StatCan WxT | Collaborative open source project led by the Government of Canada

2024 Annual Environmental Protection Expenditures Survey

Why do we conduct this survey?

The purpose of this survey is to obtain information on the expenditures made by industry to protect the environment in Canada. This information serves as an important indicator of Canadian investment in environmental protection.

Data from this survey are used by all levels of government in establishing informed environmental policies. The private sector also uses this information in the corporate decision-making process.

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 reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine the acquired data with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Data-sharing agreements

To reduce respondent 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 statcan.esdhelpdesk-dsebureaudedepannage.statcan@statcan.gc.ca or by fax at 613-951-6583.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with Natural Resources Canada; Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; Department of Finance Canada; British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

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.

Reporting instructions

Please print in ink.
This survey collects information on environmental protection expenditures and investments. For example, purchase of machinery or technology outlays, hiring of clean technology specialists, expenditures on solid waste, wastewater and air pollution management activities or purchase of permits.
Enter all your operating expenses and capital expenditures, whether or not they are in response to current or anticipated Canadian or international regulations, conventions or voluntary agreements.
Please report expenditures made by the establishment listed above.
Report all dollar amounts in Canadian dollars (CAN$), rounded to the nearest dollar.
Percentages should be rounded to whole numbers.
When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimates.
Enter '0' if there is no value to report.

Business or organization and contact information

1. Verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

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

Legal Name

The legal name is one recognized by law, thus it is the name liable for pursuit or for debts incurred by the business or organization. In the case of a corporation, it is the legal name as fixed by its charter or the statute by which the corporation was created.

Modifications to the legal name should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

To indicate a legal name of another legal entity you should instead indicate it in question 3 by selecting 'Not currently operational' and then choosing the applicable reason and providing the legal name of this other entity along with any other requested information.

Operating Name

The operating name is a name the business or organization is commonly known as if different from its legal name. The operating name is synonymous with trade name.

Legal name
Operating name (if applicable)

2. Verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where 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
- English
- French
Mailing address (number and street)
City
Province, territory or state
Postal code or ZIP code
Country
Email address
Telephone number (including area code)
Extension number (if applicable)
The maximum number of characters is 10.
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
Why is this business or organization not currently operational?
- Seasonal operations
  - When did this business or organization close for the season?
    - Date
  - When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
    - Date
- Ceased operations
  - When did this business or organization cease operations?
    - Date
  - Why did this business or organization cease operations?
    - Bankruptcy
    - Liquidation
    - Dissolution
    - Other - Specify the other reasons for ceased operations:
- Sold operations
  - When was this business or organization sold?
    - Date
  - What is the legal name of the buyer?
- Amalgamated with other businesses or organizations
  - When did this business or organization amalgamate?
    - Date
  - What is the legal name of the resulting or continuing business or organization?
  - What are the legal names of the other amalgamated businesses or organizations?
- Temporarily inactive but will re-open
  - When did this business or organization become temporarily inactive?
    - Date
  - When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
    - Date
  - Why is this business or organization temporarily inactive?
- No longer operating due to other reasons
  - When did this business or organization cease operations?
    - Date
  - Why did this business or organization cease operations?

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).

This question verifies the business or organization's current main activity as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS, are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.

The target entity for which NAICS is designed are businesses and other organizations engaged in the production of goods and services. They include farms, incorporated and unincorporated businesses and government business enterprises. They also include government institutions and agencies engaged in the production of marketed and non-marketed services, as well as organizations such as professional associations and unions and charitable or non-profit organizations and the employees of households.

The associated NAICS should reflect those activities conducted by the business or organizational units targeted by this questionnaire only, as identified in the 'Answering this questionnaire' section and which can be identified by the specified legal and operating name. The main activity is the activity which most defines the targeted business or organization's main purpose or reason for existence. For a business or organization that is for-profit, it is normally the activity that generates the majority of the revenue for the entity.

The NAICS classification contains a limited number of activity classifications; the associated classification might be applicable for this business or organization even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business or organization's main activity.

Please note that any modifications to the main activity through your response to this question might not necessarily be reflected prior to the transmitting of subsequent questionnaires and as a result they may not contain this updated information.

The following is the detailed description including any applicable examples or exclusions for the classification currently associated with this business or organization.

Description and examples

This is the current main activity
- Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's main activity
- e.g., breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development
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
- When did the main activity change?
- Date
No

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

Select this business or organization's activity sector (optional)

Farming or logging operation
Construction company or general contractor
Manufacturer
Wholesaler
Retailer
Provider of passenger or freight transportation
Provider of investment, savings or insurance products
Real estate agency, real estate brokerage or leasing company
Provider of professional, scientific or technical services
Provider of health care or social services
Restaurant, bar, hotel, motel or other lodging establishment
Other sector

Reporting period information

1. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste management during the 2024 fiscal year.

For this survey, the end date should fall between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025.

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

Solid waste management

1. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste management during the 2024 fiscal year.

Report $0 for the two categories of expenditures if your establishment is located on a rental property, and that these expenditures are included in the rent paid to the owner of the building.

If your establishment is responsible to pay the municipal taxes report the amount towards solid waste management in operating expenses.

Include expenditures related to:

non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste collection, transport, treatment, storage, disposal, recycling, and composting
on-site preparation of materials for recycling at an off-site facility done by your establishment's employees and services provided by a private contractor or a federal, provincial or local government body
assessments and audits
activities related to measurement, control, laboratories
municipal services
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Exclude expenditures on:

on-site recycling
sewage or wastewater management (to be reported in question 5)
treatment of high-level radioactive waste (to be reported in question 25).

To report operating expenses:

Include all expenses related to environmental protection incurred for labour, materials and supplies, maintenance and repair, and purchased services (include fuel and electricity expenses for machinery and equipment whose sole purpose is to protect the environment).

Exclude depreciation on machinery and equipment.

To report capital expenditures:

Include all relevant outlays for machinery and equipment and their installation and repair that have been capitalized, as well as for the construction of non-residential facilities (contractors or own employees). For construction, include all costs associated with demolition, planning and design (such as engineering and consulting fees), any materials supplied to construction contractors for installation and any costs associated with the purchase of land that are neither amortized nor depreciated.

Exclude any provisions for future environmental liability (e.g., obligations to clean up or pay for the cleanup of contamination).

If the expenditure is zero or if not applicable, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Note: This survey requires all environmental protection expenditures to be reported, whether or not they are in response to current or anticipated Canadian or international regulations, conventions or voluntary agreements.

To report operating expenses:

Exclude depreciation on machinery and equipment.

To report capital expenditures:

Exclude any provisions for future environmental liability.

Environmental protection expenditures:

All operating expenses and capital and repair expenditures whose primary purpose is the prevention, reduction or elimination of pollution and/or other forms of degradation of the environment as well as measures taken to restore the environment from a degraded state. This includes expenditures that this specific establishment incurred for pollution prevention, abatement and control; solid waste management; wastewater management; protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface water; protection and restoration of biodiversity and habitat; environmental monitoring; environmental assessments and audits; relevant training and administrative costs, etc.

Exclude expenditures made to improve employee health, workplace safety, and site beautification. Expenses incurred to produce pollution prevention or abatement and control equipment for sale are also excluded as they would appear twice in the expenditure data produced by Statistics Canada. Expenditures for environment-related research and development are also excluded since they are collected elsewhere in Statistics Canada.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste management during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

2. Of the total expenditures reported in question 1, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

Purchased goods, technologies and services are goods, technologies and services provided by an outside company or service provider. They exclude in-house or own-account expenditures, such as employee wages and salaries.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Percentage spent

3. Which of the following goods and technologies related to solid waste management were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Collection vehicles for waste, recycling and organics
Containers for collection of waste, recycling and organics
Other recycling equipment used in collection
Separating and sorting-related goods and technologies - e.g., air classifiers, magnetic separators, eddy current separators
Compaction-related goods and technologies - e.g., balers, densifiers, compactors, shredders, granulators
Centralized biological reprocessing technologies - e.g., centralized composters
Equipment for landfill leachate collection and containment
Equipment for landfill gas management
Equipment for thermal treatment - e.g., rotary kiln incinerator, mass burning, starved air incinerator, fluidized bed
Other
Specify other solid waste management goods or technologies purchased:
No purchases

4. The total expenditures reported for solid waste management was $0. Which of the following services related to solid waste management (i.e., waste, recycling and organics) were used by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Solid waste collection and treatment services included in the rent (paid by the owner of the building)
Solid waste collection and treatment services provided by a government body (paid in taxes, like municipal taxes) - Include services offered by government bodies (e.g., municipal waste collection) or by a private company hired by a government body to collect and manage solid waste
Solid waste collection and treatment services provided by a private contractor - Include services provided by a private contractor hired by your establishment to collect and manage solid waste - e.g., GFL (Green for life), Wasteco
Other
Specify other solid waste management services:
No services used

Wastewater management

5. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for wastewater management during the 2024 fiscal year.

Report $0 for the two categories of expenditures if your establishment is located on a rental property, and that these expenditures are included in the rent paid to the owner of the building.

If your establishment is responsible to pay the municipal taxes report the amount towards wastewater management in operating expenses.

Include expenditures related to:

prevention of wastewater through in-process modifications
wastewater treatment, including pollution abatement and control (end-of-pipe) processes
management of substances released to surface waters, municipal sewer systems, soil, or underground
treatment of cooling water for disposal
the installation of sewage infrastructure and expenditures related to the use, collection, treatment and disposal of sewage, including septic tanks
sewage services provided by a federal, provincial or local government body (e.g., municipal services)
handling and treatment of mine tailings
assessments and audits
activities related to measurement, control, laboratories
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Exclude expenditures on the protection of groundwater from pollutant infiltration and the cleaning up of soil and water bodies after pollution (to be reported in question 18).

If the expenditure is zero or if not applicable, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for wastewater management during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

6. Of the total expenditures reported in question 5, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Percentage spent

Wastewater pollution abatement and control (end-of-pipe processes) is any method, technique, or process designed to manage and treat pollution after it is generated during the production process.

For example:

biological and chemical systems to treat water (such as water treatment plants)
filtration systems
cyclones
septic tanks, portable toilets
other barrier systems
treatment of cooling water before release
municipal, provincial or federal sewage services.

Wastewater pollution prevention (integrated processes) is any method, technique, or process that reduces or eliminates the amount of pollution generated during the production process i.e., before pollution is created. Pollution prevention activities can include equipment and technology modifications.

For example:

product design or reformulation to be less toxic upon use, release or disposal
equipment or process modifications (integrated processes)
recirculation, on-site recycling or reuse or recovery of polluting substances
materials or feedstock substitution, solvent reduction, elimination or substitution
improved inventory management or purchasing techniques
prevention of leaks and spills of polluting substances
improved operating practices or pollution prevention training.
Exclude expenditures related to research and development (not covered in this survey).

7. Of the capital expenditures reported for wastewater management (question 5a), what proportion was spent on each of the following?

If the proportion is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Of the capital expenditures reported for wastewater management (question 5a), what proportion was spent on each of the following?
	Percentage
Pollution abatement and control (end-of-pipe)
Pollution prevention (integrated processes)
Total percentage

8. Of the operating expenses reported for wastewater management (question 5b), what proportion was spent on each of the following?

If the proportion is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Of the operating expenses reported for wastewater management (question 5b), what proportion was spent on each of the following?
	Percentage
Pollution abatement and control (end-of-pipe)
Pollution prevention (integrated processes)
Total percentage

9. Which of the following goods and technologies related to wastewater management were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Tanks and related components for dilution or equalization, neutralization, sedimentation, chemical precipitation
Oil separators, skimmers used in industrial wastewater
Oil separators, skimmers in sewage treatment
Ion exchange beds
Air stripping tanks or columns
Liquid extraction columns
Micro-porous membrane adsorbers
Equipment for advanced chemical oxidation or UV radiation
Pre-treatment filters
Chemicals used in industrial wastewater treatment
Chemicals used in sewage treatment
Intake screens
Air sparging grit chambers
Tanks and related components for sedimentation, chemical precipitation or flocculation, aerobic biological treatment, aeration, clarification, disinfection
Membrane bioreactors
Trickling filters
Anaerobic digesters
Other
Specify other goods and technologies purchased for wastewater management:
No purchases

10. The total expenditures reported for wastewater management was $0. Which of the following services related to wastewater management were used by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Wastewater management services included in the rent (paid by the owner of the building)
Wastewater management services provided by a government body (paid in taxes, like municipal taxes) - Include services offered by government bodies (e.g., municipal sewage) or by a private company hired by a government body to manage and treat wastewater
Wastewater management services provided by a private contractor - Include services provided by a private contractor hired by your establishment to manage wastewater - e.g., private company contracted to empty the sceptic tank
Other
Specify other wastewater management services:
No services used

Environmental protection

11. During the 2024 fiscal year, did this establishment have environmental protection expenditures in any of the following categories?

Include capital expenditures and operating expenses.

Report both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Please select either "Yes" or "No" for each type of expenditure. Please do not leave any question blank.

