**- Canadian (and more) Social Statistics -**

**- Statistiques sociales du Canada (et d'ailleurs) -**

Updated May 5, 2012
Page révisée le 5 mai 2012

[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

April 30, 2012
Overview of the Census, Census year 2011
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/ref/overview-apercu/index-eng.cfm
The Overview of the Census is a reference document covering each phase of the Census of Population and Census of Agriculture. It provides an overview of the 2011 Census from legislation governing the census to content determination, collection, processing, data quality assessment and data dissemination. It also traces the history of the census from the early days of New France to the present.
Table of contents:

1. Overview of the Census of Population

Introduction
Legislation
Communications
Consultation, testing and content approval
Field operations
Online questionnaire
Processing
Data quality assessment
Census geography
Dissemination

2. Overview of the Census of Agriculture

Taking an agriculture census
The Census of Agriculture cycle
Census of Agriculture products and services

Source:
Reference materials
Supporting documentation for census data
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/ref/index-eng.cfm

Source:
2011 Census
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/index-eng.cfm

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Memo from Statistics Canada to researchers everywhere:
We have some Good News:

A data wonk's dream: Statscan to drop pay wall
http://goo.gl/cxmeo
By Tavia Grant
December 1, 2011
If Canada is to morph into a knowledge-based economy, its citizens need better access to reliable, unbiased information. With that in mind, Statistics Canada will make all of its standard data available for free on its website, starting next year. As of Feb. 1 (2012), all data known as Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System (or CANSIM) will be posted freely on the agency’s website. Census and geography data will also become free.

...and we have some Bad News:

Cuts to hit Statistics Canada and Parks Canada
http://goo.gl/oGg1l
By Bill Curry and Tavia Grant
May 1, 2012
Nearly half of the roughly 5,000 people working at Statistics Canada are being warned that their jobs are at risk, suggesting deep cuts are in store for one of the country’s most trusted sources of information.

Source:
The Globe and Mail
[ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ ]

Contents of this page:

Click on any of the links in this yellow box to jump to specific sections further down on this page...
[use your browser's Back button to return to this part of the page]

Statistics Canada
===> The Mother of all government statistics sites in Canada. Just scroll down past the first red bar below for a large section of StatCan links
Consumer Price Index
Leading indicators
The Daily, the Canada Year Book and Canada at a Glance (from StatCan)
Population statistics
Census (2011-2006-2001-1996)
Women
Welfare statistics
(incl. stats on welfare leavers and welfare expenditures)
Poverty/income statistics
Income tax statistics and GST/HST statistics
- from the Canada Revenue Agency
Wealth and wealth inequality
Statistics on families
Expenditures on major transfer programs (five years' worth of expenditures on Old Age Security, child benefits, Canada/Quebec Pension Plan, social assistance, Workers compensation and much more)
Interprovincial comparisons (from the Institut de la statistique du Québec
Employment/unemployment statistics
Aboriginal Peoples
Indicators of Well-being in Canada
Canadian health statistics
Canadian education statistics
Labour statistics from Statistics Canada
Homelessness/housing statistics
Old Age Security / Canada Pension Plan statistics
Provincial/territorial government statistical information sources
Crime/Justice statistics - (incl. legal aid)
Voluntary sector statistics from StatCan
Miscellaneous Canadian stats links

Historical statistics:

* Social Security Statistics, Canada and Provinces, 1978-79 to 2002-2003 (HRSDC)

* Historical Statistics of Canada (StatCan)

American statistical links

European and other international statistical links

UNdata - "A World of Information"

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Canada in a world context
How does Canada compare with the rest of the world?

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NOTE: For links to reports and statistics on low-income measures (LICO, LIM, MBM), see the Canadian Social Research Links Poverty Measures page. See also Income and Wealth Inequality links.
[Both of these are Canadian Social Research Links pages.]

