Canada's 154th year will not rank among the best in our history. Our data clearly show that.
The second and third waves of the pandemic claimed far more lives than the first. Nearly half a million people are considered long-term unemployed – more than double the number seen before the pandemic. Some sectors of the economy, notably the travel industry, are well below pre-pandemic levels. One-third of Canadians have become more downcast since the onset of the pandemic.
Despite the distress of the pandemic, we have also seen, over the past year, Canadians join social movements to call for Indigenous rights, racial justice and gender equality. For many Indigenous peoples and other Canadians, Canada Day celebrations are muted in light of the recent discoveries, which remind us of Canada's dark legacy of Residential schools.
Canadians also demonstrated their strong support for the first-ever census during a pandemic, and increased desire to complete it online. Though significant work still lies ahead, vaccination rates across the country continue to increase and Canadians are slowly being brought back together in the push for progress.
In 2018, Statistics Canada made a commitment to further explore the characteristics that help shape our lives, whether it be our level of education, health condition, age, gender or ethnocultural identity.
When you dig deeper into the data, patterns emerge that suggest some characteristics correspond to a higher probability of certain outcomes.
For example, almost one-third of Filipino and Black women in the labour force were working in health care or social assistance during the pandemic. Black and South Asian Canadians were twice as likely as non-visible minority Canadians to live in a household struggling to meet essential financial needs during the pandemic.
Data also reflect that mental health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations have increased since the onset of the pandemic. Forty percent of Indigenous crowdsourcing participants described most days as "quite a bit stressful" or "extremely stressful" and 41% reported symptoms consistent with moderate or severe anxiety, compared with respective rates of 27% and 25% for non-Indigenous participants.
The pandemic brought increased financial stress for Canadians, particularly those who have a disability. Just over one-fifth of the Canadian population has one or more disabilities. Crowdsourcing participants with multiple long-term conditions were more likely (71%) than those with one long-term condition (50%) to report impacts on financial obligations or essential needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Canadian families, lockdowns meant telework for those who had the option, school and daycare closures, and the move to online classes. Data reflect that men's participation increased for all household tasks during the pandemic, compared with 2017. For example, the proportion of men who did the grocery shopping doubled during the pandemic, from 15% to 30%; the same was true for the proportion of men who did the laundry, which went from 8% to 16%.
How do we know all this? Largely because you told us, through our rapid response crowdsourcing surveys conducted throughout the pandemic, supplements to our regular surveys and web panel surveys.
Thanks to your responses, we know more about Canada and Canadians than ever before. That knowledge can help identify areas of opportunity and concern, and action can be taken, whether it be by government agencies, private businesses, charitable organizations or individual Canadians.
The good news. Recent data show that almost two-thirds of Canadians have received one vaccine and one-fifth are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Infection rates are dropping across the country and employment is rising again with more sectors of the country reopening.
So, thank you Canada. Your participation in our surveys have helped us better understand what we have been through over the past year and will help set the course for our future.
]]>If you watch enough television, you might believe that we live in a violent world. Nightly entertainment is packed with stories about murder and violence, particularly gun violence.
But the statistics tell a different story—homicide rates have been falling across Canada since the 1970s.
What the overall statistics do not tell you is that Toronto had the most homicides of any Canadian city in 2018. Nor do they tell you that the majority of homicides in Canada are committed by an acquaintance (34%) or a family member (33%). They do not tell you that the rate of Indigenous homicide victims remains approximately five times higher than the rate of non-Indigenous victims.
Unless you are able to filter and sift through the sea of data, you may be under the assumption that crime is pretty much the same everywhere.
Similarly, if you looked at the data available on COVID-19 from across Canada, you would be able see patterns—infections, hospitalizations, deaths—emerge as a big, national picture. But you would not know what was happening at your local hospital.
Early COVID-19 data clearly showed that some groups are much more vulnerable to the virus than other groups. As the pandemic progressed, the inequities became more apparent and the need to address them more urgent.
Within that big national picture are many, many smaller pictures of communities, ethnic groups, life stages, gender and occupations. Different groups—big, small and all sizes in between—each have different experiences, and each may experience varying levels of crime, homelessness, mental health concerns, poverty, domestic violence, academic success or tendency to a specific illness.
The aggregate national picture encompasses tales from across the country to tell a big complete story.
To get a more specific small picture, statisticians disaggregate the data.
That means taking carefully gathered and aggregated data—the critical step to make sure that everyone's data is lumped together and kept anonymous—and stepping back to look at data for various populations by breaking down large-scale datasets into sub-categories such as region, gender or ethnicity or a combination of these sub-categories.
The secret in the exercise is to make sure to maintain people's anonymity, even as you are finding the stories that only disaggregated data can tell about the gaps and inequities that may exist in our society.
Disaggregation is all made possible by evolved statistical techniques and standards to ensure data comparability.
Statistics Canada has been working to leverage the power of disaggregated data to come up with a nuanced picture of the diverse groups of people who share the same characteristics.
Otherwise, you are only making inferences about individuals based on the inferences about the larger group.
Statisticians must ask the right questions and collect data effectively so that the data can be accurately disaggregated.
If you are a Métis, First Nations or Inuit leader, you need disaggregated data to get a clear picture of how your specific community is affected by a sudden jolt to the labour market. A member of the LGBTQ2 community can use the agency's disaggregated data to look at issues of gender and equality. Immigration analysts can find information to understand how refugees are faring economically relative to their Canadian-born counterparts.
And, criminal justice experts can track how the justice system serves people from different ethnocultural backgrounds so that policies can be developed that best serve the needs of each community.
Good policy and informed decisions come from understanding how each member of the diverse Canadian family is affected by their changing world. The big picture is important, but sometimes it may be hiding inequities and differences that, if not addressed, make some Canadian communities more challenged than others.
The current advances in disaggregation are but one example of how Statistics Canada continues to review its data programs to ensure that they remain relevant to the evolving interests of all Canadians.
To learn more, check out Statistics Canada and disaggregated data.
]]>The place we call home, whether it be a small high-rise apartment or a new build on the edge of town, is one of the defining features of our lives. And yet, finding housing in Canada that is affordable can be a challenge, particularly in our largest cities.