During the 2024 fiscal year, did this establishment have environmental protection expenditures in any of the following categories?
	Yes	No
Air pollution management
Protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface water
Protection of biodiversity and habitat
Noise and vibration abatement
Protection against radiation
Environmental charges
Other environmental protection activities

Air pollution management

12. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for air pollution management during the 2024 fiscal year.

Include expenditures related to:

the management of pollutant emissions to the atmosphere, including greenhouse gases
both pollution prevention (integrated processes) and pollution abatement and control (end-of-pipe processes)
assessments and audits
activities related to measurement, control, laboratories
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Exclude expenditures related to:

workers' health and safety (e.g., maintenance of indoor air quality)
measures undertaken for cost-saving reasons, such as heat or energy savings (to be reported in question 31a)
the purchase of electric or hybrid vehicles (to be reported in question 31b)
the production of renewable or clean energy (to be reported in questions 31c and 31e)
the purchase of biofuels (to be reported in question 31d)
the purchase of renewable energy (not included in this survey).

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for air pollution management during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

13. Of the total expenditures reported in question 12, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Percentage spent

Air pollution abatement and control (end-of-pipe processes) is any method, technique, or process designed to manage and treat pollution after it is generated during the production process.

For example:

scrubbers at the end of emission stacks
filtration systems
cyclones
other barrier systems.

Air pollution prevention (integrated processes) is any method, technique, or process that reduces or eliminates the amount of pollution generated during the production process i.e., before pollution is created. Pollution prevention activities can include equipment and technology modifications.

For example:

product design or reformulation to be less toxic upon use, release or disposal
equipment or process modifications (integrated processes)
recirculation, on-site recycling or reuse/recovery of air polluting substances
materials or feedstock substitution, solvent reduction, elimination or substitution
improved inventory management or purchasing techniques
prevention of leaks of polluting substances
improved operating practices or pollution prevention training.
Exclude expenditures related to research and development (not covered in this survey)

14. Of the capital expenditures reported for air pollution management (question 12a), what proportion was spent on each of the following?

If the proportion is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Of the capital expenditures reported for air pollution management (question 12a), what proportion was spent on each of the following?
	Percentage
Pollution abatement and control (end-of-pipe)
Pollution prevention (integrated processes)
Total percentage

15. Of the operating expenses reported for air pollution management (question 12b), what proportion was spent on each of the following?

If the proportion is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Of the operating expenses reported for air pollution management (question 12b), what proportion was spent on each of the following?
	Percentage
Pollution abatement and control (end-of-pipe)
Pollution prevention (integrated processes)
Total percentage

16. Which of the following goods and technologies related to air pollution management were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Physical or chemical treatment technologies

Filters and cyclones e.g., membrane, baghouse, granular bed
Electrostatic precipitators
Scrubbers e.g., venturi, spray tower, mechanical, plate tower, packed tower
Waste gas absorbers and waste gas flare or incinerators
Industrial catalytic converters
Pollutant recovery condensers
Adsorbers
Other
Specify other physical or chemical treatment technologies purchased:
No purchases

Greenhouse gas control technologies

Clean coal processing technologies
Carbon capture and sequestration technologies and storage
Air and off-gas treatments e.g., oxidation, scrubbing, vapour phase carbon adsorption
Other
Specify other greenhouse gas control technologies purchased:
No purchases

Air quality and air pollution technologies

Low emitting burners e.g., low NOx, low SOx
Other
Specify other air quality and air pollution technologies purchased:
No purchases

Monitoring and compliance technologies

Leak detection technologies
Environmental measurement apparatus
Other
Specify other monitoring and compliance technologies purchased:
No purchases

17. Which of the following services related to air pollution management were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Greenhouse gas management services

Services for carbon credit trading, generation of compliance units, surplus allowances, emissions performance credits, and offset credits
Preparation of emissions reports and verification services
Allowance auctioning and exchange platform services
Market monitoring services
Offset protocol development and validation services
Services for the development of compliance systems and electronic emissions reporting systems
Other
Specify other greenhouse gas management services purchased:
No purchases

Air pollution management services

Measuring and monitoring services
Modelling and mapping services
Risk assessment and management services
Services for the development of compliance and electronic emissions reporting systems
Other
Specify other air pollution management services purchased:
No purchases

Protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface water

18. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for the protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface water during the 2024 fiscal year.

Include expenditures related to:

prevention of pollutant infiltration
remediation or cleaning up of soil and water bodies
site reclamation and decommissioning (include decommissioning costs incurred in the 2024 fiscal year, even if the site was closed before this period)
protection of soil from erosion and other physical degradation
prevention and remediation of soil salinity
assessments and audits
activities related to measurement, control, laboratories
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Exclude expenditures related to:

wastewater management activities (to be reported in question 5)
protection of biodiversity and habitat (to be reported in question 21).

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for the protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface water during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

19. Of the total expenditures reported in question 18, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Percentage spent

20. Which of the following goods and technologies related to protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface water were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Include machinery, equipment, products, and technologies.

Select all that apply.

In situ biological treatments e.g., enhanced bioremediation, phytoremediation, bioventing
Ex situ biological treatments e.g., bioreaction, biopiles, landfarming, slurry phase biological treatment
In situ physical and chemical treatments - Include the purchase of chemicals for remediation of soil, sediment, sludge, ground water, surface water or leachate. e.g., biochar, chemical oxidation, fracturing, soil flushing, soil vapour extraction, solidification, stabilization, air sparging, bioslurping, chemical oxidation, directional wells, dual phase extraction, thermal treatment, hydrofracturing enhancements, in-well air stripping, passive and reactive treatment walls
Ex situ physical and chemical treatments - Include the purchase of chemicals for remediation of soil, sediment, sludge, ground water, surface water and leachate. e.g., chemical extraction, chemical reduction and oxidation, dehalogenation, separation, soil washing, solidification, stabilization, adsorption and absorption, advanced oxidation, air stripping, ion exchange, precipitation, flocculation, coagulation, separation, sprinkler irrigation
In situ thermal treatments - e.g., hot air injection, electrical resistance
Ex situ thermal treatments - e.g., incineration, pyrolysis, thermal desorption
Containment
Other
Specify other goods or technologies purchased for the protection and remediation of soil, groundwater, and surface water:
No purchases

Protection of biodiversity and habitat

21. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for the protection of biodiversity and habitat during the 2024 fiscal year.

Include expenditures related to:

the protection, restoration and rehabilitation of wildlife and habitat
purchase of land for protection of species and habitat
assessments and audits
activities related to measurement, control, laboratories
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Exclude expenditures related to:

site reclamation and decommissioning (to be reported in question 18)
landscaping for decorative purposes, the rehabilitation of predominantly build-up landscapes, or other activities undertaken for predominantly aesthetic reasons
weed control, maintenance of game or timber stocks, or other activities undertaken for predominantly economic reasons
protection and rehabilitation of historic monuments or predominantly built-up or urban landscapes (unless the purpose is the protection of biodiversity and habitat)
foregone revenues resulting from regulations or conventions that reduce the allowable harvest (e.g., for logging activities).

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for the protection of biodiversity and habitat during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

22. Of the total expenditures reported in question 21, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Percentage spent

Noise and vibration abatement

23. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for noise and vibration abatement during the 2024 fiscal year.

Include expenditures related to:

the control, reduction and abatement of noise and vibration, including preventive in-process modifications at the source, the construction of anti-noise or anti-vibration facilities, or any other related activities
assessments and audits
activities related to measurement, control, laboratories
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Exclude expenditures related to workers' health and safety.

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for noise and vibration abatement during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

24. Of the total expenditures reported in question 23, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Percentage spent

Protection against radiation

25. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for the protection against radiation during the 2024 fiscal year.

Include expenditures related to:

protection of ambient media
the transport and treatment of high-level radioactive waste
assessments and audits
activities related to measurement, control, laboratories
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Exclude expenditures related to:

the prevention of technological hazards (e.g., external safety of nuclear power plants)
workers' health and safety
management of low-level radioactive waste (reported in question 1).

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for the protection against radiation during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

26. Of the total expenditures reported in question 25, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

Percentage spent

Environmental charges

27. Report the amount this establishment paid in environmental charges during the 2024 fiscal year.

Exclude expenditures on environmental charges already reported in another question and carbon taxes. If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report the amount this establishment paid in environmental charges during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Permits, approvals, fees, special assessments and related fees
Carbon offset credits – Exclude carbon taxes
Fines, penalties or damage awards paid to government agencies or individuals, or other charges paid to regulating bodies in order to allow operations to take place at this establishment
Other environmental charges - Specify all other environmental charges:
Total environmental charges

Other environmental protection activities

28. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for environmental protection during the 2024 fiscal year that were not already reported.

Include expenditures related to:

the general administration of your environmental program
environmental training and information programs not already reported
assessments or audits not already reported
any other environmental protection expenditures not already reported
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods and services.

Exclude expenditures related to:

research and development (not covered in this survey)
heat or energy savings and management (to be reported in question 31a)
clean vehicles and transportation equipment (to be reported in question 31b)
the production of renewable or clean energy (to be reported in questions 31c and 31e)
the purchase of biofuels, biochemicals or biomaterials (to be reported in question 31d).

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses for environmental protection during the 2024 fiscal year that were not already reported.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

29. Of the total expenditures reported in question 28, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Percentage spent

30. Describe any changes or events that may have affected the reported environmental protection values for this establishment compared to the last reporting period.

e.g., We installed low-NOx burners in 2023 – for air pollution management

Environmental technologies and processes

31. During the 2024 fiscal year, did this establishment have expenditures in any of the following categories?

Include both operating and capital expenditures.

During the 2024 fiscal year, did this establishment have expenditures in any of the following categories?
	Yes	No
Heat or energy savings and management
Clean vehicles and transportation equipment
Production of energy from renewable sources, whether for sale or own use
Purchase of biofuels, biochemical products or biomaterials
Production of nuclear energy

Heat or energy savings and management

32. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses related to the management of energy resources through heat or energy savings and management during the 2024 fiscal year.

Include expenditures related to:

energy savings through in-process modifications
purchase of efficient industrial or commercial equipment, demand management technologies, or energy storage technologies
purchase of energy efficiency services or smart grid services
building and fleet energy audits
thermal insulation activities
energy recovery activities
assessments and audits
activities related to measurement, control, laboratories
more efficient furnace
lighting upgrades
both own-account expenses (e.g., employee wages and salaries) and purchased goods, technologies and services.

Exclude expenditures related to:

pollution abatement and control or prevention for air pollution (to be reported in question 12)
the purchase of energy-efficient vehicles (to be reported in question 37)
renewable/clean energy production (to be reported in questions 39 and 43)
the purchase of biofuels (to be reported in question 42).

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses related to the management of energy resources through heat or energy savings and management during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

33. Of the total expenditures reported in question 32, report the proportion spent externally on purchased goods, technologies and services.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Percentage spent

34. Which of the following goods and technologies related to heat or energy savings and management were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Include machinery, equipment, products, and technologies.

Select all that apply.

Efficient industrial or commercial equipment

High efficiency burners and boilers e.g., Energy Star
High efficiency pumps and motors e.g., Energy Star, NEMA PremiumTM
High efficiency industrial or commercial HVAC e.g., Energy Star
Combined heat and power generation (CHP/cogeneration)
High efficiency industrial or commercial lighting systems e.g., Energy Star
Automation and control technologies
Energy efficient filters and processes
Advanced insulation e.g., super insulating materials (SIMs), vacuum insulation panels (VIP), gas-filled panels (GFP), and aerogel-based products (ABP)
Predictive maintenance technologies e.g., twinning, sensors, related software
Other
Specify other efficient industrial or commercial equipment purchased:
No purchases

Demand management technologies

Smart inverters
Smart meters and devices
Phasor measurement units
Management systems e.g., software
Other
Specify other demand management technologies purchased:
No purchases

Energy storage technologies

Flywheels
Equipment for pumped hydro systems
Equipment for compressed air systems
Advanced batteries e.g., NiCd, NiMH, Li-ion, NaS, NaNiCl, hybrid flow, redox flow, hydrogen storage, synthetic natural gas
Fuel cells
Thermal storage systems
Double-layer capacitors (DLC)
Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES)
Other
Specify other energy storage technologies purchased:
No purchases

35. Which of the following services related to heat or energy savings and management were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Energy efficiency services

Green building certification services
Building or fleet energy audit and air leakage testing services
Energy management system services
Energy monitoring services
Energy demand control services
Data analysis and modelling services
Process integration services
Services for advanced insulation activities
Energy efficiency consulting
Predictive maintenance services
Other
Specify other energy efficiency services purchased:
No purchases

Smart grid services

Energy storage solutions
Microgrid solutions
Cyber security services
Data management and communications solutions
Demand management services e.g., peak load management and load following
Monitoring solutions services e.g., self-healing grids
Other
Specify other smart grid services purchased:
No purchases

36. Report this establishment's expenditures for goods, technologies and services related to the management of energy resources through heat or energy savings and management during the 2024 fiscal year in each of the following categories.
	CAN$
Efficient industrial or commercial equipment
Demand management technologies
Energy storage technologies
Energy efficiency services
Smart grid services
Total

Clean vehicles and transportation equipment

37. Report the amount this establishment spent on the purchase of clean vehicles and transportation equipment during the 2024 fiscal year.