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See also (external links):

Finding Canadian statistics
900+ links to Canadian statistics on a wide range of topics from Aboriginal Peoples to Women
Source:
University of Toronto Data Library Service

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The Joy of Stats (video, duration 59:06) - external link
http://ww3.tvo.org/video/172756/joy-stats
Hans Rosling can tell the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes. Rosling's passion for using statistics to understand the world and his entertaining online lectures have made him a YouTube legend. In this mind-expanding roller coaster ride through the world of statistics, Rosling explores the history of statistics, how stats work mathematically, and how, using statistics, we can take the massive deluge of data of today's computer age and use it to see the world as it really is.

February 1, 2012
CANSIM is now FREE.
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a01?lang=eng
CANSIM is Statistics Canadas key socioeconomic database. In CANSIM, the user can choose a specific table, geography(ies), characteristics (variables) and date range, then download the data. Users can create customized tables by adding or removing data; and manipulate data by asking for percent changes or year-to-date sums or averages.

Updated daily, CANSIM provides fast and easy access to a large range of the latest statistics available in Canada. CANSIM data are now available free of charge under the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/reference/licence-eng.html

In addition, the interface has been modified to make it more user friendly.
See the Tutorial: Introduction to the New CANSIM Interface:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/about-apercu/video/cansim-eng.html

Browse CANSIM by subject:
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a01?lang=eng

Source:
Statistics Canada
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-debut-eng.html

Related link:

Statistics Canada to make all online data free
National Statistics Council, which opposed scrapping the long-form census, applauds the move
November, 25, 2011
By Carl Meyer
All of Statistics Canada’s standard online products, including the census, socioeconomic and geographic data, will be offered to the public for free starting February 2012, Embassy has learned. In 2010, the agency was rocked when the government dropped the mandatory long-form census, and its chief statistician resigned in protest. Immigration experts slammed the decision for jeopardizing the targeted delivery of services like languages training and job-search workshops. Now, the agency will not charge for the information it gathered during the 2011 census. Instead, as it releases the first set of census data this February, it will also announce that it will be free—as well as the rest of its online, readily-available data.

Source:
Embassy - Canada's Foreign Policy Newsweekly
http://embassymag.ca/

If It Were My Home.com
http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/
The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like?
Would you be the same person?

KEEP THE CENSUS LONG FORM QUESTIONNAIRE!
The Harper government recently announced that it would eliminate the 2011 Canada Census long form questionnaire and replace it with a voluntary survey. The long form was sent to 20% of households and is a critical source of information about diversity, employment, income, education and other characteristics of Canadians.
Click the link above to access 300+ links to related resources on a separate page of this site, including a petition to keep the long form and a Facebook group, along with dozens of links to media coverage and letters to the Prime Minister on this issue.

Canadian Social Statistics

Statistics Canada
The first website to check for Canadian government statistics is Statistics Canada, which merits its own section on this page. The vast collection of information on the StatCan website includes detailed social program statistics in many areas, as well as more general stats on population, the economy, and --- well, you'll just have to visit the StatCan website to find out for yourself...

Statistics by Subject =====>>>

1. Aboriginal peoples
2. Agriculture
3. Business performance and ownership
4. Business, consumer and property services
5. Children and youth
6. Construction
7. Crime and justice
8. Culture and leisure
9. Economic accounts
10. Education, training and learning
11. Energy

12. Environment
13. Ethnic diversity and immigration
14. Families, households and housing
15. Government
16. Health
17. Income, pensions, spending and wealth
18. Information and communications technology
19. International trade
20. Labour
21. Languages
22. Manufacturing

23. Population and demography
24. Prices and price indexes
25. Reference
26. Retail and wholesale
27. Science and technology
28. Seniors
29. Society and community
30. Statistical methods
31. Transportation
32. Travel and tourism

The Daily
The Daily is Statistics Canada's official release bulletin, the Agency's first line of communication with the media and the public. The Daily issues news releases on current social and economic conditions and announces new products. It provides a comprehensive one-stop overview of new information available from Statistics Canada. The Daily is released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time each working day.