The housing landscape in Canada has changed markedly over the past decade. There has been a shift in housing stock, with the construction of multi-unit properties growing at a much faster pace than that of single-family homes. Housing prices across the country have fluctuated in tandem with a variety of factors such as the price of oil or the advent of the sharing economy.
Shelter continues to be Canadians' largest budget item. While housing and the cost of living varies by province or territory, region, city and neighbourhood, Canadians spend the largest portion of their budgets on shelter. Housing is so important to each and every one of us—nearly 68% of Canadian households own their home.
While the cost of housing may have increased in recent years, yet Canadians are still entering the real estate market in large numbers. From 2013 to 2018, 1.3 million, or 9.0%, of Canadian households bought their first home. More than half of them (52.9%) bought a single-detached house. However, this rate was lower in Montréal (38.1%), Toronto (26.4%) and Vancouver (21.4%).
As the market steadily increases in value, the need for quality data on housing is more important than ever. That's why Canada's national statistical office is telling the country's housing story in numbers, through an exciting series of new tools, programs, methods and partnerships.
As the nation's trusted source for statistical information, Statistics Canada is responding to the growing demand for one integrated, comprehensive source of information on housing, an integral part of Canada's First National Housing Strategy. Housing is a broad topic that is interrelated with many other subject areas, such as prices, demography, health and wellness, labour force and the economy. The agency launched a Housing Statistics Portal in August 2019, allowing users to easily access data and products related to housing in one convenient location.
The portal, which is continually updated as new information becomes available, was made possible through the agency's well-established housing programs and the development of two new statistical programs: The Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) and the Canadian Housing Survey (CHS).
"Statistics Canada is a key partner in our work to better understand Canada's housing markets and what drives them. The data offered by the Canadian Housing Statistics Program and the Canadian Housing Survey is essential as we continue to roll out the National Housing Strategy and work towards achieving our vision that, by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home that meets their needs and that they can afford." – Bob Dugan, Chief Economist, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Launched in 2017, the Canadian Housing Statistics Program provides comprehensive information on residential properties and their owners through administrative data from private and public data sources, reducing the response burden on Canadians. This information is used by policy makers, academics, businesses and individuals with an interest in the real estate market.
With its first release on National Housing Day in November 2019, the Canadian Housing Survey (CHS) is sponsored by our partners at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Data from the Canadian Housing Survey measures whether or not Canadians have housing that meets their needs and that they can afford. The survey runs every two years until 2028 in every province and territory, collecting new information on dwelling and neighbourhood satisfaction, first-time homebuyers and housing affordability, and households living in social and affordable housing.
In its first release, the Canadian Housing Survey found that most Canadian households are satisfied with their neighbourhood and dwelling. Over half a million Canadian households are living in social and affordable housing.
Together with the Residential Property Price Indexes and a suite of interactive visualization tools, these programs paint an accurate portrait of housing in Canada through a combination of survey questionnaires, administrative data sources from provincial and territorial governments and private businesses, as well as the successful integration of data from the census and business registers.
As the housing market continues to evolve, Statistics Canada is working to build the most comprehensive database of information on housing in Canada. Under its ongoing modernization initiative, the agency will keep improving the comprehensiveness and accessibility of housing data. This will ensure that Canadians have the information they need to feel at home.
Greg Peterson
Assistant Chief Statistician
Economic Statistics Field
Statistics Canada
Periodically, the StatCan Blog publishes a guest post on research at Statistics Canada. This post is from Dafna Kohen, assistant director of the Health Analysis Division.
The well-being of children is an important issue for Canadians. Statistics Canada has a long history of producing data on this topic. One of the first sources of information about children in Canada was the 1994 National Longitudinal Survey on Children and Youth—an extensive survey-based questionnaire that gathered information from parents, teachers and children. More recently, the agency began the Canadian Health Measures Survey, a survey that collects physical measures, such as accelerometer data, to track activity and sleep patterns.
Recent technological innovations have allowed Statistics Canada to link child survey data to administrative data, allowing Statistics Canada's analysts to follow children into adulthood and to look at education and employment throughout the life course (Findlay, et al., 2018; Vergunst et al., 2019).
The newest information on children comes from the Survey on Early Learning and Child Care Arrangements, conducted in early 2019, which focused on child care use for the youngest segment of the Canadian population: those under the age of six. This survey is part of the Rapid Statistics program, which was established to quickly answer important questions on topics such as child care.
This new survey provides information that complements other data collected by Statistics Canada to better understand the environments in which children grow, including their early child care environments, their home environments and the communities in which they live.
On the topic of early learning and child care, Statistics Canada's studies have looked at the percentage of children in child care, including descriptions of who is using what type of care and provincial portraits of use (Bushnik, 2006; Sinha, 2014). One study looked at the use of child care in Quebec and the other provinces after Quebec implemented the $5 per day daycare policy.
Results showed that the lower cost of child care led to a substantial boost to child care use in Quebec. In particular, there was an increase in the use of licensed care (which included both licensed daycare centres and licensed home–based care), that was not seen in the other provinces and territories. In addition, low-income families in Quebec used licensed care more than low-income families in the rest of Canada, where low-income families were more likely to use unlicensed care such as babysitters, nannies and relatives (Kohen, Hertzman, Dahinten, 2008).
An important aspect of child care is quality of care. A 2010 study looked at how child care quality is related to children's behaviours (Romano, Kohen, Findlay, 2010). Child care quality was measured by whether or not it was licensed and by asking parents about the child care environment. Children in licensed child care provided in someone else's home had less physical aggression and less prosocial behaviours than children in non-licensed home daycares. However, children in home daycare environments that that were clean, safe and run by caregivers who planned and encouraged age-appropriate developmental activities (called high process quality) showed more prosocial behaviours than children not in these types of environments (whether they were licensed or not licensed).
Interestingly, these relationships differed for children from low-income families and non-low-income families. Children from low-income families had higher physical aggression and internalizing behaviour (e.g. is nervous, sad, cries a lot) if they were in a home daycare with low process quality, but for children from non-low-income families there was no difference in behaviours. In addition, being in more than one type of care arrangement, or being in an unstable or changing arrangement, was linked with poorer outcomes for children.