Include the purchase of:

electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles (all-types)
fuel efficient aircraft
electric vehicle infrastructure
alternative fuel and refuelling infrastructure
low rolling resistance tires
vehicle emissions monitoring technologies
alternative fuel retrofit technologies
equipment or software for vehicle fleet management and logistics.

Exclude:

operating and maintenance costs for running clean vehicles
expenses for fleet energy audits (to be reported in question 32)
any equipment or vehicles for sale.

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Total expenditures

38. Which of the following clean vehicles and transportation equipment were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Fuel efficient vehicles

Electric vehicles - Include all vehicle-types.
Hybrid vehicles - Include all vehicle-types.
Fuel cell vehicles - Include all vehicle-types.
Fuel efficient aircraft
Other
Specify other clean vehicles purchased:
No purchases

Clean transportation equipment

Electric vehicle infrastructure - Include charging stations.
Alternative fuel and refuelling infrastructure - Include hydrogen and natural gas.
Low rolling resistance tires
Vehicle emission monitoring
Alternative fuel retrofit technologies
Equipment or software for vehicle fleet management and logistics
Other
Specify other clean transportation equipment purchased:
No purchases

Production of energy from renewable sources

39. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses related to the production of energy from renewable sources during the 2024 fiscal year, including both electricity and heat.

Report also the proportion of energy produced from renewable sources for own use.

Include expenditures related to:

the production of energy from renewable sources, whether for sale or own use
the installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment, including infrastructure to support the production of renewable energy (e.g., costs for approvals and planning, transmission and distribution lines and other infrastructure)
the operating and maintenance expenses of existing equipment.

Exclude expenditures related to:

the purchase of the feedstock used to produce energy, such as biofuels (to be reported in question 42)
the production of nuclear energy (to be reported in question 43)
electricity purchased from the grid.

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

For this question, please report expenditures related to the production of energy from renewable sources, whether for sale or own use.

Renewable energy:

Energy obtained from resources that can be naturally replenished or renewed within a human lifespan, that is, the resource is a sustainable source of energy. This includes: wind, solar, aero-thermal, geothermal, hydrothermal, from wave, tidal and ocean thermal energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses related to the production of energy from renewable sources during the 2024 fiscal year, including both electricity and heat.
	Capital expenditures CAN$	Operating expenses CAN$	Percentage of energy production for own use
Wind Energy
Geothermal Energy
Energy produced from small hydroelectric facilities
Energy produced from large hydroelectric facilities
Solar Energy
Bioenergy
Energy from waste
Other energy production from renewable resources 1 - Specify
Other energy production from renewable resources 2 - Specify
Other energy production from renewable resources 3 - Specify
Total expenditures for the production of renewable energy

40. Which of the following goods or technologies used for the production of renewable energy were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Wind Energy

Wind turbine equipment, nacelle, blades, towers
Switchgear, transformers
Other
Specify all other goods or technologies purchased for the production of wind energy:
No purchases

Geothermal Energy

Heat pumps
Other
Specify all other goods or technologies purchased for the production of geothermal energy:
No purchases

Production of energy from small hydroelectric facilities

Turbines and related components - Exclude wave and tidal energy.
Turbines and related components for wave or tidal energy
Generators, valves, gates, transformers, switchgear
Include components.
Other
Specify all other goods or technologies purchased for the production of energy from small hydroelectric facilities:
No purchases

Production of energy from large hydroelectric facilities

Turbines and related components - Exclude wave and tidal energy.
Turbines and related components for wave or tidal energy
Generators, valves, gates, transformers, switchgear - Include components.
Other
Specify all other goods or technologies purchased for the production of energy from large hydroelectric facilities:
No purchases

Production of solar energy

Active solar heating equipment - e.g., glazed flat plate collectors, glazed evacuated tubes and collectors, unglazed panels and collectors for heating pools, perforated cladding for solar air heating
Active solar-power generation equipment - e.g., concentrating mirrors, receivers
Photovoltaic energy equipment - e.g., photovoltaic cells, modules, panels and arrays, inverters for solar photovoltaic systems
Other
Specify all other goods or technologies purchased for the production of solar energy:
No purchases

Production of bioenergy

Mixers and centrifuges
Filtration systems
Biofuel reactors - e.g., distillation towers, pyrolizers, catalyst beds, gasifiers, heat digesters
Washers
Dryers
Heaters
Storage systems related to bioenergy production
Shredders and chippers
Combined heat and power bioenergy systems
Domestic woodstoves
Biomass-fired industrial boilers
Anaerobic digesters
Other
Specify all other goods or technologies purchased for the production of bioenergy - Exclude purchased biofuels:
No purchases

Production of energy from waste

Liquid organic waste to energy equipment
Solid organic waste to energy equipment
Other
Specify all other goods or technologies purchased for the production of energy from waste:
No purchases

Purchase of biofuels, biochemical products and biomaterials

41. Which of the following biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials were purchased by this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Biofuels

Pellets, chips, cubes, briquettes
Black pellets
Energy logs
Biocoal
Biochar
Ethanol, cellulosic ethanol
Biodiesel
Renewable diesel
Pyrolysis oil
Synthetic fuels e.g., DME, Fisher Tropsch fuels, Biojet fuels
Bio-oil, pyrolytic oil, biomethanol
Biobutanol
Biogas
Renewable natural gas e.g., biomethane
Syngas
Biohydrogen
Other
Specify other biofuels purchased:
No purchases

Biochemical products

Aromatics, amino and organic acids, phenols, polyols
Cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin
Biochar
Bio-oils, lubricants
Solvents, adhesives, paints, coatings
Biopolymers and resins
Biopesticides
Biostimulants
Additives and catalysts e.g., sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, enzymes
Other
Specify other biochemical products purchased:
No purchases

Biomaterials

Mats, cellulose products
Bio-based auto parts, building materials, panels, cross laminated timber
Plastics, films, foams, hydrogels
Nanomaterials and nanocomposites
Nanocrystalline cellulose
Other
Specify other biomaterials purchased:
No purchases

42. During the 2024 fiscal year, how much did this establishment spend on purchases in each of the following categories of biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials?
	CAN$
Biofuels
Biochemical products
Biomaterials
Total expenditures

Production of nuclear energy

43. Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses related to the production of nuclear energy during the 2024 fiscal year.

Exclude the costs of any feedstock used to produce energy such as uranium.

If the expenditure is zero, enter '0' in the corresponding box. When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimate.

Report this establishment's capital expenditures and operating expenses related to the production of nuclear energy during the 2024 fiscal year.
	CAN$
Capital expenditures
Operating expenses
Total expenditures

44. Which of the following goods and technologies related to the production of nuclear energy were purchased during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Nuclear reactors or nuclear island components
Nuclear fuel handling, processing, and fabrication equipment
Other
Specify all other goods or technologies purchased for the production of nuclear energy:
No purchases

45. Describe any changes or events that may have affected the reported environmental technologies and processes values for this establishment compared to the last reporting period.

e.g., We bought two fuel efficient vehicles in 2023

Drivers and obstacles

46. Which of the following were drivers to the adoption of new or significantly improved clean technologies, systems or equipment for this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Sufficient return on investment - i.e., sufficient business case
Regulations
Government incentives
Carbon pricing
Voluntary agreement
Public image
Corporate policy
Part of regular capital turnover
Other
Specify all other drivers to the adoption of new or significantly improved clean technologies, systems or equipment:
There were no drivers during the 2024 fiscal year

47. Which of the following were obstacles to the adoption of new or significantly improved clean technologies, systems or equipment for this establishment during the 2024 fiscal year?

Select all that apply.

Lack of regulations
Changing regulations
Insufficient return on investment - i.e., no business case
Difficulty in obtaining financing - e.g., internal, private or government
Competing capital investments
Lack of information or knowledge related to systems or equipment (new or significantly improved)
Lack of available systems or equipment (new or significantly improved)
Lack of technical skills required to support this type of investment
Lack of technical support or services - e.g., from consultants or vendors
Regulatory or policy barriers
Organizational structure too inflexible
Decisions made by parent, affiliate or subsidiary businesses
Difficulty in integrating new technologies with existing infrastructure, systems, standards and processes
Other
Specify all other obstacles to the adoption of new or significantly improved clean technologies, systems or equipment:
There were no obstacles during the 2024 fiscal year

Environmental management practices

48. Did this establishment use an environmental management system during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

49. Did this establishment develop and/or follow a pollution prevention plan during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

50. Did this establishment use Life Cycle Management, Life Cycle Assessment, Design for Environment (DfE) or Ecodesign principles for decision-making during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

51. Was this establishment certified under the ISO 14000 family of environmental management standards during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

52. Did this establishment participate in any environmental voluntary agreements or voluntary environmental programs during the 2024 fiscal year?

e.g., Environmental Performance Agreements (EPAs), Canadian GHG Reductions Registry, Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC), Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), etc.

Yes
No
Don't know

Specify the programs, accords or agreements:

53. Did this establishment have a 'green' procurement policy or guidelines during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

54. Did this establishment have an environmental supply chain management policy during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

55. Did this establishment implement any new or improved environmental processes and practices in response to an environmental supply chain management policy in place at a supplier or client business during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

56. Did this establishment take advantage of any Canadian federal, provincial/territorial, or local government environmental incentive programs, grants, loans, or tax credits during the 2024 fiscal year?

e.g., ecoENERGY Initiatives, Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), SD Tech Fund, or Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance or Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) for energy efficiency and renewable energy sources

Yes
No
Don't know

Specify the incentive programs, grants or loans:

57. Did this establishment perform a greenhouse gas emissions inventory during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

58. Did this establishment participate in any form of carbon-trading, either by purchasing or selling carbon offset credits in the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes, purchased carbon offset credits only OR purchased more than sold
Yes, sold carbon offset credits only OR sold more than purchased
No, did not participate in any of the above
Don't know

59. Did this establishment participate in any other environmental management practices during the 2024 fiscal year?

Yes
No
Don't know

Specify the other environmental management practices:

Contact person

60. Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information.

Is the provided given names and the provided family name the best person to contact?

Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?

First name:
Last name:
Title:
Email address:
Telephone number (including area code):
Extension number (if applicable):
The maximum number of characters is 5.
Fax number (including area code):

Feedback

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

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

Hours:
Minutes:

62. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?

Wholesale Trade Survey (monthly): CVs for total sales by geography - June 2025

Wholesale Trade Survey (monthly): CVs for total sales by geography - June 2025
Geography	Month
	202406	202407	202408	202409	202410	202411	202412	202501	202502	202503	202504	202505	202506
	percentage
Canada	0.4	0.4	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.9	1.0	0.5	0.6	0.4	0.4
Newfoundland and Labrador	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.9	1.0	0.7	1.0	0.6	0.3	0.8	0.2	0.3
Prince Edward Island	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Nova Scotia	4.2	2.8	5.3	3.1	3.9	6.6	8.0	4.6	2.4	1.4	3.5	5.2	2.6
New Brunswick	0.7	1.0	1.8	1.3	2.2	1.6	1.6	1.8	1.0	0.7	2.0	0.8	1.1
Quebec	1.5	1.8	2.4	3.2	2.9	3.2	3.1	2.9	3.4	1.8	2.2	1.5	1.3
Ontario	0.8	0.7	1.7	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.6	1.8	2.0	0.9	1.2	0.8	0.7
Manitoba	0.5	0.6	1.2	1.5	1.7	1.3	1.5	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.7
Saskatchewan	0.3	0.7	1.2	0.5	1.0	0.6	0.9	1.0	0.5	0.4	0.8	0.2	0.4
Alberta	0.4	0.5	1.0	0.8	1.2	1.6	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.4
British Columbia	1.3	1.1	1.9	2.1	2.0	1.8	1.5	1.7	1.9	0.9	0.9	1.1	0.8
Yukon Territory	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Northwest Territories	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Nunavut	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Annual Exploration, Development and Capital Expenditures Survey: Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry - Preliminary Estimate for 2025 and Intentions for 2026

Why are we conducting this survey?

This survey collects data on capital expenditures in Canada. The information is used by federal and provincial government departments and agencies, trade associations, universities and international organizations for policy development and as a measure of regional economic activity.

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

Record linkages

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

Data-sharing agreements

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 statcan.esd-helpdesk-dse-bureaudedepannage.statcan@canada.ca- this link will open in a new window or by fax at 613-951-6583.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut as well as Environment and Climate Change Canada, Infrastructure Canada, the Canada Energy Regulator, Natural Resources Canada and Sustainability Development Technology Canada.

Business or organization and contact information

1. Verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

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

Legal Name

Modifications to the legal name should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

Operating Name

The operating name is a name the business or organization is commonly known as if different from its legal name. The operating name is synonymous with trade name.