Featured StatCan products:

* Canada Year Book (Families, households and housing)
* Canadian Social Trends (marriage and families)
* Census families, 1921 to 2006 (Flash presentation)
* A portrait of Seniors in Canada
* Canada, a Portrait
* Women in Canada
* Divorce: Guide to the latest information
* Students and teachers: Learning resources for Family Studies and Home Economics

Statscan’s budget should be increased by $100-million
By Stephen Gordon
June 20, 2011
The federal government is going to spend the year doing a program review, with an eye to identifying places where spending can be cut. And it may well be that many of the services provided by the federal governments should be left to the private sector. But there is one agency where a thoughtful program review would recommend increasing funding: Statistics Canada.
(...)
A trip to the [U.S. Government] websites of the Bureau of Economic Analysis or the Bureau of Labor Statistics will get you a wealth of data at the price of a couple of mouse clicks. And over at the Census Bureau, fees only seem to be incurred by those whose projects require working at their offices in Washington. Things are different in Canada. If you go looking for data at the Statistics Canada website, you end up looking at a price list. (...)
One of the core competencies of any government is to provide public goods, and that includes publicly-produced databases. Access to those data should be free, and Statistics Canada’s budget should be increased by the $100-million it would cost to take down its paywall.
Source:
Globe and Mail

COMMENT (by Gilles):

Excellent suggestion!!
That's pretty much what many people and organizations have been demanding for at least the past decade.
See, for example, the website of my friend Tracey Lauriault:
datalibre.ca - "urging governments to make data about canada and canadians free and accessible to citizens"
The data is collected using Canadian tax-payer funds, and we believe use of the data should not be restricted to those who can afford the exorbitant fees.
[ datalibre.ca's OpenData Links & Resources - the BEST list on the open data movement! ]

Kudos to the Globe and Mail for even suggesting that StatCan should make all of its data available for free!
In the real world, though, Stephen Harper and His Majority can do whatever they bloody well want, knowing how easy it was for them to deep-six the long form Census questionnaire on ideological grounds. Steve and His Majority are firm in their belief that ideology trumps evidence-based research.
Looks like he's correct, at least for the next four years...

*Canada Year Book 2011* September 30, 2011 The 2011 edition of the Canada Year Book has been expanded to just over 500 pages to include international comparisons and online search terms that help readers find updated and related data on Statistic Canada's website. The 31 almanac-style chapters contain charts, tables, maps and easy-to-read articles that feature the latest statistics from Canada's economic, political and social life. The Canada Year Book is the premier reference on the social and economic life of Canada and its citizens. HTML version PDF version (HTML table of contents + links to a PDF file for each chapter) NOTE : Both the HTML and PDF versions of this report contain links (in the left-hand margin) to earlier issues of the Canada Year Book for 2006 to 2010.
Chapters: [Click the HTML or PDF link above to access links to the individual chapters.] * Aboriginal peoples * Agriculture * Business, consumer and property services * Business performance and ownership * Children and youth * Construction * Crime and justice * Culture and leisure * Economic accounts * Education, training and learning * Energy * Environment * Ethnic diversity and immigration * Families, households and housing * Geography	* Government * Health * Income, pensions, spending and wealth * Information and communications technology * International trade * Labour * Languages * Manufacturing * Population and demography * Prices and price indexes * Retail and wholesale * Science and technology * Seniors * Society and community * Transportation * Travel and tourism
Related products: * Canada Year Book teacher's kits * Summary tables * Canada at a Glance (see the latest issue just below this yellow text box) * Statistics by subject
Canada Year Book Historical Collection (1867 to 1967) "..., a wealth of historical data in digitized format compiled from 100 years of the Agency's annual Canada Year Book (CYB).This new module, available free of charge on our website, covers the first century of Canadian history following Confederation in 1867, through to 1967, with historical text, tables, charts and maps. It is supplemented by interconnected learning resources for students and teachers. - contains 100+ photos and nearly 50 maps dating back to 1868, as well as over 75 charts and 1,200 tables. Completing the picture are multimedia extras, such as newspaper clippings, video clips and posters. There are details on the lives and work of politicians, industrialists, scientists, agriculturalists and others who shaped the land, economy and society of Canada." * Browse the collection by year - 1867 to 1967 * Browse the collection by topic - Changing families and households - Lives of men and women - Occupations - Economic gains - The Great Depression - Communications - Ethnocultural diversity - Provinces and manufacturing - Immigration and emigration - Canada at war Source: Canada Year Book - Product main page* Presented in almanac style, the 2011 Canada Year Book contains more than 500 pages of tables, charts and succinct analytical articles on every major area of Statistics Canada's expertise. The Canada Year Book is the premier reference on the social and economic life of Canada and its citizens. [ * On the product main page,click "View" to see the latest issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ] --- - Go to the Social Statistics Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/stats.htm