This study showed that child care matters for preschooler's behaviours, and high quality care appears to be particularly important. The findings also underscored the fact that child care influences do not work in isolation, but exert their influences in tandem with family influences to impact children. Taken together, these findings suggest that the accessibility, affordability and quality of child care has an important impact on young children.
The communities and the houses in which children live and grow up are also related to children's well-being. For example, exposure to poor housing and to environmental contaminants have been shown to negatively impact children's health.
Indigenous children are generally in poorer health than other Canadian children. Furthermore, Inuit children are more likely to live in houses that are crowded and in need of major repair, and to be exposed to second-hand smoke in the home (Bougie, Kohen & Guèvremont, 2015). Housing conditions for Indigenous children have been associated with their physical and mental health, and higher pollution exposure has been found for children in low-income areas.
Moreover, children from low income families are more likely to be exposed to second hand smoke and to have higher Bisphenol A levels (Findlay & Kohen, 2015), which in turn were associated with behavioural problems in children. Yet, the impact of housing conditions on children's health is not limited to air quality. Parental home ownership and satisfaction with their housing are also factors related to young children's health outcomes, particularly for Inuit and First Nations children living off reserve (Guèvremont, Bougie & Kohen, 2016).
The quality of community and housing environments are also related to more severe health issues, such as injuries. Poor economic circumstances have been associated with higher rates of injury requiring hospitalization, particularly for young children (Oliver & Kohen 2010) and have been associated with more frequent motor vehicle injuries to children who are occupants in cars, as well as injuries occurring when children are walking or cycling (Oliver and Kohen, 2009).
Community stability, safety and the feeling of belonging reported by residents are also factors that impact the health outcomes of young children. One study demonstrated that poor neighborhood conditions were associated with poorer mental health for mothers, which in turn influenced their parenting behaviours toward their children. This in turn influenced the children's behaviours and school readiness (Kohen, Leventhal, Dahinten & McIntosh, 2008).
These findings point to the importance of working toward a better understanding of individual neighborhoods, including their needs, and their socio-demographic and cultural make up. Additionally, a strong understanding of the availability of services, such as early learning and child care programs, early intervention programs and preventative services, will help to ensure that the appropriate resources are easily accessible to those who need them most.
Parenting has long been considered a factor with a key influence on child development. However, few studies consider the impact that raising a child has on the parent.
Parenting is particularly challenging if a child has a disability. Several studies have shown that caring for a child with a disability takes a toll on mothers' physical and mental health (Brehaut et al., 2011; Brehaut et al., 2009; Lach et al., 2009), impacts family relationships and, not surprisingly, takes a toll on the family's economic situation. Parenting children with complex health conditions, such as neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy or autism), who also have behavioural challenges, has been associated with less positive, less consistent and less effective parenting behaviours (Garner et al., 2013).
Of course, parenting behaviours are influenced by a host of factors other than children's health conditions. Child age and sex, as well as parent and family education and income are also associated with parenting behaviours (Garner et al., 2013). Other important factors to consider in understanding differences in parenting behaviours are depressive symptoms, family functioning and social support (Arim et al., 2012).
Support from community professionals has been shown to be beneficial for the parents of children with health problems, in particular, children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Taken together, these findings raise an awareness of the impact that a child's health condition may have on the entire family unit, including parental physical and mental health, family functioning and parenting behaviours. The findings also point to the importance of considering child, family and community factors as a whole to better understand the influences on children's health outcomes.
Additional data sources are important for informing policy issues for the health and well-being of children and youth. For example, the General Social Survey includes information about the households of young Canadian families and their patterns of employment and child care use, as does the Census of Population. Additional administrative and linked data holdings also include child-level information to allow for a more thorough understanding of community factors (pollution, air quality), housing, households characteristics, as well as outcomes such as hospitalizations, length of stay and cause of mortality.
With advancements to statistical, modeling and visualization methods, as well as the availability of data sources beyond traditional surveys, such as administrative, provincial, and other data holdings, there are many new and exciting opportunities to explore information about children, particularly within the context of their families, houses, communities and the neighborhoods in which they develop and grow.
Partnerships with experts, policy stakeholders and community organizers, as well as others requiring information about young children, will continue to guide research in this area. Statistics Canada continues to produce this important information to support policies and programs that contribute to the well-being of children in Canada.
]]>In an information age, more data is available than ever before. Yet, data gaps – real or perceived – still persist.
As Canada's national statistical agency, Statistics Canada is a key source of authoritative statistical information on all aspects of Canadian society and economy. It is incumbent on the agency to provide relevant and timely information to meet changing information needs.
However, we do not exist in a vacuum. The agency must work in partnership with other government departments to provide information to meet policy needs. We also consult extensively with data users to ensure our understanding of their information needs is up-to-date and accurate.
In the interest of contributing to ongoing discussions on information needs, attached is a re-cap of Statistics Canada's efforts to fill information gaps, as identified in the most recent article on the topic in the Globe and Mail newspaper.
Statistics Canada collects and produces information on suicide deaths and suicidal ideation, planning and past attempts. This information is based on both administrative and survey data sources. In the near future, additional information will be available by profession and population characteristics.
The Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database (CVSD) provides basic demographic data, antecedent causes of death and significant conditions contributing to a death. The Canadian Coroner and Medical Database collects information on suicide deaths investigated by coroners and medical examiners, as well as additional information on the circumstances surrounding the death and includes narrative information as detailed by the coroner/medical examiner. The Canadian Community Health Survey and the Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, among other surveys, provide insights on suicidal ideation, planning, and past attempts.
Statistics Canada is also taking steps to provide more timely and accurate data, and to explore suicides by characteristic, such as ethnic group and occupation/industry group. Integrating data from the CVSD with the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC) will enable publication of analytical reports in late 2019 and 2020. For instance, in June 2019, Statistics Canada will publish an article on suicide rates in the 2011-2016 time period among First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in private dwellings, drawing on the 2011 CanCHEC. It will also explore the socioeconomic factors linked with risk of suicide. CanCHEC data from 1991 to 2006 are also available for use by researchers in a network of 30 Research Data Centres in universities across the country.
