Access to microdata

Statistics Canada recognizes that data users require access to microdata at the business, household, or personal level for research purposes. To encourage the use of microdata, Statistics Canada offers a wide range of access solutions through a series of online channels, facilities, and programs for data user's, while at the same time protecting the privacy and confidentiality of respondents. These access solutions are displayed in the continuum of access below, which provides an overview of all types of data available in Statistics Canada. All access solutions prioritize the confidentiality of respondents to ensure that no personal or identifiable information is published.

Continuum of data access

Self-serve access solutions, available with minimal restrictions, progress into secure access solutions, available with security procedures.

Automated data ingestion

A self-serve way to programmatically take away data and reuse it for applications, databases, and analyses.

Access solution

  • Application program interface (API): Allows data users to access Statistics Canada aggregate data and metadata by connecting directly to our public facing databases. The Statistics Canada web services provide access to the time series made available on Statistics Canada's website in a structured form.

Location of access

Type of data

Ideal activities

  • Training
  • Policy research
  • Academic research
  • Evidence-based policy/decision-making
  • Outcomes or products – data exploration, extractions and as an analytical tool for academic and policy research
Data products

Publications, data visualizations, and downloadable items such as multi-dimensional data tables storing standard socio-economic data sets.

Access solution

  • View or download data tables: Data
  • Visualize key data sets: Data
  • Consult StatCan articles and publications: Analysis

Location of access

Type of data

  • Social and economic data: Data

Ideal activities

  • Training
  • Policy research
  • Academic research
  • Evidence-based policy/decision-making – calculating frequencies, cross tabulations, means, percentiles, percent distribution, proportions, ratios, and shares
  • Outcomes or products – data exploration, extractions and as an analytical tool for academic and policy research
Public use microdata files

Access solution

Location of access

Type of data

Ideal activities

  • Training – use as an analytical training tool.
  • Policy research
  • Academic research
  • Evidence-based policy/decision-making – calculating frequencies, cross tabulations, means, percentiles, percent distribution, proportions, ratios, and shares
  • Outcomes or products – data exploration, extractions, and as an analytical tool for academic and policy research
Self-serve tabulation tool

Access solution

Subscription to Real Time Remote Access (RTRA): Indirect access to Statistics Canada's microdata files, to produce non-confidential tabulations, via remotely submitted SAS programs. It is suitable for clients primarily looking for descriptive statistics.

Location of access

Type of data

Ideal activities

  • Training
  • Policy research
  • Academic research
  • Evidence-based policy/decision-making – calculating frequencies, means, percentiles, proportions, ratios, and shares
  • Outcomes or products – generating a full range of descriptive statistics that can be used for academic and policy research, training, and policy briefings
Confidential microdata files

Data at the individual or institutional level accessed in a secured environment.

Access solution

  • Virtual Data Lab (vDL): A secure cloud infrastructure used to store and facilitate access to microdata research projects. The vDL grants qualifying data users a more flexible approach to accessing Statistics Canada microdata. Data users can access their microdata projects from various locations, such as their home or office, depending on the sensitivity of the data.
  • Virtual Research Data Centre (vRDC): A modern virtual infrastructure that will provide academic data users with secure access to Statistics Canada microdata through a partnership with the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN). Qualifying data users will have access to data within secure RDC facilities, as well as from other authorized workspaces (e.g., a home or office). The vRDC is expected to start coming online in 2023.

Location of access

  • Secure Access Points: Statistics Canada premises (e.g., Research Data Centres), secure rooms, authorized workspaces (e.g., personal residence)

Type of data

Ideal activities

  • Training
  • Policy research – answering policy and academic research questions that require the use of advanced analytical methods such as complex multivariate analysis, and modelling
  • Academic research
  • Evidence-based policy/decision-making
  • Outcomes or products

Data Access Division newsletter

The Data Access Division newsletter is released on a quarterly basis to inform the user community about various ongoing Divisional initiatives. The newsletter issues are available here:

2023
2022
2021
2020

Self-serve access to microdata

Statistics Canada offers Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs) to institutions and individuals. They are non-aggregated data which are carefully modified and then reviewed to ensure that no individual or business is directly or indirectly identified. These can be accessed directly through the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) or the PUMF Collection for a subscription fee. Individual PUMF files can also be downloaded from the website at no cost. Statistics Canada offers remote access solutions to researchers and users.

Public Use Microdata Files Collection

The Public Use Microdata File (PUMF) Collection is a subscription-based service for institutions that require unlimited access to all anonymized and non-aggregated data, which is available through Statistics Canada's Electronic File Transfer Service (EFT) and an Internet Protocol (IP) restricted online database, Rich Data Services, with an easy-to-use discoverability tool. Select files are also available free of charge from the Statistics Canada website.

The Data Liberation Initiative

The Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) is a partnership between postsecondary institutions and Statistics Canada to improve access to Canadian data resources, allowing faculty and students unlimited access to numerous public use data and geographical files.

Real Time Remote Access

Real Time Remote Access (RTRA) is an online tabulation tool allowing subscribers to run SAS programs in real time to extract results from masterfile subsets in the form of tables.

Secure access to microdata

Research Data Centres are secure physical environments available to accredited data users and government employees to access deidentified and non-aggregated microdata for research purposes. Data users have direct access to a wide range of deidentified survey, administrative, and integrated data.

Accredited data users are approved researchers who come from an accredited organization that has indicated in writing to Statistics Canada that the researcher is trustworthy and will follow the security protocols for data access in a Statistics Canada premise and an authorized workspace.

Research Data Centres

Data access for academic data users

Research Data Centres (RDCs) are located on university campuses across Canada and are staffed by Statistics Canada employees. These centres are accessible to accredited data users affiliated with the hosting organization.

Launching in 2024, the virtual Research Data Centre (vRDC) will provide a modern virtual infrastructure that will provide academic researchers with secure access to Statistics Canada microdata through a partnership with the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN). Qualifying data users will have access to data within secure RDC facilities, as well as from other "authorized workspaces" (e.g., a home or office location).

All data output is vetted for confidentiality, by Statistics Canada employees, prior to being released to data users.

Data access for government data users

The Federal Research Data Centre (FRDC) provides federal, provincial and municipal government employees and data users from non-government organizations (NGOs) and the private sector with a secure environment to access confidential microdata. The physical FRDC is located in the National Capital Region.

Accredited FRDC users with approved eligible microdata research projects can access confidential microdata remotely, in authorized workspaces, via the virtual Data Lab (vDL). Fees for access vary depending on the project.

All data output is vetted for confidentiality, by Statistics Canada employees, prior to being released to data users.

Statistics Canada Biobank

Biospecimens like blood, urine, and DNA samples are collected from consenting participants of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) and are only accessible for approved research initiatives that meet ethical standards. The resulting analyses are made available through the Research Data Centres. Under no circumstances will personal or identifiable information be published. Datasets of potential interest are available to approved academics and government data users.

Approved data users are deemed employees of Statistics Canada who have signed a Microdata Research Contract or a Microdata Service Contract noting their approval to access data for a specified purpose on a Statistics Canada premise.