April 4, 2012
Canada at a Glance 2012
Canada at a Glance presents current Canadian demographic, education, health and aging, justice, housing, income, labour market, household, economic, travel, financial, agricultural, foreign trade and environmental statistics. This booklet also includes important international comparisons, so that readers can see how Canada stacks up against its neighbours. Updated yearly, Canada at a Glance is a very useful reference for those who want quick access to current Canadian statistics.
- includes links to information about:
* Population * Health * Education * Crime * Housing * Income, Spending * Government * International comparisons * Labour * Economy * International trade * Energy * Manufacturing * Agriculture * Travel, Transport * Environment

HTML version:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/12-581-x/12-581-x2012000-eng.htm

PDF version (3MB, 27 pages)
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/12-581-x/12-581-x2012000-eng.pdf

Canada at a Glance - Product main page
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=12-581-X&lang=eng
Click View for the latest edition of the publication; click Chronological index for earlier editions (back to 2000).

Main StatCan Census page links to Census pages for 2011- 2006 - 2001- 1996

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2011 Census home page

New from
Statistics Canada:

February 8, 2012
2011 Census: Population and dwelling counts
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/120208/dq120208a-eng.htm
The population of Canada increased 5.9% between the 2006 and 2011 censuses, compared with a 5.4% increase during the previous five-year period. The increase in the growth rate was attributable to slightly higher fertility and to an increase in the number of non-permanent residents and immigrants. A full analysis is available in the report, The Canadian Population in 2011: Population Counts and Growth.

The report:

The Canadian Population in 2011: Population Counts and Growth
HTML version
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-310-x/98-310-x2011001-eng.cfm
PDF version (992K, 26 pages)
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-310-x/98-310-x2011001-eng.pdf
Contents:
Highlights
Part 1: National portrait
Part 2: Provinces and territories
Part 3: Portrait of metropolitan and non-metropolitan Canada
Part 4: Portrait of municipalities (census subdivisions)
Additional information

Related links:

Canada Census links: Toronto Star coverage
http://www.thestar.com/topic/census
- links to just under 100 Star articles pertaining to the Census going back to March 2007. Topics include Census 2006 and Census 2011, the elimination of the compulsory long census form and subsequent resignation of the Chief Statistician, etc.

2006 Census

2006 Census Quick Links:

2006 Community Profiles
These profiles present community-level information from the 2006 Census of Population. Users can search for an area of interest by typing its 'place name' in the box below or by clicking on a province or territory from the list below and selecting the area from a list."

Census Trends
This new product presents a series of summary data trends spanning three censuses: 2006, 2001 and 1996. The product is designed to facilitate the analysis and comparison of the changing demographic and socio-economic composition of selected geographic areas across Canada. The product will include approximately 85 key data indicators, released in two phases.

2006 Census Tract Profiles
Census tracts are small, relatively stable geographic areas that usually have a population of 2,500 to 8,000. They are identified using seven-character numeric 'names' (e.g., 0005.00) and are located in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and larger census agglomerations (CAs)1. View a list of CMAs and CAs containing census tracts. Options are provided to help navigate to a census tract, visualize the census tract via a map and/or retrieve profile data for the census tract.

2006 Highlight Tables
* Population and dwelling counts * Age and sex * Families and households * Language, immigration and citizenship * Aboriginal peoples * Labour, language used at work, place of work, commuting to work, education * Ethnic origin and visible minorities * Income and earnings and shelter costs

2006 Census Dictionary
The 2006 Census Dictionary provides detailed information on every aspect of the Census of Population and Census of Agriculture along with an overview of each phase of the census, from content determination to data dissemination with focus on the changes from 2001.