The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) has been collecting employment data on persons with disabilities for 35 years.
Labour force data on persons with disabilities have always been among the core indicators measured on the CSD and its predecessor surveys, which have been conducted every five years (following the census cycle) since the 1980s. The data have been used to respond to the requirements of the Employment Equity Act since 1995.
The CSD has also been used to produce data such as employment rates for persons with 10 disability types (i.e. seeing, hearing, mobility, flexibility, dexterity, pain, developmental, memory, learning, and mental health) as well as by disability severity levels. (Note that for the CSD, autism is considered to be a developmental disability.)
The CSD data do not allow for historical comparisons between 2017 and 2012 due to improvements in coverage of persons with less visible types of disabilities. Significant improvements made to the CSD for 2017 ensure that coverage of the population with a disability is now more inclusive than ever before.
Statistics Canada is committed to providing access to trusted and reliable sources of information that meet the highest priority needs of Canadians. The Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) fills an information need by providing Canadians and policy makers with valuable information to monitor and analyze housing markets.
Each release from the CHSP provides new and relevant information. Most recently, a new measure of "assessment value per square foot" allows for more detailed comparisons of assessment values among property types across Canada.
Statistics Canada does not currently publish information on first-time home buyers, nor is there currently available a data source that could readily provide this information. It could be feasible for the agency to work with partners and explore using the CHSP and other data sources to determine if this information need can be met.
Currently, Statistics Canada produces information outlining the number of persons in custody or under community supervision within correctional services and their personal characteristics such as age, sex and Indigenous identity (Adult and youth correctional statistics in Canada, 2016/2017)
However we currently do not capture data on segregation of adults and youth in custody due to the fact that, at the moment, a common definition of segregation is lacking, and this is needed to publish comparable data. Statistics Canada will continue efforts with stakeholders – specifically the Heads of Corrections working groups – to develop the methods necessary to produce relevant information on this topic.
The agency provides information on various topics related to First Nations people, Métis and Inuit, including population growth, languages, living arrangements, health, justice, education, employment and income.
There are some special considerations that must be taken when compiling statistics on Indigenous peoples. For instance, the population is diverse and spread out across the country, which presents challenges associated with sampling small populations.
The agency has responded by improving data and increasing communication and collaboration.
Statistics Canada works with First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders, communities and organizations on an ongoing basis to improve participation in surveys and the Census. The 2016 Census had the best participation rate to date among those people living on reserve.
We have improved collection of data on First Nations people, Métis and Inuit by adding an Aboriginal identifier to household and administrative surveys and using administrative data sources. We also work collaboratively with Indigenous organizations and communities, and partner with other federal departments such as Health Canada to maximize and improve our data.
Through the Aboriginal Liaison Program, we assist in building statistical capacity in Indigenous organizations and communities. By doing so, Statistics Canada aims to contribute to community empowerment and improve data quality, accuracy and relevance for First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. Aboriginal Liaison Advisors build relationships with organizations and communities, helping them determine their data needs and helping them find and understand the data that is available for their communities.
In addition to collecting data for the census and other surveys, Statistics Canada is committed to making data available to decision makers and community leaders, in a variety of ways: in the form of publicly available data tables; research articles that interpret data and provide back meaningful results; and analytical files kept in secure research data centres so analysts can undertake their own research.
The 2019 federal budget provides for the establishment of a virtual Canadian Centre for Energy Information. Statistics Canada will work with Natural Resources Canada to ensure delivery of the Centre, which will compile energy data from several sources into a single easy-to-use website.
The Centre will also support ongoing research by Statistics Canada to identify and address data gaps that would improve the overall quality of energy information available to Canadians. We are exploring how energy utilization can be integrated into the data provided by the Centre.
Also with regard to energy use, the census collects information via questions on yearly payments for electricity, oil, gas, coal, wood or other fuels.
In addition, other data sources may provide relevant information. The Households and the Environment Survey provides data that could be of contextual interest to anyone studying energy poverty in Canada. Through that survey, we obtain information on household energy consumption. Energy use data are available by various household income categories.
Here are all the tables from that survey produced on household energy consumption:
As long as there is data to harvest, and it is always in abundance, there will be information gaps. Try as we might, no one institution or organization can claim to have it all. Every new data release and analytical study offers new insights. These in turn lead to new questions. These new questions turn into the search for answers through another data release or analysis, and so the cycle continues.
Policy departments interested in a specific topic will collaborate with Statistics Canada to analyze the results of a particular survey, but like any organization, our priorities need to be selected and aligned with available resources.
]]>Periodically, the StatCan Blog publishes a guest post on research at Statistics Canada. This post is from Huju Liu, a senior economist in the Economic Analysis Division.
Entrepreneurship has long been argued to be an important driver for innovation, job creation and productivity growth. However, men and women are still unequal in becoming entrepreneurs and growing their businesses: women are less likely to become entrepreneurs, and women-owned businesses are smaller than their men-owned counterparts. To achieve gender equality in business leadership and inclusive economic growth, the Government of Canada has adopted the new Women Entrepreneurship Strategy to promote entrepreneurship among women and to help grow women-owned businesses. Comprehensive data on female entrepreneurship and rate of ownership are essential for better understanding the state of women-owned businesses in Canada, which will allow policy makers to make well-informed and evidence-based decisionsFootnote 1.
What do we know about women-owned businesses in Canada so far? This blog highlights recent evidence and research on the differences between women-owned and men-owned businesses in Canada using the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamics Database.
Women-owned businesses (that is, at least 51% of shares are owned by women) account for a relatively small share of all businesses in Canada. According to the latest Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SFGSME), they accounted for 15.6% of all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 2017, a share that has been fairly stable over the past decade. Women-owned businesses were more prevalent in service industries such as retail trade, accommodation and food services, and tourism, and less prevalent in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting; mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; and manufacturing. They were also more prevalent among enterprises with fewer than 20 employees (2017 SFGSME and Grekou, Li and Liu, 2018).
