates are then sorted in ascending order (i.e., from lowest to highest). By ranking all the components' weights and monthly inflation rates together in this order, components with the lowest inflation rates are excluded, which accounts for 20 per cent^Note 4 of the total CPI basket. The same process is used to exclude components with the highest inflation rates, up to 20 per cent^Note 5 of the basket.

Step 3: We calculate a monthly trimmed inflation rate, ${\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{m/m}$, defined as the weighted arithmetic average of monthly inflation rates for components not excluded in Step 2, which make up 60 per cent of the total CPI basket. The weight of the excluded components will always be 40 per cent of the total CPI basket, but the excluded components are not necessarily the same from month to month.

Step 4: We produce the annual inflation rate for a given month, ${\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{y/y}$, using the cumulative monthly trimmed inflation rates for the 12-month period ending in the current month. The following formula is used for this purpose:

$${\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{y/y}=\left(\left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-trim}}_{t-11}^{m/m}}{100}\right)\times \left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-trim}}_{t-10}^{m/m}}{100}\right)\times \dots \times \left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{m/m}}{100}\right)-1\right)\times 100.$$

In other words, the annual inflation rate, ${\text{CPI-trim}}_t^{y/y}$, measured for a given month $t$ is calculated as the cumulative monthly trimmed inflation rates over the 12-month period ending in month $t$.

Measure of core inflation based on the weighted median (CPI-median)

CPI-median represents, for a given month, the price change corresponding to the 50th percentile (in terms of CPI basket weights) of the distribution of price changes of the 55 components. As with CPI-trim, the weight of a component is represented by its weight in the CPI basket at the basket link month. The method for processing data for the CPI-median is similar to that for CPI-trim. The procedure for calculating CPI-median every month can be described as follows.

Step 1: The historical series of price indexes for the 55 components, adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes, are seasonally adjusted. For more information on the seasonal adjustment methodology, see the "Revisions and seasonal adjustment" section below.

Step 2: We obtain the distribution of all monthly inflation rates calculated for the 55 components based on the percentage changes in price indexes for the current month versus those for the previous month. These monthly inflation rates are then sorted in ascending order (i.e., from lowest to highest). By ranking all the components' weights and inflation rates together in this order, we identify the monthly inflation rate located at the 50th percentile^Note 6 (in terms of CPI basket weights) of the distribution of the monthly inflation rates for the 55 components. This value represents the monthly inflation rate based on the weighted median, ${\text{CPI-median}}_t^{m/m}$. The component corresponding to the weighted median value is not necessarily the same from month to month. This approach is similar to that for CPI-trim because it eliminates all the weighted monthly price variations at both the bottom and top of the distribution of price changes in any given month, except the price change for the component that is the midpoint of that distribution.

Step 3: We produce the annual inflation rate, ${\text{CPI-median}}_t^{y/y}$, for a given month, using the cumulative monthly inflation rates based on the weighted median for the 12-month period ending in the current month. The following formula is used for this purpose:

$${\text{CPI-median}}_t^{y/y}=\left(\left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-median}}_{t-11}^{m/m}}{100}\right)\times \left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-median}}_{t-10}^{m/m}}{100}\right)\times \dots \times \left(1+\frac{{\text{CPI-median}}_t^{m/m}}{100}\right)-1\right)\times 100.$$

In other words, the value of the annual inflation rate, ${\text{CPI-median}}_t^{y/y}$, in a given month $t$ is calculated as the cumulative monthly inflation rates based on the weighted median over the 12-month period ending in month $t$.

Measure of core inflation based on the common component (CPI-common)

CPI-common is a measure that tracks common price changes across the 55 components in the CPI basket.

As with CPI-trim and CPI-median, the input data for CPI-common are the CPI series for the 55 components adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes. In addition, we use the historical series of the All-items CPI adjusted to remove the effect of changes in indirect taxes to scale CPI-common to the inflation rate. Unlike CPI-trim and CPI-median, this measure is based on year-over-year percentage changes in price indexes. Therefore, the price index series are not seasonally adjusted when calculating CPI-common.

