Statistics Canada has been developing new data tools to measure health and social inequalities in Canada. A new geographic classification tool called the Canadian Social Environment Typology (CanSET) is being released today. This tool provides neighbourhood classifications based on combinations of 30 socioeconomic, demographic and ethnocultural variables from the 2016 Census of Population.
Each neighbourhood type is a group of dissemination areas having similar social characteristics and can be used to measure health and social inequalities by comparing outcomes among similar as well as different types of neighbourhoods within a city or among cities in Canada. The CanSET was developed by Statistics Canada in collaboration with the Urban Public Health Network in Canada.
The CanSET data are released today along with a user guide to assist users in understanding how the data tool was created and how to use this classification tool in an analysis.
Using the new CanSET classification tool, a study is being released today in StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada: "Inequalities in COVID-19 mortality rates by neighbourhood types in Canada." The COVID-19 mortality data from the Canadian Vital Statistics - Death database was used to understand the variation of COVID-19 mortality rates by neighbourhood types and sex in 2020.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).