Yet women-owned SMEs have made progress over time in many areas, relative to their counterparts, men-owned SMEs. For instance, women-owned SMEs have improved access to financial resources. The share of these SMEs that requested external financing increased from 20.7% in 2007 to 40.6% in 2017, compared with 22.9% in 2007 to 47.4% in 2017 for men-owned SMEs. The ratio of the authorized-to-requested debt financing amount was about 9.6 percentage points lower in 2011 for women-owned SMEs than for their counterparts, and was only about 2.8 percentage points lower in 2017 (2017 SFGSME, Industry Canada, 2015, and Rosa and Sylla, 2016).
Women-owned SMEs have also progressed in export activity over time. The share of these SMEs that exported increased from 5.9% in 2007 to about 11.2% in 2017, while the share for men-owned SMEs remained largely unchanged, from 11.1% to 12.2%, over the same period (2017 SFGSME and Industry Canada, 2015).
These SMEs have also performed well relative to men-owned SMEs in innovation and adoption of digital technology. The share of SMEs that engaged in at least one type of innovation (product, process, organization or marketing) over the past three years was higher among women-owned businesses (39.5%) than men-owned businesses (37.0%) in 2011. By 2017, the share of innovators among SMEs remained similar between both types of SMEs. Moreover, the share of businesses holding at least one type of intellectual property, such as patents and trademarks, at the end of 2017 was also similar between both types of SMEs. The share of businesses that have adopted at least one type of digital technology, such as cloud computing, data analytics or having an Internet website, over the past three years was also similar between both types of SMEs at the end of 2017 (2017 SFGSME and Industry Canada, 2015).
Women-owned SMEs have also improved their growth performance over time. Their share of medium- to high-growth SMEs, that is, businesses with an annual sales or revenue growth rate above 10% over the past three years, increased from 16.5% in 2011 to about 18.5% in 2017, compared with 18.3% in 2011 to 20.8% in 2017 for men-owned SMEs (2017 SFGSME and Industry Canada, 2015).
Although informative at the aggregate level, these comparisons are static, based on cross-sectional surveys taken at different points in time rather than following businesses over time. It is not possible, for example, to determine whether an increase in the number of these businesses is due to more new women-owned businesses or fewer that exit. Furthermore, it is also difficult to uncover the underlying reason for the improved growth performance mentioned earlier by women-owned business: whether the surviving businesses truly improved their growth or low-growth businesses simply failed and exited. Recently, a new database was developed from administrative sources to fill this data gap. The Canadian Employer–Employee Dynamics Database (CEEDD) links individual workers, business owners and businesses together. It is capable of tracking businesses and business owners over time and thus can complement the analysis on the business dynamics of women-owned business.
Research at Statistics Canada using the CEEDD offers new insights on the dynamics of women-owned businesses. Couture and Houle track the performance of start-ups with the CEEDD and find women-owned start-ups are less favoured. From 2005 to 2013, these start-ups accounted for less than one-fifth of all start-ups (new private corporations), while men-owned start-ups accounted for just under two-thirds. Women-owned start-ups had a slightly lower survival rate than men-owned start-ups. These start-ups had significantly lower labour productivity and research and development intensity than men-owned start-ups, conditional on survival. Moreover, women-owned start-ups also had a lower growth rate of net income than their men-owned counterparts. Women-owned start-ups were relatively smaller in terms of employment at the beginning, and on average could take five years to catch up to the size of men-owned start-ups. Grekou follows individual entrepreneurs over time and finds that incorporated women entrepreneurs tended to have lower income than men entrepreneurs, on average, before starting up their businesses between 2006 and 2015.
Statistics Canada has data sources to better understand female entrepreneurship and support in-depth research in this area. Recent evidence and research has established the fact that important differences remain between women-owned and men-owned businesses: women-owned businesses still remain underrepresented in the economy; their start-ups have lower growth rates of income and employment and lower survival rate then their men-owned counterparts. Future research needs to focus on better understanding what drives these differences: for example, why women are less likely to start a business and why women-owned businesses experience a lower growth than men-owned businesses.
The Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SFGSME) is sponsored by a consortium led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. It was conducted by Statistics Canada and repeated every three to four years, starting in 2000 and updated until 2017. The target population includes enterprises with 1 to 499 employees and more than $30,000 in gross revenue. It collects information on the financing used by small and medium enterprises; business activities, such as export, innovation and growth; and characteristics of ownership, including the shares of businesses owned by women or men.
The Canadian Employer–Employee Dynamics Database (CEEDD) is built upon administrative and tax records and links individual and business information. It is capable of following individuals and businesses over time. The CEEDD provides gender-specific ownership information for unincorporated businesses and incorporated privately held companies (mostly Canadian-controlled private corporations) for which information on ownership between 2005 and 2015 is available. Gender-specific ownership cannot be assigned to other businesses, such as publicly-traded corporations and private corporations that do not file shareholder information.
Couture, L., and S. Houle. Entry, Survival and Performance of Business by Gender. Statistics Canada. Forthcoming.
Grekou, D. Labor Market History and the Success of Women-owned Enterprises. Statistics Canada. Forthcoming.
Grekou, D., J. Li, and H. Liu. 2018. "Women-owned enterprises in Canada." Economic Insights. No. 83. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 11-626-X. Statistics Canada.
Industry Canada. 2015. Majority Female-Owned Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Special Edition: Key Small Business Statistics.
Rosa, J, and D. Sylla. 2016. A Comparison of the Performance of Majority Female-owned and Majority Male-owned Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2017.
Statistics Canada has been exploring new methods to balance the need for more high-quality data outputs with the protection of confidential information in the release of economic data estimates.
Random Tabular Adjustment (RTA) is a statistical technique used to protect confidential information in published data by applying random adjustments to sensitive estimates. This is a new method developed by Statistics Canada and we are applying it for the first time with the release of the Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy 2017. As a national statistical agency, we continuously look for ways to improve and modernize, using new technologies to add value to the data we publish in order to better serve Canadians.