Legal name

Operating name (if applicable)

2. Verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where 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

English
French

Mailing address (number and street)

City

Province, territory or state

Postal code or ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) code
Example: A9A 9A9 or 12345-1234

Country

Afghanistan
Åland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma (Myanmar)
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo, Republic of the
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Curaçao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Holy See (Vatican City State)
Honduras
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland, Republic of
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macao Special Administrative Region
Macedonia, Republic of
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Réunion
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Helena
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin (French part)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Sark
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Sint Maarten (Dutch part)
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa, Republic of
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Viet Nam
Virgin Islands, British
Virgin Islands, United States
Wallis and Futuna
West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestine)
Western Sahara
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Email address
Example: user@example.gov.ca

Telephone number (including area code)
Example: 123-123-1234

Extension number (if applicable)

Fax number (including area code)
Example: 123-123-1234

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., (for example) temporarily or permanently closed, change of ownership

Why is this business or organization not currently operational?

Seasonal operations
Ceased operations
Sold operations
Amalgamated with other businesses or organizations
Temporarily inactive but will re-open
No longer operating due to other reasons

When did this business or organization close for the season?

Date
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?

Date
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

When did this business or organization cease operations?

Date
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

Why did this business or organization cease operations?

Bankruptcy
Liquidation
Dissolution
Other

Specify the other reasons why the operations ceased.

When was this business or organization sold?

Date
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

What is the legal name of the buyer?

When did this business or organization amalgamate?

Date
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

What is the legal name of the resulting or continuing business or organization?

What are the legal names of the other amalgamated businesses or organizations?

When did this business or organization become temporarily inactive?

Date
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?

Date
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

Why is this business or organization temporarily inactive?

When did this business or organization cease operations?

Date
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

Why did this business or organization cease operations?

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).

This question verifies the business or organization's current main activity as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS , are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.

The following is the detailed description including any applicable examples or exclusions for the classification currently associated with this business or organization.

Description and examples

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

Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's main activity.

e.g. , breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development

Main activity

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

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

Yes
- When did the main activity change?
  - Date
No

6. Search and select the industry classification code 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 this business or organization's activity sector
enter keywords or a brief description that best describes this business or organization main activity
press the Search button to search the database for an activity that best matches the keywords or description you provided
then select an activity from the list.

Select this business or organization's activity sector (optional)

Farming or logging operation
Construction company or general contractor
Manufacturer
Wholesaler
Retailer
Provider of passenger or freight transportation
Provider of investment, savings or insurance products
Real estate agency, real estate brokerage or leasing company
Provider of professional, scientific or technical services
Provider of health care or social services
Restaurant, bar, hotel, motel or other lodging establishment
Other 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 organization's 2025 fiscal year?

Note: For this survey, the end date should fall between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

Here are twelve common fiscal periods that fall within the targeted dates:

May 1, 2024 to April 30, 2025
June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025
July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025
August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025
September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025
October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025
November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2025
December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025
January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025
February 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026
March 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026
April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.

Here are other examples of fiscal periods that fall within the required dates:

September 18, 2024 to September 15, 2025 (e.g., floating year-end)
June 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 (e.g., a newly opened business).

Fiscal Year Start
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

Date

Fiscal Year-End
Example: YYYY-MM-DD

Date

2. What is the reason the reporting period does not cover a full year?

Select all that apply.

Seasonal operations

New business

Change of ownership

Temporarily inactive

Change of fiscal year

Ceased operations

Other reason - specify:

Additional reporting instructions

3. Throughout this questionnaire, please report financial information in thousands of Canadian dollars.

For example, an amount of $763,880.25 should be reported as:

CAN$ '000

I will report in the format above.

Capital Expenditures - Preliminary Estimate 2025

4. For the fiscal year 2025, what are this organization's preliminary estimates for capital expenditures?

Include: all capitalized overhead and capitalized interest.

When there are partnerships and joint venture activities or projects, report the expenditures reflecting this corporation's net interest in such projects or ventures.
Report all dollar amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars ('000).
Exclude sales tax.
When precise figures are not available, please provide your best estimates.

If there are no capital expenditures, please enter '0'.

A. Oil and gas rights acquisition and retention costs (exclude inter-company sales or transfers):

Include acquisition costs and fees for oil and gas rights (include bonuses, legal fees and filing fees), and oil and gas retention costs.

B. Exploration and evaluation, capitalized or expensed ( e.g. , leases and licences, seismic, exploration drilling):

These expenditures include mineral rights fees and retention costs, geological, geophysical and seismic expenses, exploration drilling, and other costs incurred during the reporting period in order to determine whether oil or gas reserves exist and can be exploited commercially. Report gross expenditures, before deducting any incentive grants, incurred for oil and gas activities on a contracted basis and/or by your own employees. Exclude the cost of land acquired from other oil and gas companies.

C. Building construction ( e.g. , process building, office building, camp, storage building, and maintenance garage):

Include capital expenditures on buildings such as office buildings, camps, warehouses, maintenance garages, workshops, and laboratories. Fixtures, facilities and equipment that are integral parts of the building are included.

D. Other construction assets ( e.g. , development drilling and completions, processing facilities, natural gas plants, upgraders):

Include all infrastructure, other than buildings, such as the cost of well pads, extraction and processing infrastructure and plants, upgrading units, transportation infrastructure, water and sewage infrastructure, tailings, pipelines and wellhead production facilities (pumpjacks, separators, etc. ). Include all preconstruction planning and design costs such as development drilling, regulatory approvals, environmental assessments, engineering and consulting fees and any materials supplied to construction contractors for installation, as well as site clearance and preparation. Equipment which is installed as an integral or built-in feature of a fixed structure ( e.g. , casings, tanks, steam generators, pumps, electrical apparatus, separators, flow lines, etc. ) should be reported with the construction asset; however, when the equipment is replaced within an existing structure, the replacement cost should be reported in machinery and equipment (sustaining capital).

E. Machinery and equipment purchases ( e.g. , trucks, shovels, computers, etc. ):

Include transportation equipment for people and materials, computers, software, communication equipment, and processing equipment not included in the above categories.

Preliminary Estimate

	2025 Preliminary Estimate ( CAN$ '000 )
Oil and gas rights acquisitions and retention costs
Exploration and evaluation
Non-residential building construction
Development and other construction
Machinery and equipment
Total

Total

Research and Development

5. For the fiscal year 2025, did this organization perform scientific research and development in Canada of at least $10,000 or outsource (contract-out) to another organization scientific research and development activities of at least $10,000?

Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge - including knowledge of humankind, culture and society - and to devise new applications of available knowledge. For an activity to be an R&D activity, it must satisfy five core criteria:

To be aimed at new findings (novel);
To be based on original, not obvious, concepts and hypothesis (creative);
To be uncertain about the final outcome (uncertainty);
To be planned and budgeted (systematic);
To lead to results to could be possibly reproduced (transferable/ or reproducible).

The term R&D covers three types of activity: basic research, applied research and experimental development. Basic research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view. Applied research is original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge. It is, however, directed primarily towards a specific, practical aim or objective. Experimental development is systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience and producing additional knowledge, which is directed to producing new products or processes or to improving existing products or processes.

Capital Expenditures - Intentions 2026

6. For the fiscal year 2026, what are this organization's intentions for capital expenditures?

Include: all capitalized overhead and capitalized interest.

When there are partnerships and joint venture activities or projects, report the expenditures reflecting this corporation's net interest in such projects or ventures.
Report all dollar amounts in thousands of Canadian dollars ('000).
Do not include sales tax.
Percentages should be rounded to whole numbers.
When precise figures are not available, please provide your best estimates.

If there are no capital expenditures, please enter '0'.

A. Oil and gas rights acquisition and retention costs (exclude inter-company sales or transfers):

Include acquisition costs and fees for oil and gas rights (include bonuses, legal fees and filing fees), and oil and gas retention costs

B. Exploration and evaluation, capitalized or expensed ( e.g. , leases and licences, seismic, exploration drilling):

C. Building construction ( e.g. , process building, office building, camp, storage building, and maintenance garage):

D. Other construction assets ( e.g. , development drilling and completions, processing facilities, natural gas plants, upgraders):

E. Machinery and equipment purchases ( e.g. , trucks, shovels, computers, etc. ):

Include transportation equipment for people and materials, computers, software, communication equipment, and processing equipment not included in the above categories.

Intentions 2025

	Intentions 2025 ( CAN$ '000 )
Oil and gas rights acquisitions and retention costs
Exploration and evaluation
Non-residential building construction
Development and other construction
Machinery and equipment
Total

Total

In order to reduce future follow-up, please select one of the following options.

You could also make corrections to the current cycle by pressing the Previous button.

You have not reported anything for 2026, but have entered data for 2025. Is this correct? If you do not intend on having any capital expenditures in the 2026 fiscal year, please return to the previous page and enter `0`s. If this information is not yet available, please press the Next button.

I confirm that all values are correct.
I am unable to confirm that all values are correct.

7. You have not reported any capital expenditure intentions for 2026.

Please indicate the reason.

Zero capital expenditure intentions for 2026
Figures not available but plans are for no change in capital expenditures for 2026
Figures not available but plans are for an increase in capital expenditures for 2026
Figures not available but plans are for a decrease in capital expenditures for 2026

Research and Development

8. For the 2026 fiscal year, does this organization plan on performing scientific research and development in Canada of at least $10,000 or outsourcing (contracting-out) to another organization scientific research and development activities of at least $10,000?

To be aimed at new findings (novel);
To be based on original, not obvious, concepts and hypothesis (creative);
To be uncertain about the final outcome (uncertainty);
To be planned and budgeted (systematic);
To lead to results to could be possibly reproduced (transferable/ or reproducible).

Notification of intent to extract web data

9. Does this business have a website?

Yes
Specify the business website address
e.g. , www.example.ca

Specify the business website address
e.g. , www.example.ca

Specify the business website address
e.g. , www.example.ca
No

Statistics Canada engages in web-data extraction, also known as web scraping, which is a process by which information is gathered and copied from the Web using automated scripts or robots, for retrieval and analysis. As a result, we may visit the website for this organization to search for and compile additional information. The use of web scraping is part of a broader effort to reduce the response burden on organizations, as well as produce additional statistical indicators to ensure that our data remain accurate and relevant.

We will strive to ensure that the data collection does not interfere with the functionality of the website. Any data collected will be used by Statistics Canada for statistical and research purposes only, in accordance with the agency’s privacy and confidentiality mandate.

More information regarding Statistics Canada’s web scraping initiative- this link will open in a new window.

Learn more about Statistics Canada’s transparency and accountability- this link will open in a new window.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Statistics Canada Client Services, toll-free at 1-877-949-9492 [Teletypewriter or Telecommunication device for the deaf/teletype machine (TTY): 1-800-363-7629] or by email at infostats@statcan.gc.ca - this link will open in a new window. Additional information about this survey can be found by selecting the following link: Annual Capital Expenditures Survey: Preliminary Estimate for 2025 and Intentions for 2026.

Changes or events

10. 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.

Labour shortages or employee absences
Disruptions in supply chains
Deferred plans to future or projects on hold
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
Plant closures
Acquisition of business or business units
Other
Specify the other changes or events:
No changes or events

Contact person

11. Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information.

Is [Provided Given Names], [Provided Family Name] the best person to contact?

Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?

First name:

Last name:

Title:

Email address:
Example: user@example.gov.ca

Telephone number (including area code):
Example: 123-123-1234

Extension number (if applicable):
The maximum number of characters is 5.

Fax number (including area code):
Example: 123-123-1234

Feedback

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

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

Hours:
Minutes:

13. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?

Enter your comments
200 characters available

Eh Sayers Episode 27 - Canadians Just Aren't California Dreamin' These Days

Release date: August 18, 2025

Catalogue number: 45200003
ISSN: 2025007

Eh Sayers Episode 27 - Canadians just aren't California Dreamin' these days

Listen to "Eh Sayers" on:

Calllllll-i-forrrrr-nia... here we come?

If you've changed your plans to visit the US recently, you're not alone. Nowadays, Canadians are more likely to be singing along to "Bobcaygeon" than "Sweet Home Alabama."

Today, we're sitting down with Jane Lin, of the Tourism Statistics Program at Statistics Canada, to dig into StatCan's tourism data and talk about how travel is different these days.

Travel and Tourism Statistics

Host

Tegan Bridge

Guest

Jane Lin

Listen to audio

Eh Sayers Episode 27 - Canadians Just Aren't California Dreamin' These Days - Transcript

Tegan: Welcome to Eh Sayers, a podcast from Statistics Canada, where we meet the people behind the data and explore the stories behind the numbers. I'm your host, Tegan Bridge.

Did you see that viral tourism ad for the Eastern Townships in Quebec? A man walks up to the check-in counter in a hotel, and the woman behind the desk greets him in French. The man apologizes that he doesn't speak French and is just visiting. The clerk welcomes him in English and asks where he's visiting from. He leans in and whispers, "I'm American." The woman responds by hitting a button under the desk, which is suggestive of a silent alarm or a panic button in a bank, but the ad subverts expectations. The button unlocks a door and the woman comes out from behind the counter and gives the man a great big hug. There's a moment where the man looks startled, then confused, then he smiles and returns the hug. Text on the screen appears, saying, "Come hug it out in the Eastern Townships."