2006 Aboriginal Population Profile
These profiles present community-level information from the 2006 Census of Population. Users can search for an area of interest by typing its 'place name' in the box below or by clicking on a province or territory from the list below and selecting the area from a list. Information to complete the profile will be available in June 2008.

GeoSearch2006
This interactive mapping application makes it easy to find many places in Canada, see them on a map, and get basic geographic and demographic data for those places.

Preview of Products and Services

Multimedia (requires Macromedia Flash Player)
- multimedia presentations grouped by topic:
* Population and dwelling counts
* Age and sex
* Families and households
* Statistics Canada's Living Census

Topic-based tabulations
List of topics:
1. Population and dwelling counts (Highlight tables)
2. Age and sex
3. Marital status
4. Families and households
5. Housing and shelter costs
6. Language
7. Mobility and migration
8. Immigration and citizenship
9. Aboriginal peoples
10. Labour
11. Education
12. Place of work and commuting to work
13. Ethnic origin and visible minorities
14. Income and earnings

Source:
2006 Census

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October 1, 2009
Census maps (2006 Census)
The Atlas of Canada, produced by Natural Resources Canada in partnership with Statistics Canada, presents a series of maps and accompanying analysis of national and regional data results from the 2006 Census. The first releases focus on Canadian population, age, marital status, immigration, visible minorities and mode of transportation. Future releases will cover topics such as educational attainment, the labour force, languages, housing and income.

Recent Featured Maps:
[NOTE : The list below is partial; please click the above link to access the complete list of Census 2006 maps to date.]

* Population
Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area (9 984 670 square kilometres), yet it ranks only 39th in terms of population.
According to Statistics Canada, Canada's population in 2006 was estimated to be 31 612 897.

* Visible Minority Population
The 2006 Census estimated 5.1 million individuals who belonged to a visible minority. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as 'persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour’. This map shows the percentage of visible minorities by census divisions and subdivisions.

* Age
The Canadian population is continuing an aging trend that has been going on since earlier this century. This aging is the result of two main factors: a decrease in fertility and an increase in life expectancy. This change in the age structure of the population has effects on everything from the diaper industry to educational services, the job market and shopping patterns.

* Family
The Canadian family has been reshaped over the last several decades by social, economic and demographic influences and has become quite varied and complex.

* Immigration
Today, immigration in Canada has a far-reaching impact on the country's population growth. It was responsible for two-thirds of our population growth in the period 2001 to 2006. Due to the settlement pattern of the foreign-born in the recent decades, the effect of immigration is mostly felt in Canada's largest urban centres and their surrounding municipalities. The 2006 portrait of the foreign-born population was a diverse one reflecting the waves of immigrants from different regions around the world.

* Federal Elections
Canada holds federal general elections for the House of Commons at least once every five years. General elections have been held since Confederation (1867). Each election leads to the formation of a new Parliament. As the Parliaments are numbered since Confederation, so are the elections. The election of 2008 was the 40th Federal Election.

Previously Featured

* Aboriginal Peoples
The Atlas of Canada has produced a wide range of maps on Aboriginal Peoples. Topics include Aboriginal languages and population today as well as at different time periods, the territory of Nunavut and Indian treaties.

* Health
Health Matters! It is of concern to governments at all levels, to families and to individuals.

* Quality of Life
‘Quality of life’ is a term used to measure well-being. Well-being describes how well people feel about their environment, and collectively these feelings can be thought of as quality of life. To assess quality of life, indicators are used to represent the most important aspects of a person’s life. The indicator data were compiled, transformed and analyzed to generate three quality of life maps for the physical, social and economic environment(s), and then combined in a fourth map to show the overall quality of life in Canada for 1996.