This new statistical method will allow Statistics Canada to release more useful statistical information, without making any compromise on the protection of confidentiality. Our users have been requesting more detailed information and we expect that they will welcome this update to the methodology.
The RTA method adds random "noise" to cells, which results in preventing the disclosure of individual estimates. This method differs from the suppression techniques that have traditionally been used with economic data tables released by Statistics Canada because it improves the utility of the tables. With RTA, cell estimates are releasable while still ensuring individual values are not disclosed.
So using this method allows us to increase the amount of useful data we can publish, while at the same time ensuring confidential information is protected. This makes for a great balance.
While the Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy 2017 release is the first to use RTA, the plan is to determine what other datasets could benefit from this new method and to apply it to those in the future.
The reason RTA allows for more data to be released is precisely that: instead of "suppressing" the data, the estimates are "perturbed." This means that the sensitive information is randomly altered to protect the confidentiality of the individual responses contributing to the estimate. This is done by adjusting the estimate in question so that a precise value cannot be assigned to an individual contribution. The added benefit of this method is that it does not affect other cells, which are not considered sensitive cells. Only the cells with the sensitivity issue and their aggregates are affected. For more technical information on RTA, please see the paper by Stinner (2017) on the Statistical Society of Canada's website.
Statistics Canada's mandate is to publish data on the economic, social, and general conditions of the country and its people. In order to do this, it must collect information from individuals and businesses, with the time honoured commitment to confidentiality as enshrined in the Statistics Act and the Privacy Act. Statistics Canada is committed to continuous improvement and looking for ways to provide more data to our users while at the same time protecting privacy and confidentiality.
]]>Canadians have a lot of questions about housing. How much does it cost to purchase a new condominium? How would the price compare between Vancouver and Toronto? In response to growing demand for more detailed housing data, Statistics Canada has released new data: the Experimental New Condominium Apartment Price Index (NCAPI). First released on February 15, 2019, the NCAPI opens the door to a better understanding of the factors that affect condominium prices.
The index, derived from the New Condominium Apartment Price Report data, measures changes in the selling prices of the condominiums apartment units. What do we mean by a "condominium"? The term refers to a form of ownership rather than a type of dwelling. Statistics Canada uses the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation's definition of a condominium, "an individual dwelling unit which is privately owned, but where the building and/or land are collectively owned by all dwelling unit owners." The "new" refers to condominiums that are newly built (not newly owned).
The NCAPI aims to close information gaps in the measurement of residential property prices, by providing information that was not previously available. By providing expanded coverage of the new housing market and more accurate and representative price indexes, Canadians will be better positioned to find the answers to their housing questions.
Currently, the NCAPI includes data for six census metropolitan areas (CMAs): Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria, as well as an average of the six CMAs. These CMAs have a large enough sample size of new condominiums being built for the data to be included in the index, and account for 86.7% of newly built and sold condominiums in Canada (according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation).
Currently, Statistics Canada is also assessing the quality of data for three additional CMAs: Halifax, Québec City and Edmonton.
There are many different factors that may affect the price of residential properties. For this reason, along with the small sample size of select CMAs, the data are considered experimental.
Factors such as size, amenities, location within the building, view, price premiums and discounts mean that it is difficult to define and track condominium units that share similar characteristics. At Statistics Canada, not only are we continuing to explore improvements to data collection and methodology to address these challenges, but we are collaborating with data users to determine how we can better meet their needs and address data gaps.
Come visit the Experimental New Condominium Apartment Price Index and use the feedback form to let us know what you think. We welcome your suggestions for improvements.
We look forward to collaborating with data users to create a more comprehensive portrait of the new residential market, and continuing to provide Canadians with the information they need.
]]>Statistics Canada is the country's national statistical agency with a mandate to provide quality data on the country's economic and social well-being. And in general, we do a good job. Close to 24 million Canadians consult our website to fulfill their statistical needs every year. We respond to 20,000 calls and over 25,000 emails through our 1-800 number and our infostats service each year. Recent poll results show that 88% of Canadians trust Statistics Canada, and our website survey indicates that 76% of visitors find what they need on the website.
We agree that ideally, Statistics Canada should be the authoritative source for any key piece of data or information needed, and that it should keep up with the changing and increasing needs of Canadians in a data-driven society. The reality, however, is that the agency is funded to fulfill key socio-economic indicators and relies on federal government policy departments to fund programs that respond to the country's most pressing data needs.
We recently conducted comprehensive consultations on the evolving information needs of Canadian businesses, governments, NGO's, and Canadians. Their feedback was very clear. Today's complex economy, environment, and fast changing society require more information to fill emerging data gaps, more current information, and more detailed information whether it is for smaller geographic areas or specific population groups.
And, Statistics Canada is responding by innovating with new sources of data, by experimenting and conducting pilot projects. We are going beyond surveys and existing administrative data sources to web-scraping, using scanner data, and tapping into emerging big data sources, while continuing to build on a solid foundation of privacy and confidentiality protection. And, we have made good progress in a number of areas with information gaps such as cannabis, tourism, housing, and the low-carbon economy. We know a lot more has to be done.
The recent articles in the Globe and Mail are stimulating an important discussion with Canadians on their perspectives on the role of the agency in today's data landscape, raising important issues from access to anonymized microdata for research, privacy, and filling important data gaps. They have raised a number of gaps.
Filling many of the gaps will require collaboration with other levels of government who possess data consistent with their jurisdictional authorities, with the private sector, and using new data sources. We have in the meantime, started to compile a response to the information gaps identified and provide the following data we have, analysis that gives a qualitative sense of the important factors and trends for each area, and the efforts we are pursuing to provide Canadians with more data. As the list grows, we will update our efforts. Canadians can, of course, continue to consult our website, email us or call us at Contact us.
Statistics Canada publishes information every working day on the state of the Canadian economy and society, and has done so since its creation in 1918.
The following provides a glimpse into the vast repository of high-quality and accurate statistical information accessible on the Statistics Canada website. It shows the progress that Statistics Canada has made in recent years to address data gaps that have been identified by Canadians in reports by news media.