It's a cute ad, for sure, but Canadians we're renowned for our friendliness. Why are tourism boards feeling the need to reassure American travellers that we don't bite, and that they're welcome here.

If you heard our last episode on the recent challenges facing the Canadian economy and the conflict with our Southern neighbours, you heard our guest Guy Gellatly say…

Guy: the travel numbers, I think, you know, if there's one area that we've got a lot of requests for, it's that travel data,

Tegan: Today, we're digging into those data. We'll start by setting the scene. The US is, of course, geographically speaking, our closest neighbour. The CBSA, which stands for Canada Border Services Agency, manages 117 land-border crossings. But you can also travel between the countries by air or water. There's plenty for Canadians to see and do in the US, and lots for American visitors to Canada'as well.

But for Canadians, how big a deal is travel to the US?

Jane: In general, for example, in 2024, Canadian return trips to the US totaled about 39 million, and it represented 75% of all Canadian resident travel abroad.

Tegan: Time to introduce today's expert!

Jane: Hi there, I'm Jane Lin. I'm with the Tourism Statistics Program at Statistics Canada.

Tegan: So, normal times, 75% of Canadian resident travel abroad is trips to the US. Makes sense. But things are a bit different nowadays.

Jane: Canadian travel to the US has declined significantly. Some of the declines are comparable to what we've seen after the September 11th attacks or after—at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

Tegan: The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States in May was down 32% from May 2024.

We talk a lot about "return trips" today. We're using data from the CBSA, counting Canadians returning to Canada from the US. That's all that means!

Jane: So it's dropped off significantly and you see that a lot in the auto, not so much with the air, and mainly because with the auto it's less expensive. And it takes less planning to change your plans for same day travel to the US. And we've seen a lot of those drop offs in some of those border towns that—between Canada and US—for example Fort Erie, Windsor. Here in the Pacific region: Douglas, Pacific Highway. So it's, it's, it's been quite dramatic.

Tegan: And are Canadians traveling less generally or is this specifically the trips to the US that have decreased?

Jane: We've been seeing an increase in Canadian return trips from overseas. But there is an element that we need in order to gain the whole picture. Domestic travel is the one that's missing. And we will see that in August when we have the National Travel Survey released.

We see outbound, so Canadian residents traveling outside Canada. We have inbound, so we have non-residents entering Canada, but we are eager, very eager to see that domestic travel when it comes out in the National Travel Survey in August.

Tegan: So right now we know there are fewer Canadians making trips to the US. They are making more international trips, just not to the US. And the real final missing puzzle piece that we'll get in August is how many Canadians are traveling within Canada, visiting other provinces and seeing the local sites.

Jane: Exactly. It's the question is almost like, is the pie growing bigger? Has it stayed the same or has it shrunk?

Tegan: What do we know about Americans travelling to Canada? Are they also visiting Canada less than they were before?

Jane: It's really neat because the preliminary data that comes from CBSA, we release it usually around the tenth of each month. It's called the leading indicator of international arrivals, and it's one of the fastest programs, like data releases, that we have at Statistics Canada outside LFS, the Labour Force Survey. So it's really amazing that by the tenth of July, we'll have released the June data, so it's very, very fast.

And we've seen that, to your question, Tegan, there has been a decline in US residents travelling to Canada as well. So we've been seeing that it hasn't been as dramatic as the Canadian return.

Tegan: So I understand that your data is based on administrative data, which is information collected by CBSA at the border, and there are benefits as well as limitations to that data. One of which is that you can't ask people survey questions. And, of course, it's even harder, of course, to get answers from people who might have traveled but chose not to.

How much do you wish you could get answers to the "why" questions?

Jane: That's a great question, Tegan. So yes, it's true administrative data is great because it reduces the response burden on our respondents, and busy Canadians who are travelling through airports or through land borders… It's really great because it reduces that response burden and it uses an existing system, like at CBSA. It also reduces cost for the agency as well, so we could provide the best value for Canadians.

Yes, it's true, like limitations that we wish that we could get to those "why" questions. The administrative data provides us the counts, like the number of travellers. But we don't know what activities they engage in or the spending.

But we do have two other surveys that are coming out at the end of August. One is called the Visitor Travel Survey, and the other one is called the National Travel Survey.

The Visitor travel survey is for folks who are coming from overseas, so outside of the US and from the US as well. So we'll have information on who is coming, how much they're spending, how long they're staying, where they're travelling to, and all of those data pieces get fed into the system of national accounts and each quarter they have a release that talks about like how much tourism is worth in terms of GDP.

The National Travel Survey is Canadians traveling abroad. And it does actually ask those "why" questions. Main trip purpose, for example, is it for business? Is it for pleasure? If it's personal reasons? Are folks going to the US or abroad for like home shows? Visit family, friends, recreation holidays? And it's great because we can even see things like same day travel, the reasons why they're traveling. Is it for a shopping purpose, for example? And we can actually see trip activities as well, whether they go hiking, camping, fishing, to museums. So we're very eager to see that data because it gets to what we talked about earlier in that domestic travel piece. So Canadians traveling within Canada. It's very interesting because the Canada Strong Pass that was announced last month, I think, was set out to encourage more domestic travel within Canada. So we'll keep an eye out on that.

Tegan: And why do these findings matter? Why should the average Canadian care about this?

Jane: It's really important to put data into the hands of users, whether that's like government, industry, not-for-profit, or citizens.

And we hear a lot of rhetoric, perhaps at the dinner table, we go to parties, you know, we hear people talking. And so these are the official statistics. So it's real evidence in terms of planning. And so that way, governments are able to use evidence to base their decisions on, you know, we hear of like evidence-based decision making rather than like decision-based evidence making perhaps.

Tegan: Yeah. This isn't based on vibes. This is cold, hard data.

Jane: That's exactly it. It's based on cold, hard data. And I think with the lack of… like what's happening, we have been receiving many more calls from US media outlets, large and small, and they're very interested in those cross border figures.

So they're trying to get a better handle on what's happening in terms of the business communities. For example, like duty free shops who see a drop in sales or for shoppers and for consumers not going to the US means less sales and less purchases. For example, accommodation spending on accommodations for those US states means also fewer sales dollars for them as well. And fewer sales dollars could turn into like less money for structural infrastructure, hospitals, schools, you name it.

Tegan: Gotcha. Well, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your expertise.

Jane: Thank you for having me today.

Tegan: You've been listening to Eh Sayers. Thank you to our guest, Jane Lin. If you would like to learn more about travel and tourism, either between Canada and the US or more broadly, you can find the Travel and Tourism Statistics page on the StatCan website. The link is in the shownotes.

You can subscribe to this show wherever you get your podcasts. There, you can also find the French version of our show, called Hé-coutez bien! If you liked this show, please rate, review, and subscribe. And thanks for listening!

Travel and Tourism Statistics

Download

Eh Sayers Episode 27 - Canadians Just Aren't California Dreamin' These Days (MP3, 25.00 MB)

Monthly Survey of Manufacturing: National Level CVs by Characteristic - June 2025

National Level CVs by Characteristic
Table summary
This table displays the results of Monthly Survey of Manufacturing: National Level CVs by Characteristic. The information is grouped by Month (appearing as row headers), and Sales of goods manufactured, Raw materials and components inventories, Goods / work in process inventories, Finished goods manufactured inventories and Unfilled Orders, calculated in percentage (appearing as column headers).
Month	Sales of goods manufactured	Raw materials and components inventories	Goods / work in process inventories	Finished goods manufactured inventories	Unfilled Orders
Month	%
June 2024	0.70	1.10	1.78	1.22	1.46
July 2024	0.70	1.09	1.97	1.23	1.47
August 2024	0.70	1.10	1.86	1.23	1.56
September 2024	0.73	1.12	1.95	1.30	1.53
October 2024	0.76	1.11	1.87	1.25	1.52
November 2024	0.70	1.11	1.81	1.25	1.64
December 2024	0.63	1.06	1.89	1.26	1.45
January 2025	0.67	1.11	1.71	1.25	1.45
February 2025	0.72	1.14	1.85	1.33	1.46
March 2025	0.72	1.18	1.77	1.38	1.49
April 2025	0.76	1.16	1.78	1.41	1.52
May 2025	0.79	1.20	1.87	1.44	1.51
June 2025	0.83	1.20	1.77	1.44	1.43

Monthly Survey of Manufacturing: National Weighted Rates by Source and Characteristic - June 2025

National Weighted Rates by Source and Characteristic, June 2025
	Response or edited	Imputed
	Data source
	%
Sales of goods manufactured	85.9	14.1
Raw materials and components	75.0	25.0
Goods / work in process	79.4	20.6
Finished goods manufactured	74.1	25.9
Unfilled Orders	89.3	10.7
Capacity utilization rates	63.1	36.9

Evaluation of Data Analytics Services

Evaluation Report

May 2025

How the report is structured

The report in short
Acronyms and abbreviations
What is covered
- 1. Background
- 2. About the evaluation
What we learned
How to improve the program
Management response and action plan
Appendix A: Visual depiction of Data Analytics Services
Appendix B: Key Data Analytics Services projects
Appendix C: Evaluation questions and indicators
Appendix D: Interview quantification scale
Appendix E: Status of Data Analytics Services objectives

The report in short

Through Budget 2018, funding was announced to support Statistics Canada’s (StatCan’s) modernization agenda and enhance its technological statistical infrastructure through the development of Data Analytics Services (DAS). With the exponential growth in data and their use, in addition to the corresponding demands for both storage and processing, new and innovative approaches to infrastructure delivery were required. DAS is a cloud-based platform designed and developed internally to provide users with access to StatCan data, analytical tools, software and the necessary computing power to complete various analyses. DAS is intended for a wide range of external users, such as researchers, data analysts, data scientists and professionals in the public and private sectors.

Overall, DAS provides several functionalities:

secure personal or collaborative workspaces for high-capacity computing
high-quality, timely and trusted StatCan data uploaded directly to users’ workspaces
rich metadata and search infrastructure to ensure that data are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable
state-of-the-art tools—from statistical software for familiarity and convenience to open-source software for greater agility and flexibility
advanced capacities like artificial intelligence, machine learning techniques and high-performance data processing.

Of note, one project that uses DAS is the Virtual Data Lab (VDL). It has a wide user base and provides similar services to other DAS environments. However, the architecture is not as technologically advanced and relies on non-cloud native infrastructure, so modernization efforts are required.

DAS governance extends across the Digital Solutions Field (Field 9) and the Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis Field (Field 6). In 2023, under the leadership of the Chief Data Officer (Assistant Chief Statistician [ACS] of Field 6), Field 6 took on business ownership for DAS and is responsible for oversight of all DAS processes and program management. Field 9 continues as the executive budget holder and remains responsible for technology expertise. There is also the DAS Advisory Council, jointly chaired by the directors general of both fields, which reviews issue escalations, the scope, the budget and the strategic alignment of activities.

The objective of the evaluation is to provide credible and neutral information on the relevance and performance of DAS. The scope of this evaluation focused on the relevance of DAS and the achievement of its intended results, as well as considerations for continued improvement and sustainability of the platform. Value for money was also evaluated at a high level.

Key findings and recommendations

There is a continued need for DAS. It is important for federal data modernization and secure collaboration within a Protected B environment focusing on cloud infrastructure, as well as real-time access, addressing the unique needs of researchers, data scientists and policy makers. DAS is not considered duplicative of other services and has potential, with improvements in functionality and usability, to continue to meet the evolving needs of users.

However, DAS has had mixed success in achieving its intended results. While it has successfully met some objectives, such as enabling access to data and supporting collaboration, challenges such as lengthy onboarding, access delays and alignment issues with StatCan’s mandate have hindered its full potential. Internal users report higher satisfaction compared with external users, who have struggled with inefficiencies that impact project initiation and the overall user experience. While DAS has supported various projects aimed at secure data sharing and policy support, many projects are still in progress or have been discontinued, limiting the assessment of their full impacts at the time of the evaluation.

Further, DAS faces significant sustainability challenges because of funding deficits, information technology (IT) capacity limitations and declining user satisfaction. While recent improvements show promise, their impact is not yet measurable, and ongoing concerns could lead to underuse and high operational costs. More time and monitoring are needed to determine the long-term viability of DAS.

In light of these findings, the following recommendations are proposed.

Recommendation 1

The ACS of Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis (Field 6), in collaboration with the ACS of Digital Solutions (Field 9), should ensure that the modernization efforts for DAS and VDL are aligned and not redundant. This will support alignment with the long-term vision for DAS while also making efficient use of StatCan’s limited IT resources.

Recommendation 2

The ACS of Field 6, in collaboration with the ACS of Field 9, should seek ways to improve the experience of external users to sustain the uptake of DAS and promote sustainable costs. Based on the evaluation findings, areas of improvement should include, but not be limited to, onboarding, service cataloguing, costing models and timely data access.

Recommendation 3

The ACS of Field 6, in collaboration with the ACS of Field 9, should ensure that effective monitoring of the program is carried out and, more specifically, that

processes are in place to track and monitor direct and indirect DAS clients to better understand the DAS client base and uptake over time
performance indicators for DAS, such as client use and satisfaction, are established and monitored regularly
ongoing assessments of overall program costs, efficiency and duplication of services (i.e., VDL, Advanced Analytics Workspace, Collaborative Analytics Environment), and impact for users are carried out.

