Information collected by other organizations and government departments for their own purposes. Examples include birth and death records, tax data, border activity data, and satellite data. Statistics Canada gets these data to support its work under the Statistics Act and is legally required to keep them private, secure and confidential. This does not include information that is publicly available or provided under a licence.
Aggregate data
A total or average created by combining numbers from multiple sources. Statistics Canada commonly uses this method to present statistical information. It summarizes individual data points into a single set of statistics, such as averages or totals, to give a high-level overview.
Anonymized information
Information that has been de-identified to the point that there is no serious possibility of it being re-identified by a person or body having access to the information, whether they use it alone or in combination with any other information available to them at that point in time.
No terms start with the letter B
Terms starting with the letter C
Confidentiality
The protection of information about a person, a business or an organization. It involves a relationship of trust between the provider of the information and the organization collecting it, based on the assurance that the information will not be shared without proper legal authority. Statistics Canada takes strict measures to protect information collected for statistical purposes. These include ensuring that published results cannot reveal private details or be linked back to identifiable individuals or businesses.
Crowdsourcing
The collection of information from a large group of people, based on the idea that individuals are experts in their own communities. Examples include cannabis price tracking and the OpenStreetMap pilot project.
Terms starting with the letter D
Data ecosystem
The network of people, tools, processes, policies and infrastructure used to collect and analyze data.
Data governance
The structure for making decisions and assigning authority in managing data. It includes policies, roles and responsibilities to ensure data quality, privacy and security.
Data standards
Consistent names and definitions for populations, concepts, variables and classifications. Standards support data sharing, integration and analysis across sources.
Data stewardship
The management of data to ensure they are of high quality, accessible and used appropriately.
De-identified information
Information resulting from a de-identification process. This involves modifying personal information to remove or alter identifiers to reduce the risk of identifying individuals, and implementing controls to a degree that is reasonable in the context.
Direct identifiers
Pieces of information that can identify a specific person, business or organization on their own. For individuals, this includes personal details such as name, full address, phone number and government-issued numbers like a Social Insurance Number or provincial health number, as defined by the Privacy Act. For businesses, direct identifiers include the business name, Business Number and classification codes. Because this information can directly reveal someone’s identity, it is carefully protected to ensure privacy.
Disaggregated data
Aggregated data that have been broken down into smaller, more detailed categories or subgroups, such as by region, gender or ethnicity, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of different population groups.
Dissemination
The release of information collected through statistical activities.
No terms start with the letter E
No terms start with the letter F
No terms start with the letter G
No terms start with the letter H
Terms starting with the letter I
Imputation
A method used to fill in missing survey data by assigning estimated values, based on international best practices, to improve the quality of statistical estimates.
No terms start with the letter J
No terms start with the letter K
No terms start with the letter L
Terms starting with the letter M
Microdata
Detailed information collected from individuals, households or businesses. Researchers and governments can better understand trends and make decisions by turning these data into summary statistics. To protect privacy, access to microdata is carefully controlled. Each record represents one person or organization, such as a family, home, farm or company.
Microdata linkage
The process of combining two or more datasets containing micro-level records—such as those about individuals, households or businesses—to create a composite record about the same entity. This method makes it possible to generate new insights, enhances research and program design, and improves data quality, all while maintaining privacy protections. The resulting linked dataset must include information from more than one of the original data files.
No terms start with the letter N
Terms starting with the letter O
Official statistics
Statistics produced by national statistical systems. These systems include organizations and units that collect, process and share official statistics on behalf of the federal government. They operate under legal frameworks and follow professional standards such as independence and objectivity.
Open data
Structured data that are machine-readable and freely shared, used and built on without restrictions. Open data are generally licensed under an open licence.
Terms starting with the letter P
Principles of necessity and proportionality
Statistics Canada collects data only when they are clearly needed and serve the public good. These principles mean that only essential data are collected, the sensitivity of the data is considered and the least intrusive methods are used.
Privacy impact assessment
A process required by policy to identify, assess and reduce privacy risks. Government institutions must develop and maintain privacy impact assessments for all new or modified programs and activities that use personal information for an administrative purpose.
Privacy protocol
A description of a program or activity that uses personal information for a non-administrative purpose. Privacy protocols must be completed and updated to ensure personal information is handled in a way that aligns with the principles of the Privacy Act.
No terms start with the letter Q
No terms start with the letter R
Terms starting with the letter S
Security
Measures used to prevent protected information from being accessed or disclosed inappropriately, based on assessed threats and risks. Data security supports the protection of privacy, confidentiality and integrity.
Statistics
Numerical data or the science of working with such data. Statistics help turn data into useful information through mathematical analysis.
Synthetic data
Artificially generated data that mimic real data. They are used in place of actual data to protect confidentiality.
No terms start with the letter T
No terms start with the letter U
No terms start with the letter V
Terms starting with the letter W
Web scraping
The automated collection of publicly available data from websites using scripts or robots.