Statistics Canada is currently developing a comprehensive database on Canadian housing – the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP). The CHSP will provide information on the composition and evolution of the Canadian housing market including characteristics on the dwellings, their owners and housing finance. The database will address many gaps related to housing data such as the extent of non-resident ownership and housing affordability. Data is now available for three provinces (BC, ON, NS) at the CMA level. The CHSP will expand to cover all provinces and CMAs by 2022.
Recent releases from the program include the following:
This is currently not measured. Statistics Canada has conducted an exploratory study to identify data sources on tenants being evicted. This type of data is owned and managed by provinces and territories.
The Canadian Community Health Survey conducted by Statistics Canada provides data on cancer diagnosis by ethno-cultural background. However, this survey does not provide details on the type of cancer by ethno-cultural background.
Information on cancer types, such as breast cancer, is available from the Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) housed at Statistics Canada but this information cannot be broken down by ethno-cultural background.
Information on cancer incidence and mortality rates is available from two distinct data sources at Statistics Canada. The Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR) provides information on cancer incidence while the information on mortality rates is available from our vital statistics program. Both information on incidence and mortality are not available by ethno-cultural background.
Information on mammograms by racial/cultural background is available from the Canadian Community Health Survey.
There are numerous data sources which measure the outcomes of immigrants and refugees over time, including the Longitudinal Immigration Database and the Census of Population. More specifically, the Longitudinal Immigration Database integrates detailed information on socioeconomic outcomes of immigrants, connecting short- and long-term outcomes with various characteristics at admission, such as immigrant admission category, refugee status, source country and knowledge of official languages.
Some recent studies:
Comprehensive information on more than 250 ethnic origins and population groups is collected and disseminated through the Census of Population.
With the creation of the Center for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, Statistics Canada will be disseminating more information on Canada's diverse populations. In February 2019, there will be several products released on the demographic and socio-economic situation of the Black population in Canada.
Statistics Canada collects extensive data on gender and conducts analysis on gender issues. Statistics Canada has recently launched the Gender, diversity and inclusion statistics hub which provides a focal point for the latest data and analysis.
Some recent studies:
Statistics Canada stopped producing data on marriages and divorces at the national level in 2010 due to budget cuts. Statistics Canada continues to collect information from Canadians on marital status and divorce through other sources, such as the census, as well as more detailed information on families through the General Social Survey.
Statistics Canada does not have information on forced marriages in Canada.
Every five years comprehensive information on Indigenous peoples is available with the Census of population, supplemented by the Aboriginal Peoples Survey.
Statistics Canada has been working with Employment and Social Development Canada to develop new labour market indicators for the on-reserve population using the Census and administrative data.
Information on maternal health is available from data collected through the Rapid Stats program, designed to produce information within a 90-day period. Recently, the program has also produced information on cannabis statistics, opioid awareness and the digital economy (see the links in this blog).
Other topics currently being actively collected and developed include Maternal Experiences and Access to Child Care.
Federal government departments or any external organization can reach out to Statistics Canada anytime they identify new data needs. These can be filled through multiple data solutions, including surveys. Statistics Canada will engage in an initial discussion with the department to further refine their data needs and propose options to fill them. If the development of a new survey is the appropriate action, a more in-depth discussion on the survey requirements will follow. A project proposal and cost estimate will then be prepared for the department to decide whether they would like to proceed. If a decision is made to go ahead with the development of a new survey, a team formed of various internal partners within Statistics Canada will be put in place and the survey development work will begin.
Statistics Canada is working with partners in British Columbia to assess socio-economic factors and the opioid crisis. Discussions are underway to replicate the work done in British Columbia.
In 2018, Statistics Canada released results from the Survey on Opioid Awareness to provide a greater understanding of the opioid crisis: Opioid awareness in Canada.
Statistics Canada is working with provincial and municipal partners to better understand the social and economic characteristics of opioid-related hospitalizations and to inform intervention studies.
The Census collects basic information on this topic every five years. Statistics Canada has identified the need for more information on the population living in seniors' residences, and is working with partners to find ways to address this important data gap.
With an aging population, there will be an ever increasing demand for long-term and residential care for seniors. According to the 2016 Census, 6.8% of Canadians aged 65 years and older were living in long term or senior's residences - this proportion jumps to 30.0% among Canadians aged 85 years and older. To better estimate tomorrow's demand for care, we need to know more about what puts seniors at risk for transition to institutional care. While age matters, so do factors such as losing a spouse, living alone and being diagnosed with dementia.
Understanding Canadian children is a priority for Statistics Canada, and the following studies address issues related to health, physical activity, the impact of the environment, and vulnerable populations. But gaps remain. Statistics Canada is working collaboratively with federal departments such as Employment and Social Development Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada to better understand community needs such as childcare demand and accessibility to early learning and child care initiatives. This program aims to understand associations between family-oriented policies such as parental leave and child care, parental and child outcomes, and characteristics of child care providers.
Physical activity of Canadian children and youth remains largely unchanged from 2007 to 2015 with only 7% achieving at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day, and 33% achieving a weekly average of at least 60 minutes per day.
For younger children, however, an estimated 73% of 3- to 4-year-olds and 30% of 5-year-olds met their respective physical activity recommendations.
A high proportion of children met the recommendations for sleep duration (83.8%) and physical activity (60.7%), but only 24.3% met the screen time recommendations.
Women are more likely than men to participate in housework and are overrepresented among caregivers, especially when the care recipient has a disability.
New initiatives will use linked administrative data to examine family policies such as parental leave in Canada as well as use of child care arrangements by families with children.
One in ten 15- to 24-year-olds reported having experienced symptoms of depression in their lifetime, and one in seven reported suicidal thoughts. A small percentage reported attempting suicide, but they represented more than 150,000 individuals.
Eight percent of Canadian children, 3 to 19 years of age, had hearing loss while less than one percent reported it. Sixty five percent never had a hearing test.
The Centre for Education Statistics collects and disseminates a wealth of information on education. Recent developments include new data on student pathways through the postsecondary education system and their labour market outcomes.