Recommendation 4

The ACS of Field 6, in collaboration with the ACS of Field 9, should explore possibilities to make the functionality and technology of the DAS platform more available to a broader audience of users.

Recommendation 5

The ACSs of Field 6 and Field 9 should review the current budget arrangement to ensure that it is efficient and effective, and that it aligns with organizational policies and practices.

Acronyms and abbreviations

AAW: Advanced Analytics Workspace
ACS: Assistant Chief Statistician
AI: Artificial intelligence
API: Application programming interface
CAE: Collaborative Analytics Environment
DAS: Data Analytics Services
DAS BO: Data Analytics Services business owner
FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable
FRDC: Federal Research Data Centre
FSDH: Federal Science DataHub
GAE: Geospatial Analytics Environment
GPU: Graphics processing unit
IT: Information technology
LoA: Letter of agreement
PPE: Personal protective equipment
RDC: Research data centre
SDMX: Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange
SSC: Shared Services Canada
StatCan: Statistics Canada
VDL: Virtual Data Lab

What is covered

1. Background

Through Budget 2018, funding was announced to support Statistics Canada’s (StatCan’s) modernization agenda and enhance its technological statistical infrastructure through the development of Data Analytics Services (DAS). With the exponential growth in data and their use, in addition to the corresponding demands for both storage and processing, new and innovative approaches to infrastructure delivery were required. DAS is a cloud-based platform designed and developed internally to provide users with access to StatCan data, analytical tools, software and the necessary computing power to complete various analyses. DAS is intended for a wide range of users, such as researchers, data analysts, data scientists and professionals in the public and private sectors.

DAS allows users to combine StatCan data with external datasets (i.e., client-owned or publicly available data) to create more detailed datasets, while maintaining strict screening and security protocols. These datasets can be stored securely in the cloud for users to access remotely and conduct various analyses collaboratively to generate outputs like tables, charts and data visualizations. The overall goal of DAS is to foster collaboration on data-driven projects, enhance the user experience when accessing StatCan data and increase the relevance of StatCan to key users.

The platform is partially funded through a cost-recovery model^{Footnote 1} in which fees are based on the scope, complexity and size of a given project. These fees cover costs such as salaries, licences and cloud services. Cloud costs are paid to Microsoft Azure, and they vary depending on how much a client uses the platform.

The DAS platform offers four distinct environments to users, depending on their needs and expertise (Figure 1). Users can also combine functionalities across the different DAS environments.

Description - Figure 1 Available Data Analytics Services environments

Figure 1 provides an overview of four distinct environments designed to support various levels of data analytics and statistical data management. Each environment is tailored to meet the needs of different user groups, ranging from beginners to advanced users.

Collaborative Analytics Environment (CAE):
- Provides a drag-and-drop experience that enables users at all skill levels to develop quick insights.
- Offers familiar Microsoft suite of analytics products (e.g., MS Power BI, Data Bricks, Azure Machine Learning, Synapse, and DevOps).
Advance Analytics Workspace (AAW):
- Increases power and flexibility to process, analyze and visualize data for more advanced users.
- Offers a leading free open-source suite of analytics products such as JupyterLabs, R, Python, R Shiny, Kibana, and Kubeflow.
Geospatial Analytics Environment (GAE):
- Enables users to integrate geospatial components in analysis and visualizations.
- Offers leading free open source and proprietary geospatial analytics products such as ESRI, ARCGIS, and Notebooks.
Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange (.Stat SDMX):
- Provides an open-source platform for the efficient production and dissemination of high-quality statistical data.

Overall, DAS provides several functionalities:

secure personal or collaborative workspaces for high-capacity computing
high-quality, timely and trusted StatCan data uploaded directly to users’ workspaces
rich metadata and search infrastructure to ensure that data meet the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) principles^{Footnote 2}
state-of-the-art tools—from statistical software for familiarity and convenience to open-source software for greater agility and flexibility
advanced capacities like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning techniques and high-performance data processing.

DAS also provides various support services, such as operations and monitoring, data ingestion, access to StatCan data (e.g., microdata, protected data), solution engineering, onboarding coaches, and sandbox services, to aid users in accessing and using DAS. For more information about DAS, please refer to Appendix A for a depiction of its various environments, inputs, services and outputs.

Various projects have leveraged DAS environments to achieve different objectives, such as increased collaboration and access to data. Appendix B shows the variation through a list of sample projects. Of note, one project that uses DAS is the Virtual Data Lab (VDL), which is an early legacy version of the Collaborative Analytics Environment (CAE) launched in 2021. It provides users with the infrastructure and tools they need to remotely and securely leverage StatCan confidential microdata, an alternative to research data centres (RDCs) or the Federal Research Data Centre (FRDC). It has a wide user base of 38 sponsoring organizations and 375 users, as well as efficient onboarding and access because of its stricter governance processes and more straightforward service offerings and use cases. While VDL provides advanced security and a locked-down environment, the architecture is not as technologically advanced as other DAS environments and relies on non-cloud native infrastructure.

The onboarding process

Clients begin the onboarding process by engaging with the DAS team to provide a description of their needs. A solution, costs and timelines are agreed upon, and then the project is initiated on the platform. While the timeline for onboarding differs depending on project complexity, Figure 2 outlines the typical journey for a DAS user from project initiation to decommissioning. Various changes have been made to the onboarding journey since the initiation of DAS—Figure 2 depicts its current state.

Description - Figure 2 Data Analytics Services onboarding process

Figure 2 illustrates the four stages of the DAS onboarding process, detailing the steps and interactions involved from initiation to decommissioning.

Initiation: In the initiation stage, clients access the DAS portal to submit an application. The Intake Crew engages with the client, triages the request, and gathers the necessary requirements.
Administration and Governance: During the administration and governance stage, clients are provided with a proposed solution, cost estimate, and timeline. The project undergoes a comprehensive review of data governance, privacy, and ethics in collaboration with the Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination and the Data Ethics Secretariat.
Onboarding Support: Once a service agreement is signed, the solution is developed and implemented. Clients receive project management as well as ongoing IT support and maintenance. StatCan subject matter experts are also available to clients for methodological support.
Decommissioning: In the decommissioning stage, following the end of the project, the data and environments are deleted, accounts are revoked, and a client satisfaction survey is sent.

Governance

DAS governance extends across the Digital Solutions Field (Field 9) and the Strategic Data Management, Methods and Analysis Field (Field 6). In 2023, under the leadership of the Chief Data Officer (Assistant Chief Statistician of Field 6), Field 6 took on business ownership for DAS, and it now resides under the Centre for Statistical and Data Standards. Field 6 is responsible for oversight of all DAS processes and program management under the DAS business owner (DAS BO) team. Field 9 continues as the executive budget holder and remains responsible for technology expertise.

There is also the DAS Advisory Council, jointly chaired by the directors general of both fields. Members of the council include various directors from Field 6 (including from the Office of Privacy Management and Information Coordination, and the Data Access Division), Field 9, subject-matter divisions, the Statistical Information Service and the DAS BO team. The council reviews issue escalations, the scope, the budget and the strategic alignment of activities.

Evolution of Data Analytics Services

Since its initiation in 2018, DAS has undergone several important changes. Below is a brief overview, focusing on key developments that are relevant to the evaluation.

2018: DAS initiation
DAS was initiated in 2018, at first to address the data analytics needs of the StatCan data science community and, later, to partner on pilot projects with other federal departments. Field 9 was both the business owner and the executive budget holder responsible for building the platform.
2020: Impact of COVID-19
The pandemic significantly impacted DAS, accelerating the use of the Advanced Analytics Workspace (AAW) and CAE. For example, one project enabled collaborative analysis to inform decisions about the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE).
2023: Project closeout and business ownership transfer
As the DAS project concluded, an important gap was identified: the lack of a strategic plan for managing DAS as a program moving forward. In May 2023, the Chief Statistician appointed Field 6 as the new business owner for DAS. Field 9 continued to be the executive budget holder and remained responsible for technology expertise.
2024: Strategic planning and DAS refinement
After the transfer of business ownership, several key changes were made to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of DAS:
- Plans were made to transition StatCan users to more efficient internal platforms (i.e., The Zone and DAS alternative), with DAS focusing on external users (e.g., other federal departments; provincial, territorial and municipal governments; and private sector).
- Service offerings were streamlined by reducing customization for users, easing pressures on StatCan information technology (IT) specialists.
- Users whose needs did not align with StatCan’s mandate were precluded from the DAS platform.^{Footnote 3}
- A new letter of agreement (LoA) was created between Field 6 and Field 9, and it outlines the roles and responsibilities for both fields, including budgetary allotments.

The evaluation acknowledges the evolving nature of DAS and has taken recent changes into consideration for the recommendation themes.

2. About the evaluation

Authority

The evaluation was conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Results and StatCan’s Integrated Risk-Based Audit and Evaluation Plan 2024/2025 to 2028/2029.

Objective and scope

The objective of the evaluation is to provide credible and neutral information on the relevance and performance of DAS.

The scope of this evaluation, determined in collaboration with various key stakeholders (i.e., Field 6, Field 9 and senior management), focused on the relevance of DAS and the achievement of its intended results, as well as considerations for continued improvement and sustainability of the platform. Value for money was also evaluated at a high level by assessing the extent to which DAS demonstrated program relevance and performance, and through user perceptions related to the cost of the service and of the platform.

The evaluation work was conducted from September 2024 to January 2025.

Approach and methodology

The following three evaluation questions were identified:

To what extent is there a continued need for DAS?
To what extent has DAS achieved its intended results?
To what extent is DAS sustainable in its current state?

More information about the evaluation questions and related indicators can be found in Appendix C.

The data collection methods outlined in Figure 3 were used. The findings outlined in this report are based on the triangulation of these data collection methods.

Description - Figure 3 Data collection methods

Figure 3 outlines the methods used by the evaluation for data collection.

Interviews with DAS Users: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 external DAS users, including individuals from other federal government departments, researchers, and policy analysts. Additionally, 14 internal DAS users, who are employees of Statistics Canada, were interviewed.
Interviews with Program Representatives: Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 15 program representatives and partners within Statistics Canada.
Document Review: A review of Statistics Canada's documents was carried out, including the summary survey data provided by the program.

Four main limitations were identified, and mitigation strategies were employed, as outlined in Table 1.

Table 1 Limitations and mitigation strategies
Limitations	Mitigation strategies
Self-report bias can occur in interviews, where individuals reporting on their own activities may portray them in a more positive light.	To the extent possible, feedback and reflections on activities were sought from a range of perspectives. A review of program documents also supported a balanced perspective.
Given that the timing of this evaluation coincided with significant program planning and restructuring, it was challenging to evaluate these efforts because not enough time had passed.	A review of current successes and challenges, as well as program efforts to leverage and address them, was conducted. Recommendations centre around outstanding or additional efforts needed to address ongoing gaps and limitations.
It was challenging to identify external users. When they were identified, most who were interviewed had not accessed or used Data Analytics Services (DAS) or declined to be interviewed. This made it challenging to fully evaluate user impacts.	Several external projects had internal subject-matter leads who were able to be interviewed. Internal and external users’ access, satisfaction and impacts were examined to the extent possible. However, ongoing performance measurement and evaluation will be needed to assess success and impacts on external users moving forward.
There were highly technical and complex financial aspects of DAS. These, in addition to other uncertainties, were challenging to contextualize and required clarification.	Several informal meetings were held with Field 6, Field 9 and other Statistics Canada stakeholders throughout the evaluation to clarify various technical, financial and management-related components of DAS and provide important context for the findings.

What we learned

1. Relevance: Continued need

To what extent is there a continued need for DAS?

DAS aligns with federal- and agency-level priorities with respect to data modernization, accessibility and collaboration. To further align with agency-level priorities, user eligibility was recently updated to exclude external users whose projects fall outside StatCan’s mandate.

At the federal level, DAS aligns with key priorities set out in the Data Strategy for the Federal Public Service, including creating whole-of-government data initiatives, facilitating secure data sharing, and supporting digital transformation and cloud computing.

At the agency level, DAS aligns with the StatCan Data Strategy and modernization agenda, particularly in regard to the following:

digital transformation and IT modernization (e.g., cloud enablement; leveraging of AI and machine learning; digital workplaces; cutting-edge tools for acquiring, processing, integrating and analyzing data)
collaborative data management and partnerships with diverse internal and external stakeholders, such as federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, academia, Indigenous organizations, and others (e.g., sharing data, strengthening national statistical systems, developing integrated approaches for data collection and analysis, breaking silos)
broad data access (e.g., access to Protected B data and anonymized microdata) while maintaining a rigorous, transparent process that upholds privacy, ethics and legislative requirements (e.g., DAS Advisory Council and oversight for data acquisition and management)
administrative-data-first approach and leveraging of data ecosystems (e.g., open data).

