From the Chief Statistician

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Chief Statistician Anil Arora

Thank you for your support

Statistics Canada would like to thank Canadians and businesses and the interviewing staff, and recognize their support. The information provided was converted into statistics used by Canadians, businesses and policy makers to make informed decisions about employment, education, health care, market development and more.

Never has the role of data—and data-driven insights—been more important in supporting Canadians in their time of need than during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the first wave hit in March 2020, data immediately went from being a nice-to-have asset to a critical decision-support tool. Virtually overnight, Statistics Canada employees pivoted to the new reality by rapidly adapting operations to better serve Canadians. This report outlines how Statistics Canada has responded to the nation's urgent demands for data over the course of a rapidly evolving public health emergency.

In particular, the agency has delivered results for Canadians on the following priorities for 2020–21:

  • Provide frontline pandemic response: Over the past year, Statistics Canada helped the provinces and territories track and limit the spread of COVID-19. By March 31, 2021, Statistics Canada's specially trained interviewers had made the equivalent of 1.2 million 15-minute calls for contact tracing, conducting everything from daily health check-ins with Canadians to in-depth case investigations, while still juggling their ongoing survey collection duties. Statistics Canada data have also been used by public health officials to manage the nation's supply of personal protective equipment, identify COVID-19 hotspots that require enhanced public health response and plan the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
  • Prepare for the 2021 Census of Population and Census of Agriculture: In the months leading up to the May 2021 launch of Statistics Canada's flagship statistical program, the Census of Population and Census of Agriculture, the agency prepared to implement a virtually contact-free operation. Against the backdrop of a pandemic, Statistics Canada employees adapted to public health measures such as physical distancing during the collection of census data so that respondents and enumerators alike could participate safely, securely and remotely. The data collected for this census will capture the sheer scale of the social and economic impacts that Canadians continue to face as a result of COVID-19.
  • Collaborate and engage with Canadians: To meet the urgent data needs of Canadians during a pandemic, Statistics Canada developed an ever-increasing number of partnerships so that data could be collected, analyzed and integrated in agile and innovative ways, beyond the traditional survey-first approach. Over the past year alone, the agency has collaborated with all orders of government, civil society groups and the private sector to provide data-driven insights that have helped shape the pandemic response and continued to determine the trajectory of the nation's recovery.
  • Enhance coverage of emerging issues: In the early days of the pandemic, Statistics Canada partnered with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada's largest business group, to examine the impact of the nationwide economic shutdown on firms across the country. The results of this survey were vital in providing the Government of Canada with the information it needed to design and implement emergency income-support programs that met the urgent needs of the moment. Statistics Canada staff also disaggregated large datasets to better identify the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable populations. Those data revealed a stark and inconvenient truth: COVID-19 has not affected all Canadians equally. The social disparities Statistics Canada uncovered will guide and shape public policy decisions for years to come.
  • Seek out alternative data sources: Canadians often wonder why they are asked to provide the same data multiple times to Statistics Canada. Over the past year, against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving pandemic, agency employees have found innovative ways to reduce the number of survey questions that Canadians are asked to respond to, while respecting public health measures such as physical distancing. Employees have found new ways to work safely, securely and remotely to integrate more administrative data—information already held by other organizations—into the agency's data holdings. And through data collection methods, such as crowdsourcing surveys launched in April 2020, after the first wave hit, Canadians told Statistics Canada about how COVID-19 was having a negative impact on their mental health. Meanwhile, throughout the pandemic, agency staff have tracked price fluctuations for the monthly measure of inflation, without stepping into a single store. They have measured employment trends without interviewing anyone on their doorstep. And Statistics Canada now releases monthly flash estimates of high-frequency economic indicators such as gross domestic product.

The agency is continuously sharing information about what it does and how it goes about providing high-quality statistics. Statistics Canada's commitment to privacy and transparency continues to be strengthened through the Proportionality and Necessity Framework and the Trust Centre. I invite Canadians to see how Statistics Canada uses their data responsibly to provide the fact base they need to make informed decisions.

The need for timely and accurate data has never been greater in revealing whether Canada is on the right track as the nation, and its economy and society, gradually recovers from the pandemic.

I invite you to learn more through this report and the article "COVID-19 in Canada: A One-year Update on Social and Economic Impacts" to learn how Statistics Canada delivered better data to drive better outcomes for the people of Canada during COVID-19.

Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada

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