The Census of Population provides high school completion rates and post-secondary educational levels for Indigenous populations aged 15 and older who live on and off reserve. Statistics Canada is exploring, in collaboration with Indigenous Services Canada, the use of on-reserve administrative data to develop better indicators of high school graduation for on-reserve First Nations students.
Indicators of postsecondary persistence and dropout rates are being developed and will be published in 2020. The number of students being suspended, however, is not measured.
Statistics Canada's Centre for Justice Statistics regularly collects and disseminates comprehensive information on Canada's justice system and crime statistics. Some examples are listed below.
Statistics Canada regularly collects and releases data on hate crimes in Canada: Daily Police-reported hate crime, 2017.
In 2017, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics began working with police services, academics and other experts from across Canada to reinstate the collection of information on unfounded criminal incidents and address data around crime-related statistics.
Recently released information:
Statistics Canada is collecting new information related to gender-based violence. The results of a new survey on Safety in Public and Private Spaces will be released in the coming months.
In Canada, missing persons information resides with the policing community. Statistics Canada's Homicide Survey collects information on all culpable homicides in Canada, including missing person status. Statistics Canada continues to work with its justice partners to identify needs around justice-related data, such as this important topic.
The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, working with Public Safety Canada and other justice partners, is exploring this issue. A feasibility study is underway to explore what data exists in relation to the origin of firearms seized or recovered by police. The study will be completed by the end of March 2019 with recommendations on how to address these important data gaps.
The Economic Statistics Program covers a broad range of economic measures that form a trusted, relevant and comprehensive source of information on the entire spectrum of Canada's economy. These measures including monthly, quarterly and annual indicators on inflation, production of goods and services, investment and international trade are used to compile comprehensive provincial and territorial economic accounts that inform on the size and growth of the Canadian economy (Gross Domestic Product).
Statistics Canada is currently publishing data that is also published by Health Canada such as the number of licenced producers. A significant amount of the data on the Cannabis Stats hub is built from data supplied by Health Canada. Planned updates to the Hub will include additional data such as retail sales and the results of the National Cannabis Survey.
While exports of coal have not been available from Monthly Coal Supply and Disposition survey since January 2016, these statistics are still available in several other products offered by Statistics Canada.
The Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database offers statistics by commodity, province and country. Users can search the database using key words to find data by commodity. Coal statistics are available under HS 2701.
Statistics Canada released information on the sharing economy in 2017 and 2018:
Statistics Canada will release experimental estimates of the size and scope of the digital economy later this year for the period 2010 to 2018.
A recent study on the long-run productivity dispersion in Canadian manufacturing measures productivity in several OECD countries: Study: Long-run Productivity Dispersion in Canadian Manufacturing.
Ongoing work will build on this by examining the impact that increasing dispersion in productivity growth rates across firms has on the dispersion of earnings across workers.
The monthly retail trade survey publishes sales figures for retail gasoline stations by province and territory: Retail trade sales by industry.
Passenger Vehicles Sales estimates include both electric passenger vehicles as well as conventional passenger vehicles combined into one sales figure.
Farmers are busy people, especially when it's time to prepare the land, plant, and harvest crops. Like other data users, they want timely, accurate and detailed data, while completing the least number of surveys.
Statistics Canada's Agriculture Division agrees, and has set itself an ambitious goal with the AgZero project. 'We're working to produce comprehensive, relevant and integrated farm data – while minimizing the burden on farm operators' – says Director Étienne Saint-Pierre.
Reducing response burden is a key part of the agency's modernization initiative, which explores how alternative sources of information can complement surveys and improve the timeliness, quality and accuracy of statistical information.
Statistics Canada is conscious of the response burden surveys placed on farm operators and understands their concerns. Its outreach activities confirm that farmers value the data that Statistics Canada produces and rely on it to better understand the agriculture industry and to make decisions on a day-to-day basis.
In October 2018, the division reached out to farm organizations and key partners, during the National Consultation Week held by Statistics Canada. The agency received positive feedback on AgZero, which will leverage the greater availability of alternative data sources, increasingly free access to high quality satellite imagery and the advances in data processing techniques to reduce response burden and improve statistics.
Other techniques will be used as well. Extensive use of alternative data files will reduce or replace direct data collection from farmers. Data modelling and advance data processing will also move the Agriculture Statistics Program closer to achieving AgZero. On an ongoing basis, survey questionnaires are being reduced in length through the use of alternative data sources. For example, a study is planned to determine how granular model based estimates could ultimately replace the pig inventory questions on the Livestock Survey program.
AgZero may be one of Statistics Canada's more visible efforts to reduce the response burden for completing surveys, but it's not atypical.
The Accumulated Response Burden Initiative gives small businesses and farm respondents a reporting holiday from Statistics Canada business surveys. The initiative, launched in 2015, limits the time in which a small business must remain in a survey sample and exempts businesses from Statistics Canada for a year. From its inception to 2018, this program has resulted in nearly 26,000 questionnaires not being sent to small businesses and farms.
The increased use of alternative data is also common to many programs at Statistics Canada.
The agency is moving beyond a survey-first approach by adopting new, innovative methods and integrating data from a variety of sources. Before turning to surveys, teams must consider whether the same data could be obtained from other organizations or existing sources.
The practice is not new to StatCan: Alternative sources have been used for close to 100 years. And we have a solid track record of protecting survey responses and administrative records thus assuring privacy and confidentiality protection. All enhancements continue to rigorously protect respondent confidentiality. The same thorough protections for survey information also apply to alternative data.
Of course, survey data will always remain part of the mix, as they are essential in many cases.
The success of the 2016 Census is a perfect example of the value of data from respondents. The response rate for the 2016 census long-form was the best in the agency's history – which led to an unprecedented wealth of statistical output.
So while alternative sources of data will continue to be used, this would never be at the expense of providing Canadians with the statistical information they need about the economy and society.
Statistics Canada thanks all respondents for their participation in surveys. We recognize that their goodwill is one of the agency's most valuable assets, since it is the continued co-operation of Canadians that enables us to turn survey results into reliable information. Thanks to farms, businesses and households, we are able to provide important information that supports sound decisions – which allows us collectively to create a better Canada.
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