However, alignment issues with StatCan’s mandate were identified, which changed the way that DAS could be used. According to interviewees’ interpretation of the Statistics Act, which sets out StatCan’s mandate, DAS should not be used solely as an IT infrastructure or data server for external users. Instead, DAS should be used to enable external collaboration to enrich or add value to collective statistical outputs, support the production of official statistics and outputs, and support StatCan’s role in national coordination of data. External users whose needs did not align with this interpretation of StatCan’s mandate were recently precluded from the DAS platform. For example, external users who did not need to leverage StatCan data were no longer able to use the DAS platform for their analytical needs.

Some program interviewees noted that Shared Services Canada (SSC) may be better suited to host a broader IT infrastructure or data server for external users because this fits its mandate of delivering enterprise-wide digital programs and services. This would allow for the precluded projects to leverage the technology that has been developed and avoid duplication of efforts.

There is increasing demand for secure, collaborative environments for data analytics, with a particular focus on cloud infrastructure, real-time access and data governance. While DAS aimed to meet these needs, many users faced significant challenges that led to delays or the search for alternative solutions. Despite the perceived future potential of DAS, concerns over its functionality and usability persisted among users.

Based on a review of federal and agency strategies, as well as interviews, there is a demand among researchers, data scientists and policy makers for secure, collaborative and efficient environments for handling data, with a particular focus on cloud infrastructure, real-time access, and data governance and security. This is particularly relevant given the rapid rise of cloud computing and cloud-based analytical platforms globally. Generally, DAS is viewed as a powerful and innovative tool that can support these needs because of cloud enablement; collaborative workspaces; access to StatCan data and expertise; and strict security, privacy and access protocols.

However, program documents and interviews showed that users faced technical and governance-related hurdles (e.g., lengthy onboarding, costing issues, platform instability, lack of beginner-friendly guidance), which led to project delays or the search for alternative solutions (these challenges are outlined further in the Performance subsection). Overall, while the theoretical aspects of the platform were seen as strong among most interviewees, functionality and usability were still in question for most of them. This was particularly true for interviewees who were external users and for smaller-budget projects or projects not requiring complex capabilities (e.g., producing basic descriptive statistics).

While several other services offer similar analytical capabilities to users, the unique features of DAS demonstrate that these services are not duplicative. DAS provides added value for specific use cases, such as supporting federal employees who require external collaboration within a Protected B environment or assistance from StatCan experts, as well as non-federal employees who require access to data, support and collaboration.

Several other services were identified during the interviews that offer analytical capabilities that are similar to those of DAS, including the following:

SSC’s Federal Science DataHub (FSDH): This collaborative cloud-based platform for federal scientists has data infrastructure and analytical solutions using a self-service model. The FSDH was identified by most federal user interviewees as an alternative platform that they considered.
StatCan’s The Zone and DAS alternative: This cloud-based platform for internal StatCan employees offers services similar to DAS’s AAW and CAE platforms, with some improvements. As a result, internal StatCan employees will no longer use DAS for generic or routine functions. Program interviewees identified that these platforms were modelled on DAS, noting that development and implementation were more efficient as a result.
Private companies: These are cloud-based data infrastructure and analytical solutions through Microsoft, Amazon, Google, etc.

However, when comparing these options with DAS, it was determined that these services were not duplicative because of several unique value-added features, as depicted in Figure 4.

Description - Figure 4 Value added of Data Analytics Services

Figure 4 compares the value-add of DAS with other platforms, including Shared Services Canada’s Federal Science DataHub (SSC FSDH), StatCan The Zone and DAS Alternative, and private companies, across four criteria: external collaboration, protected B, StatCan data access, and StatCan support.

External collaboration
- SSC FSDH: No
- StatCan The Zone and DAS Alternative: No
- Private companies: Yes
- DAS: Yes
Protected B (Protected B is a security level for sensitive information and assets in Canada. It refers to information that, if compromised, could cause serious injury to an individual, an organization or a government)
- SSC FSDH: No
- StatCan The Zone and DAS Alternative: Coming soon
- Private companies: Yes
- DAS: Yes
StatCan data access
- SSC FSDH: No
- StatCan The Zone and DAS Alternative: No
- Private companies: No
- DAS: Yes
StatCan support
- SSC FSDH: No
- StatCan The Zone and DAS Alternative: No
- Private companies: No
- DAS: Yes

More specifically, DAS provides the following value added:

External collaboration: DAS is accessible by researchers, data scientists and policy makers outside the federal government. No other federal service allows access for and collaboration with these types of external users.
Protected B^{Footnote 4} environment: DAS is a Protected B environment, which allows access to a greater volume and type of protected data for external collaboration. No private company can offer external users this type of environment.
StatCan data access: DAS provides users with remote access to confidential StatCan microdata and, in some cases, access to pre-release StatCan data. It gives access to a greater volume of data and to more types of data. No other federal service or private company can offer users these types of StatCan data.
StatCan support: Users have access to subject-matter experts, methodological resources and the DAS team to support their projects. Some user interviewees indicated that this was very helpful for answering methodological questions and identifying platform customization needs. Comparatively, the FSDH will be self-serve.

A few other options were noted by external user interviewees to support their analytical and data needs, such as legacy platforms within other federal departments and RDCs and the FRDC, but it was acknowledged that these systems were not comparable to DAS in terms of analytical capabilities, access and collaboration. A few interviewees also mentioned the unique geospatial capabilities of the Geospatial Analytics Environment (GAE), compared with other services. However, GAE is a newer component of DAS, compared with CAE and AAW, so fewer interviewees were able to speak to this environment.

2. Performance: Achievement of intended results

To what extent has DAS achieved its intended results?

DAS has had mixed success in achieving its intended results. While it has successfully met some objectives, such as enabling access to data and supporting collaboration, challenges such as lengthy onboarding, access delays and alignment issues with StatCan’s mandate have hindered its full potential. Internal users report higher satisfaction compared with external users, who have struggled with inefficiencies that impact project initiation and the overall user experience. While DAS has supported various projects aimed at secure data sharing and policy support, many projects are still in progress or have been discontinued, limiting the assessment of their full impacts at the time of the evaluation.

While DAS achieved most of its original objectives, some are still in progress and one was not realized because it was deemed out of scope.

There were 25 objectives outlined for DAS when it was initiated. Most of the objectives were achieved, while some are still in progress and one was not realized because it was deemed out of scope. The following summarizes the key takeaways:

Fully achieved (15): DAS provided a comprehensive platform that integrated the user experience, advanced data management and analytics. It supported AI and machine learning, enabled big data analysis through advanced computing, and leveraged virtualization for efficient data delivery and advanced storage. DAS provided open-access metadata, facilitated business workflows and ensured secure access through strong authentication. It improved access to StatCan data through pipeline engineering and offered remote capabilities. The platform also supported analysis with open-source tools and provided scalable, agile infrastructure for diverse user needs.
Partially achieved (9): DAS fostered collaboration in algorithm and data sharing with Git-based features and AI chatbots but is still working on external user version control via Azure DevOps. Auditing and reporting goals were partially met, with completion expected by the next fiscal year. A data discovery function was deployed, and there is a need for work to continue on developing a data discovery navigator. Data access for the broader community is ongoing, with the data catalogue needing further development. DAS supported machine-to-machine data exchange but faced challenges with integration and a steep learning curve. Geospatial data capabilities are enhanced, though full integration with the Federal Geospatial Platform is pending. While governance improvements are underway, platform infrastructure and analysis support have been partially achieved, with cost constraints and budget issues preventing full realization. Information governance is expected to be realized in 2025/2026. Finally, DAS had secure data lake architecture in place, with ongoing work to improve secure sharing.
Not realized (1): Provenance and lineage management was deemed out of scope for DAS because it has been included as a component of the Target Enterprise Architecture.

A list of these original objectives and their status can be found in Appendix E.

Since its inception, a variety of external and internal users have accessed or requested access to the DAS platform, with most external users using VDL. About one new intake form for DAS is submitted per month by external users (not including VDL). However, the disparate systems within DAS made it challenging to fully understand user uptake.

According to the summary data provided by the program, there were 769 DAS users (Figure 5). About half (55%) of these users were external to StatCan, primarily including those who accessed VDL. There were also DAS users from three other federal government organizations (i.e., the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada), one municipality and one university.

Internal users (45%) included two StatCan areas (i.e., the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Methods Division [formerly named the Data Science and Innovation Division], and the Centre for Population Health Data) and seven StatCan programs (i.e., VDL, the Census of Population, the Census of Environment, the Oral Health Statistics Program, internal trade, the Canadian Centre for Energy Information and the Statistical Geomatics Centre). At the time of the evaluation, these internal users had begun to be transitioned to StatCan’s The Zone.

Description - Figure 5 Number of external and internal users of Data Analytics Services and the Virtual Data Lab (n=769)

Figure 5 presents the number of external and internal users of DAS and VDL in a column chart.

External Users are comprised of 45 DAS users and 375 VDL users
Internal Users are comprised of 349 DAS users

In addition, summary data provided by the program suggest that there are ongoing interest in and demand for DAS. For example, over a six-month period in 2024/2025, seven new intake forms were received from external users for DAS (averaging about one new intake form per month for CAE, AAW or GAE). VDL demand also increased and is expected to continue growing, with a 30% gain over three years.

More importantly, there is currently no reliable method to monitor demand and uptake. Information comes from a variety of sources, causing difficulties in understanding access and use. The DAS team is currently working on developing linkages to better understand who is accessing the platform.

There were mixed satisfaction levels among DAS platform users (not including VDL users), with internal users generally reporting higher satisfaction than external users. However, assessing overall satisfaction was challenging, and there is a need to collect better user experience data moving forward.

Internal and external user interviewees were asked how satisfied they were with the DAS platform on a scale from very dissatisfied (1) to very satisfied (5). Five user interviewees did not provide a response, and the remaining 24 interviewees—12 internal users and 12 external users—provided the following average ratings regarding their satisfaction with DAS.

Description - Figure 6 Data Analytics Services user satisfaction rating

Figure 6 presents the user satisfaction ratings for both DAS internal users and external users in a doughnut chart. The Internal User Satisfaction Rating is 4.3 out of 5 whereas the External User Satisfaction Rating is 3.3 out of 5.

User interviewees who gave positive satisfaction ratings were primarily internal users, but a few were external users (early adopters of DAS, in particular). These users appreciated the improved onboarding process, effective communication from the DAS team and that DAS met its intended purpose. However, almost all user interviewees noted issues with cost, system bugs and delays in data access. External user interviewees involved in the PPE project during the COVID-19 pandemic expressed high satisfaction with DAS. However, it was also noted that after the pandemic, there were significant barriers to accessing DAS because of a change in requirements (i.e., projects not requiring access to StatCan data were precluded from DAS because of misalignment with StatCan’s mandate).

External user interviewees were the most dissatisfied, often seeking alternative solutions for their projects. More information about the gaps and limitations experienced by external users is provided in the section below, but generally, there were delays in being able to use DAS (e.g., onboarding delays, delays in accessing data).

VDL users were not included as interviewees in the evaluation because a separate evaluation was previously conducted for this component. Overall, program interviewees noted that there was higher satisfaction among VDL users. This is because VDL can provide more efficient onboarding and access as a result of stricter governance processes and more straightforward service offerings and use cases.

Overall, assessing user satisfaction with DAS was challenging because most external user interviewees either had not yet gained access to DAS or were waiting for more data before proceeding with their projects, so their experiences were limited. Unfortunately, external users were the most important group to assess because they will be the focus of the platform moving forward (internal users will use The Zone and DAS alternative). Ongoing work is needed to assess the satisfaction of these users.

Further, the program provided summary survey data, which highlighted mixed satisfaction levels among users in both 2022 and 2024. However, these data were not comparable because the 2024 data did not include responses from external users and there were significantly fewer responses, compared with the data from 2022. Moving forward, there is an opportunity to collect more diverse survey data from users to assess satisfaction with DAS.

Several limitations of the DAS platform were highlighted, with the most significant being the lengthy onboarding process. This delay hindered project initiation and impacted users’ planning and efficiency, particularly for external users. There were also challenges with access and use.