This measure is based on a factor model. Factor models are statistical methods that represent the variation in a set of variables as the sum of one or more factors representing co-movements across variables and an idiosyncratic term capturing the part unexplained by this (those) common factor(s). In the context of estimating core inflation, these models are used to separate the common source underlying the changes in CPI series from idiosyncratic elements that are related to sector-specific events (Khan, Morel and Sabourin (2013)).^Note 7 For each of the 55 components, $i=1,2,\mathrm{...},55$, the model is written as follows (in the case of one common factor):

$${\pi }_{i,t}={\Lambda }_i{F}_t+{\epsilon }_{i,t};i=1,2,\mathrm{...},55;t=1,2,\mathrm{...},T,$$

where $T$ represents the total number of time periods available, ${\pi }_{i,t}$ represents the inflation rate of component $i$ for the period $t$, which is related to the common factor $F_t$ through factor loading ${\Lambda }_i$, and ${\epsilon }_{i,t}$ is an idiosyncratic error term representing sector-specific disturbances that are uncorrelated with the common factor. In this model, the measure of core inflation is then defined as follows:

$${\tilde{\pi }}_t=\Lambda F_t\text{ ,}$$

where $\Lambda$ is the matrix of factor loadings. For more information, see Khan et al. (2013).

In practice, CPI-common is calculated using the entire historical data of price index series and by following the steps below.

Step 1: We calculate annual inflation rates for the 55 components and for the All-items CPI excluding the effect of changes in indirect taxes. In a given month, the annual inflation rate for a given component is defined as the year-over-year percentage change in the price index for that month.

Step 2: The historical series of annual inflation rates for the 55 components are standardized. In other words, the historical series of annual inflation rates for each component is centred with respect to its average and then divided by its standard deviation.

Step 3: A factor model is estimated using data from the 55 historical series of annual standardized inflation rates. The principal components method is used for this purpose (Stock and Watson (2002a, 2002b)). This method involves creating 55 new variables, called principal components, each explaining a fraction of the variation found in all 55-historical series of annual inflation rates. The first principal component, which is associated with the highest eigenvalue, is the one that best explains the variation in the 55 historical series of annual inflation rates over the entire observation period. Only the first principal component is used in calculating CPI-common.^Note 8

Step 4: The final step is to scale the first principal component to the inflation rate. The measure of core inflation based on the common component, CPI-common, is defined and calculated as the series of predicted values from the simple linear regression of the annual inflation rates of the All-items CPI excluding the effect of changes in indirect taxes (obtained in Step 1) on an intercept and on the first principal component calculated in Step 3.

Since CPI-common is based on a factor model, a standardization and a linear regression requiring all data available, the historical values for this measure are subject to revisions. An analysis of the magnitude of the revisions, reported in a Bank of Canada's Staff Working Paper (Khan et al. (2013)), suggests that revisions are relatively negligible.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

These three measures of core inflation, CPI-trim, CPI-median and CPI-common, are subject to revision. For CPI-median and CPI-trim, this results from the fact that these measures are based on seasonally adjusted price index series. For CPI-common, revisions are due to the statistical technique used as the factor model is estimated over all available historical data.

When Statistics Canada introduces the CPI-trim and CPI-median measures in its November 2016 CPI release, 44 of the 55 historical series will be identified as seasonally adjusted, whereas others do not present any identifiable seasonal pattern. Since the technical parameters for seasonal adjustment are updated once a year, the number of series that are seasonally adjusted may change in the future depending on the historical series available that have (or do not have) an identifiable seasonal pattern. As with other CPI series, the approach used for seasonal adjustment involves each series to be seasonally adjusted separately. For more information, see the section "Revisions and seasonal adjustment" in the CPI detailed information document.