Source:
The Atlas of Canada
[ Natural Resources Canada ]

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TheStar.com Census 2006 page
- incl. links to 30+ articles and features related to the 2006 Census
Selected content:
* Speak Out: Is marriage important? * Voices: Marriage vs. common law * Census highlights * Flash: Canadian population breakdown * Flash: Immigration and language * video reports on trends in the 2006 Census: income, immigration, divorce rates, gender imbalance, population growth, Quebec's baby boom and declining towns * population profile * much more
Source:
The Toronto Star

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Globe and Mail In-Depth : Census 2006
- links to several dozen articles based on Statistics Canada's 2006 datasets, covering a wide range of themes, including :
* visible minorities * the wealth gap * income inequality * interracial relationships * Canada's aging work force * immigrants and education * baby boomers, retirement and the spectre of a labour shortage * ethnic origin and minorities * families and work * Canadians helping the seniors in their lives * public transit use * immigrants living and working in their mother tongue * Canada's changing work force * families * Population of Indian, Métis and Inuit tops one-million mark * population * Canada's tenuous French connection * more...
Source:
The Globe and Mail

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GeoSearch2006 Interactive Map of Canada
April 2008
This interactive mapping application makes it easy to find many places in Canada, see them on a map, and get basic geographic and demographic data for those places. To find a specific place of interest, users can click and zoom in on a map of Canada or they can search by place name, street name, street intersection or postal code. GeoSearch will display the appropriate map showing boundaries and other features. GeoSearch automatically displays population and dwelling counts for the selected places, and shows what kind of geographic area it is and its relationship to other geographic areas.
- incl. links to 2006 Census reference maps and community profile tables, and a thematic mapping option for selected census topics (for selected levels of geography).
(Excerpt from Product Main Page)

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Hidden gems: Community information database
The Community Information Database (CID), developed by the Rural Secretariat with the cooperation of provincial and territorial governments, is intended to be "a free internet-based resource developed to provide communities, researchers, and governments with access to consistent and reliable socio-economic and demographic data and information for all communities across Canada." And it delivers. Despite a clunky interface, and a steep learning curve that can’t be bypassed, in my experience, the CID provides a rich source of information about all communities, including urban ones, with data from the 1996, 2001, and 2006 Census. In fact, more than 500 pieces of data can be retrieved for all of Canada, by province, region, Census Metropolitan area, Census subdivision, or regional health district.
Site reviewed by:
Social Policy Cafe
(Havi Echenberg)

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Teacher's Guide to Data Discovery
Stats 101!
- follow the links in the left margin of the main page of this guide to learn how to choose the dataset, to understand data concepts and to analyse the data with or without computer software.

Canadian Economic Observer
This monthly periodical is Statistics Canada's flagship publication for economic statistics. Each issue contains a monthly summary of the economy, major economic events and a feature article. A statistical summary contains a wide range of tables and graphs on the principal economic indicators for Canada, the provinces and the major industrial nations.

Population characteristics

Tables by subject: Population estimates and projections

Canadian Social Trends
(Statistics Canada's publication on emerging social issues)

Online Issues of Canadian Social Trends - hundreds of articles going back to 1996
Themes:
Aboriginal People - Income, Expenditures and Housing - Aging, Seniors and Retirement - Justice - Caregiving and Disabilities - Leisure and Religion - Children and Youth - Marriage and Families - Cities, Neighbourhoods and Rural
Canada - Miscellaneous - Education, Training and Literacy - Technology - Employment - Time use - Health - Volunteering and Participation - Immigration, Diversity and Language

Statistics Canada Research Papers - Income Series - Includes Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics
Links to hundreds of studies and articles online, going back to 1993
Here are some sample reports:
- A Comparison of the Results of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) and the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF)
- SLID Labour Interview Questionnaire
- Preliminary Interview Questionnaire
- SLID Questionnaire for Demographics and Contact
- A Comparison of the Results of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) and the Survey of Consumer Finances(SCF)
- To What Extent Are Canadians Exposed to Low Income?