Program documentation and interview data highlighted several gaps and limitations of the DAS platform, including challenges with onboarding, access and use, precluded projects, and data stewardship. The following is a summary of the key gaps and limitations:

Onboarding: Program documentation and interview data frequently cited onboarding delays as one of the biggest challenges in accessing DAS, especially for external users. According to summary survey data from 2024, about half of users reported being neutral, unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with the onboarding process. Program interviewees noted that onboarding was dependent on the complexity of the project (e.g., six to eight months for complex projects, three to six weeks for less complex projects). In one case, users for a very complex project had been waiting for over two years to finalize their LoA. Onboarding issues not only delayed project initiation for new users but also affected their planning and efficiency, with some users deciding not to continue with DAS. Importantly, program interviewees noted that when the program has streamlined its service offerings, onboarding times should improve because it will be clearer which projects can proceed and which require further assessment. It is also worth noting that VDL had a separate onboarding process that was identified by interviewees as being faster than DAS because of VDL’s stricter governance processes and straightforward service offerings and use cases.
Access and use: Program documentation and interview data also identified several challenges when using the DAS platform. Some of the more commonly identified issues included platform instability (e.g., bugs, downtime, crashes, server disconnect), access problems (e.g., username and password issues, onerous authentication processes, delays in getting data), insufficient support for technical questions (for some users), steep learning curves and a lack of beginner-friendly guidance and documentation, issues with costing estimates, and graphics processing unit space issues (e.g., data-heavy or geospatial analysis) and space issues for new clients to access VDL (i.e., VDL is reaching its capacity). Further, it was noted in program documents and interview data that DAS (notably the AAW environment) may be overly complex for the average use case (e.g., running descriptive statistics).
Precluded projects: As noted earlier, in 2024/2025, program and user key interviewees identified that several DAS projects were precluded because they did not align with StatCan’s mandate. User interviewees indicated that they are now trying to recreate a similar analytical platform within their own federal department and highlighted the inefficiency of this process for the Government of Canada. Others expressed frustration with the time and effort lost during planning and onboarding.
Data stewardship: Some interviewees noted that DAS successfully addressed data access, sharing, security and privacy and is now progressing with standards since moving to Field 6. However, some other interviewees noted limitations to data stewardship because of implementation changes and budget constraints, such as lacking optimization for cloud use, promoting data silos and not addressing data classifications.

User projects had a range of objectives, including creating new ways to cooperate, enabling secure data ingestion pipelines for data sharing, providing access to more data, supporting policy decisions through multisector data sources and producing official statistics. However, many projects were ongoing or in progress at the time of the evaluation, and several others were discontinued by the user or cancelled by the program, making it difficult to assess the impacts of using DAS.

Based on program documents and interviews, projects using DAS that were carried out by external users had a range of different objectives. Figure 7 outlines these key objectives, along with example projects and their status at the time of the evaluation (i.e., not onboarded or awaiting access, currently in progress, or completed). This is a non-exhaustive list of projects that have used or are using DAS; they were chosen to highlight the themes of the key objectives.

Description - Figure 7 Objectives of Data Analytics Services projects

Figure 7 outlines five key objectives of DAS along with an example of DAS project for each objective and their status at the time of the evaluation (i.e., project not yet onboarded, project in progress, or project completed).

Creating new ways of cooperation
- The SafeTO project brings together multiple stakeholders to leverage multi-sectoral data sources and will help expand the definition of community safety beyond crime statistics and/or enforcement to include prevention and well-being.
- Project not yet onboarded
Enabling data ingestion pipelines
- The Vehicle Registration project and the Price Analytics Environment project enable the ingestion of large data sets for processing and analysis.
- Project in progress
Providing access to more data
- The Business Data Lab project offers real time data and interactive tools to help Canadian businesses effectively navigate the business market.
- Project in progress
Supporting policy decisions
- The PPE project created a dashboard at the beginning of the pandemic to ensure that essential supplies were allocated to areas in greatest need.
- Project completed
Producing official statistics
- The AgZero project has Agriculture and Data Science Divisions of StatCan as well as external partners using CAE, AAW, and GAE to enable Data Science to eventually develop machine learning models and produce official statistics.
- Project not yet onboarded

It is important to note that many of the projects examined were in progress at the time of the evaluation, making it difficult to assess the impacts of using DAS. Further, several other projects were discontinued by the user or cancelled by the program and, therefore, had no reported impacts. Ongoing monitoring of projects and an assessment of their impact will be needed.

3. Efficiency and sustainability: Current state

To what extent is DAS sustainable in its current state?

DAS faces significant sustainability challenges because of funding deficits, IT capacity limitations and declining user satisfaction. While recent improvements show promise, their impact is not yet measurable, and ongoing concerns could lead to underuse and high operational costs. More time and monitoring are needed to determine the long-term viability of DAS.

With the transfer of business ownership in 2023/2024, DAS implemented changes to address key issues concerning the onboarding process, a lack of strong program management and governance, and technical capacity issues. Moving forward, the effectiveness of these efforts should be assessed on an ongoing basis.

Program documentation and interview data revealed several key issues and challenges with DAS prior to the transfer of business ownership in 2023/2024, such as onboarding delays, a lack of strong program management and governance, and technical capacity issues. Most of these were identified as stemming from the quick rollout of DAS during the pandemic, with a lack of business ownership involvement. This led to insufficient preparation for managing a program and providing services to clients effectively and efficiently. Table 2 outlines the challenges that DAS has experienced and recent improvements that have been implemented to address them.

Table 2 Data Analytics Services challenges and recent improvements
Key issue	Challenges	Recent improvements
Onboarding	Reviews of new projects were needed across various specialties, slowing the onboarding process considerably. A lack of strong initial understanding of client needs led to back-and-forth communication between the client and the Data Analytics Services (DAS) team.	A front-door service was created, with a multidisciplinary intake crew that can review new projects more efficiently. An improved portal intake form helps the team better understand client needs and align these with streamlined service offerings at the outset.
Program management	A quick rollout and lack of business ownership involvement led to insufficient preparation for managing a program and providing services. There was a lack of performance measurement to understand user uptake, satisfaction and impact.	There is a harmonized business and information technology (IT) costing model with a sustainable operating budget for 2024/2025. A workplan and a new letter of agreement (LoA) between Field 6 and Field 9 were developed. Project workflow tracking and monitoring were improved.
Governance	DAS’s capabilities were overcommitted to, creating client expectations that could not be met and disappointment among users. Unpredictable costs for clients related to storage, data processing and cloud resources caused frustration among users.	The terms and conditions for LoAs (including streamlined service offerings) were updated. A DAS privacy impact assessment addendum was created to expand DAS’s scope to include external datasets. The DAS Advisory Council was established.
Capacity	Resource challenges for required IT expertise led to a lack of platform maintenance and improvements (e.g., the Virtual Data Lab [VDL] is in a critical state with a lack of space to accept new clients because of a lack of maintenance and modernization). Security compliance issues were brought to light. A lack of prioritization and guidance for IT led to staff not knowing where to apply their efforts.	Technical needs, including VDL modernization, security changes (i.e., evergreening, implementation of Secure Cloud Enablement and Defence), and active monitoring and guardrails, were prioritized. Plans were developed to address security compliance issues; work is underway. Prioritization and planning activities were formalized and are scheduled to be presented at quarterly DAS Advisory Council meetings and monthly DAS meetings at the assistant chief statistician level.

Most of the improvements to DAS were completed within the past year and are too recent for an assessment of their effectiveness. While the improvements seem to be aligned with the challenges, they should be assessed on an ongoing basis moving forward to determine the impact on the overall efficiency and sustainability of DAS.

At project closeout in 2023, DAS had a deficit of $1.8 million. Since then, funding issues have persisted, with Field 6 being unfunded for its work on DAS. However, because of recent efforts, the program is now projecting financial sustainability for 2024/2025, and funding has been allocated to Field 6 through a new LoA. A review will be necessary to determine whether the new financial arrangements are sustainable in the long term.

Through federal resources and signed LoAs with users, DAS had funding of approximately just over $40 million from 2018/2019 to 2022/2023. According to the project closeout report in February 2023, the DAS project finished with a $1.8 million program deficit, including

a $1.14 million deficit generated by the cloud run costs
a $0.5 million deficit in salary for on-strength employees working for unfunded core DAS activities
a $163,000 deficit for the unfunded Enterprise Information and Data Management Project.

The report also highlighted key lessons learned, including the lack of planning for the DAS solution’s operation in production, particularly in terms of funding. It also emphasized the need for improved financial forecasting with a longer-term planning horizon to ensure DAS’s sustainability.

Following the transfer of business ownership, expenditures for DAS were significantly reduced. As of mid-October 2024, the program projected financial sustainability for 2024/2025 based on revised operating expenses and expected revenue of approximately $4 million.^{Footnote 5} However, some DAS projects considered in the financial projections will not be onboarded (because they do not align with StatCan’s mandate), and this will impact potential revenue. In addition, several projects that are currently onboarded will be completed and decommissioned by the end of 2024/2025, and this will affect the accuracy of the projections moving forward.

Overall, the budget will require ongoing monitoring. Program interviewees noted that certain projects, like the City of Toronto SafeTO project, may generate further requests from other municipalities in Ontario (because each municipality must have a community safety plan and demonstrate progress). However, at the time of the evaluation, no official requests from other municipalities had been received from within Ontario or across Canada, perhaps because the SafeTO project has not been onboarded yet and there are no demonstrable benefits at this time.

Finally, while business ownership of DAS was transferred to Field 6, executive budget authority remained with Field 9.

Field 9 indicated that because DAS was initially an IT-led initiative, it was given budget authority, and it has remained there because it aligns with Chief Information Officer accountability for multipurpose computing platforms and the adoption of product management. Further, it was noted that, given the nature of the infrastructure of DAS, with capital expenditures and associated operations and maintenance costs, there is a risk that Field 6 could underestimate IT-related costs.

Field 6 explained that typically at StatCan, the business owner sets priorities and, as the budget holder, distributes funds when services are delivered. Additionally, Field 6 noted that because it does not have budget authority, its work on DAS was not funded until the new LoA was recently signed, and it has had to absorb these costs.

Despite the recent changes to the DAS program, there are still significant risks to its sustainability. Continuous technological investment, limited IT capacity for modernization, maintenance and support, along with low user satisfaction, could result in underuse and persistently high costs.

Despite efforts to improve the efficiency and sustainability of DAS, program documents and interview data suggest several ongoing risks to its sustainability. Figure 8 outlines these key risks, which include challenges with IT capacity, external user satisfaction and uptake, and technological advancements. These risks will need to be considered by the program moving forward, and appropriate actions must be taken to mitigate them.

Description - Figure 8 Ongoing risks for Data Analytics Services

Figure 8 outlines the ongoing risks associated with DAS, detailing the challenges and potential impacts.

IT Capacity
- There are limited StatCan IT specialists available with the specialized skillset needed for ongoing modernization, maintenance, and support for new users.
- Other competing priorities have led to IT resource reallocation (e.g., Business Transformation) with a need for higher-level guidance around prioritization of programs/services and resources.
- Without ongoing modernization, there is a risk of the platforms becoming outdated and underutilized.
External User Satisfaction and Uptake
- Issues with onboarding, communication and support, service interruptions, data access, costs, etc. pose an ongoing risk to external user satisfaction and uptake (some of these issues are also contingent on IT capacity).
- A lack of understanding around impacts for external users makes it challenging to understand the value DAS will provide users and whether they will continue using it and/or recommend it to others.
- Underutilization of DAS and reduction of its offered services poses a threat to cost recovery efforts and sustainability of the program.
Technological Advancements
- Technology is advancing with respect to data analytics and cloud computing, and as a result, DAS will require ongoing modernization/innovation investment to stay relevant to external users.
- As technology progresses, there are some components of DAS that are outdated (e.g., outdated environments of the cloud, older security infrastructure), and efforts are underway towards modernizing these older components.
- It is expected that further investments in modernization will be needed in the future.

In addition to the above risks, VDL’s reliance on non-cloud-native infrastructure has led to challenges such as limited storage capacity, necessitating actions to accommodate growing user demand. As this takes place, it will be important to examine how VDL and the broader DAS environments can evolve together (i.e., opportunities for joint development) to ensure efficient resource allocation and avoid redundancy and duplication.

Given several uncertainties at the time of the evaluation, assessing the value for money provided by DAS was challenging. While DAS offers a relevant and in-demand service, there are performance issues that need to be addressed. Further, recent efforts to streamline offerings and implement stronger governance have narrowed the program’s scope and audience, limiting value and access for some external users.

Because of the recent changes to the scope and the potential for additional changes, it is challenging to fully assess value for money at the time of this evaluation. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat defines value for money as “the extent to which programs demonstrate relevance and performance.” There remains a clear need for a DAS-like solution to provide a secure, collaborative environment using cloud infrastructure. While DAS has had mixed success in achieving its goals to date, upcoming changes to the program have the potential to address current challenges and help better meet the growing demand for this kind of product.

However, DAS was initially established with a significant investment to deliver a cloud-based analytics platform that would provide data, analytical tools, software and computing power to a wide range of external users. StatCan operates under the authority of the Statistics Act, which establishes the mandate of the agency. Recent changes have strengthened governance and introduced more stringent processes and procedures. While these improvements have brought greater oversight, they have also narrowed the program’s scope and audience (e.g., customization was reduced for users, focus will be on external users of the platform moving forward, projects must align with the StatCan mandate). As a result, DAS is currently offering less value than originally anticipated, not fully providing the broad impact and accessibility that were initially envisioned.

When interviewees were asked about value for money, at a user level, some agreed that DAS was worth the cost (especially for projects requiring advanced analytical capabilities). Some others expressed concerns over high costs related to storage, data processing and cloud resources. This was particularly an issue for those working on less complex or budget-constrained projects, leading some to perceive the service as too expensive for its value. A few internal user interviewees also identified more affordable alternatives, such as SSC’s FSDH.

At a program level, some interviewees agreed that the cost for DAS is currently high for the number of users. However, it was suggested that with improved management and more users, overall financial performance could be improved, potentially offering a clearer value proposition, though it will take time to fully assess this.