The seasonally adjusted CPI series are subject to revision. With each January data release, seasonally adjusted data are revised back three years.^Note 9 For all other months, revisions apply to one historical month.  However, the models underlying the seasonal adjustment procedure are regularly revisited; as a result, they will be revised and updated when necessary.

Data accuracy

As with the CPI in general, statistical reliability is difficult to evaluate for the three preferred measures of core inflation. First, a statistical reliability indicator is not available for the price index series used as inputs to these measures. In addition, calculating these measures is complex, which makes it more difficult to evaluate their statistical reliability. For more information on the evaluation of the CPI data accuracy, see this Statistics Canada publication. In practice, since the three measures are based on price index series calculated at the national level, their level of accuracy should be relatively comparable to that of All-items CPI.

References

Bank of Canada. 2016. Renewal of the Inflation-Control Target—Background Information—October 2016. Ottawa. Bank of Canada.

Khan, M., L. Morel and P. Sabourin. 2013. "The Common Component of CPI: An Alternative Measure of Underlying Inflation for Canada", Bank of Canada Staff Working Paper No. 2013-35.

Khan, M., L. Morel and P. Sabourin. 2015. "A Comprehensive Evaluation of Measures of Core Inflation for Canada", Bank of Canada Staff Discussion Paper No. 2015-12.

Macklem, T. 2001. "A New Measure of Core Inflation", Bank of Canada Review, Autumn 2001, pp. 3-12.

Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Detailed information document, monthly frequency. Ottawa. Statistics Canada.

Stock, J. H. and M. W. Watson. 2002a. "Macroeconomic Forecasting Using Diffusion Indexes", Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 20, pp. 147-62.

Stock, J. H. and M. W. Watson. 2002b. "Forecasting Using Principal Components from a Large Number of Predictors", Journal of the American Statistical Association, 97, pp. 1167-79.

Appendix

Table A1: The 55 components used for the calculation of the Bank of Canada's preferred measures of core inflation

Category number	Category description
01	Meat
02	Fish, seafood and other marine products
03	Dairy products and eggs
04	Bakery and cereal products (excluding baby food)
05	Fruit, fruit preparations and nuts
06	Vegetables and vegetable preparations
07	Other food products and non-alcoholic beverages
08	Food purchased from restaurants
09	Rented accommodation
10	Mortgage interest cost
11	Homeowners' replacement cost
12	Property taxes and other special charges
13	Homeowners' home and mortgage insurance
14	Homeowners' maintenance and repairs
15	Other owned accommodation expensesFootnote *
16	Electricity
17	Water
18	Natural gas
19	Fuel oil and other fuels
20	Communications
21	Child care and housekeeping services
22	Household cleaning products
23	Paper, plastic and aluminum foil supplies
24	Other household goods and services
25	Furniture
26	Household textiles
27	Household equipment
28	Services related to household furnishings and equipment
29	Clothing
30	Footwear
31	Clothing accessories, watches and jewellery
32	Clothing material, notions and services
33	Purchase of passenger vehicles
34	Leasing of passenger vehiclesFootnote *
35	Rental of passenger vehicles
36	Gasoline
37	Passenger vehicle parts, maintenance and repairs
38	Other passenger vehicle operating expenses
39	Local and commuter transportation
40	Inter-city transportation
41	Health care goods
42	Health care services
43	Personal care supplies and equipment
44	Personal care services
45	Recreational equipment and services (excluding recreational vehicles)
46	Purchase of recreational vehicles and outboard motors
47	Operation of recreational vehicles
48	Home entertainment equipment, parts and services
49	Travel services
50	Other cultural and recreational services
51	Education
52	Reading material (excluding textbooks)
53	Alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments
54	Alcoholic beverages purchased from stores
55	Tobacco products and smokers' supplies
Footnote * This historical series is partly constructed by the Bank of Canada. Return to footnote * referrer