Source:
[ Canadian Statistics ]
[ Statistics Canada ]

NOTE: for links to Statistics Canada reports on low-income measures (LICO, LIM) and income inequality,
see the Canadian Social Research Links Poverty Measures page
and the Inequality Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/inequality.htm

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Voluntary sector statistics from StatCan:

September 11, 2009
Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, 2007

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Statistical Profile of Canadian Communities
Type in the name of a Canadian city or town, and the database will tell you the following information, based on the 1996 Census :
Population in 1996 - Population in 1991 - 1991 to 1996 population change (%) - Education - Income and Work - Land area (square km) - Families and Dwellings - Births and Deaths.
This site contains information from the 1996 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada on May 14, 1996. A statistical profile is presented for all Canadian communities (cities, towns, villages, Indian Reserves and Settlements, etc.) highlighting information on education, income and work, families and dwellings, as well as general population information. A mapping feature is available for viewing the location of a community within Canada

Community Profiles 2001

More free Canadian Statistics (The Economy - The Land - The People - The State)

Population Statistics

From the
Globe and Mail Economy Lab:

- Population of Canada projected to 2060
http://goo.gl/M4s9j
January 30, 2012
- by age group (0-19 --- 20-64 --- 65 and over - reaching age 65)
Source:
Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com

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New from
Statistics Canada:

The report:

Related links:

December 20, 2011
Quarterly Demographic Estimates, July to September 2011
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-002-x/91-002-x2011003-eng.htm
Table of contents:
Highlights
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-002-x/2011003/aftertoc-aprestdm1-eng.htm
Analysis
Tables
Charts
Data quality, concepts and methodology
Appendices
User information
Related products
PDF version (388K, 82 pages):
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-002-x/91-002-x2011003-eng.pdf

Source:
Quarterly Demographic Estimates - product main page*
This publication presents quarterly estimates of population for Canada, provinces and territories as well as statistics on the following components of population change: births, deaths, immigration, emigration, returning emigration, net temporary emigration, net non-permanent residents and interprovincial migration, the latter by origin and destination.
* On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues.

Related subjects:

* Ethnic diversity and immigration
* Immigrants and non-permanent residents
* Population and demography

September 28, 2011
Canada's population estimates, Second quarter 2011
The April to June 2011 issue of Quarterly Demographic Estimates is now available.
Table of contents:
Highlights
Analysis
Tables
Charts
Data quality, concepts and methodology
Appendices
User information
Related products
PDF version (376K, 80 pages)

Related subjects:

* Ethnic diversity and immigration
* Immigrants and non-permanent residents
* Population and demography

Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada - Product main page*
The Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada is an analysis of the demographic situation in Canada at the national, provincial and sub-provincial levels. The Report consists of two parts. The first one is devoted to a review of recent demographic trends occurring in Canada. Trends in population growth, aging, marriage and divorce, and the evolution of the various components of Canada's population growth - fertility, mortality, immigration and internal migrations - are presented, analyzed and discussed in order for the readers to be able to quickly understand the meaning and the impact of the numerous on-going changes. The second part of the Report features in-depth articles on current issues related to the Canadian population.
---
[ * On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest
issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Population Projections for Canada, Provinces and Territories - Product main page*
This report presents the results of six population projection scenarios by age group and sex up to 2036 for the provinces and territories and up to 2061 for Canada. Using the July 1, 2009 population estimate as the starting point, these projections are based on assumptions that take into account the most recent trends relating to components of population growth, particularly fertility, mortality, immigration, emigration and interprovincial migration.
[ * On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest
issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Annual Demographic Estimates: Canada, Provinces and Territories - product main page*
This publication presents annual estimates of the total population and annual estimates by age and sex for Canada, provinces and territories. It also presents estimates of the following components of population change: births, deaths, immigration, emigration, returning emigration, net temporary emigration, net non-permanent residents and inter-provincial migration, the latter by origin and destination. As in the case of population estimates, the components are also available for the total population and by age and sex.
[ * On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest
issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Annual Demographic Estimates: Subprovincial Areas - product main page*
This publication presents annual estimates of population for census metropolitan areas, economic regions and census divisions of Canada as well as estimates of the following components of population change: births, deaths, immigration, emigration, returning emigration, net temporary emigration, net non-permanent residents and inter-provincial and intra-provincial migration.
[ * On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest
issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Quarterly Demographic Estimates - product main page*
This publication presents quarterly estimates of population for Canada, provinces and territories as well as statistics on the following components of population change: births, deaths, immigration, emigration, returning emigration, net temporary emigration, net non-permanent residents and interprovincial migration, the latter by origin and destination.
[ * On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest
issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Related subjects:

* Ethnic diversity and immigration
* Immigrants and non-permanent residents
* Population and demography
* Population estimates and projections
* Population aging
* Population characteristics

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Statistics Canada Census Page
- links to Census pages for : 2006 - 2001 - 1996

* Language
* Immigration and citizenship
* Mobility and migration

* Thematic Maps
A thematic map shows the spatial distribution of one or more specific data themes for standard geographic areas. The map may be qualitative in nature (e.g., predominant farm types) or quantitative (e.g., percentage population change).

* GeoSearch 2006
This interactive mapping application makes it easy to find many places in Canada, see them on a map, and get basic geographic and demographic data for those places. Click and zoom in on a map of Canada or search by place name, street name, street intersection or postal code. GeoSearch will display the appropriate map showing boundaries and other features. GeoSearch automatically displays population and dwelling counts for the selected places, and shows what kind of geographic area it is and its relationship to other geographic areas.

2006 Community Profiles, Census year 2006 (update)
These profiles present community-level information from the 2006 Census of Population. Users can search for an area of interest by typing its 'place name' in the box below or by clicking on a province or territory from the list below and selecting the area from a list.

Census Trends, 2006 Census
Census Trends presents a series of summary data trends spanning the 2006, 2001 and 1996 censuses. The product is designed to facilitate the analysis and comparison of the changing demographic and socio-economic composition of selected geographic areas across Canada. Summary data trends include percentage distributions and percentage change.

----------------------------------------------

July 20, 2011
Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada, 2010
The Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada, Statistics Canada's analysis of the components affecting the nation's population, is now available as a dynamic, Internet-only publication beginning today.

Chapters released today (July 20/11) on population growth, age and sex structure, fertility, mortality and migration contain detailed analysis, tables and figures about the latest trends.

- incl. demographic patterns at the national, provincial and sub-provincial levels, trends in population growth and the evolution of the various components of Canada's population growth — fertility, mortality and migration (interprovincial and international) — as well as marriage and divorce.

Source:
Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada - Product main page*
The Report on the Demographic Situation in Canada is an analysis of the demographic situation in Canada at the national, provincial and sub-provincial levels. The Report consists of two parts. The first one is devoted to a review of recent demographic trends occurring in Canada. Trends in population growth, aging, marriage and divorce, and the evolution of the various components of Canada's population growth - fertility, mortality, immigration and internal migrations - are presented, analyzed and discussed in order for the readers to be able to quickly understand the meaning and the impact of the numerous on-going changes. The second part of the Report features in-depth articles on current issues related to the Canadian population.
---
* On the product main page, click View" to see the latest issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues.

Related subjects:
* Population and demography

**********************************************************

On October 4, 2010, the Vanier Institute of the Family
released the fourth edition of its report entitled:

Families Count - Profiling Canada's Families IV
Clicking the link takes you elsewhere on the page
you're now reading, where you'll find the table of contents from that report.

***********************************************************

Society Statistics
Examine statistical profiles of Canada's people - employment, education, population, health, and more.
- incl. links to the following:
* 2006 Census of Canada * 2006 Community Profiles * Canadian Statistics by Subject * Historical Statistics of Canada * Population and demography * Population Pyramid * Provincial and Territorial Statistics * Statistical Profile of Canadian Communities * Statistics on Canadian Social Conditions.
Source:
Government of Canada

AgeSource/AgeStats Worldwide
http://www.aarpinternational.org/database/
AgeSource Worldwide identifies several hundred information resources in some 25 countries which are significant either in size or in their unique coverage of particular aging-related issues. The resources include, among others, clearinghouses, libraries, databases, training materials, major reports, and Web metasites.
AgeStats Worldwide provides access to statistical data that compare the situation of older adults across countries or regions around a variety of issues, such as demography, pensions, health and long-term care. The most recent data and projections as far ahead as 2050 are provided where available. You may search either or both databases at one time. Access is free-of-charge. AgeSource and AgeStats Worldwide have been created by AARP to facilitate the international exchange of policy and program-relevant information in aging.

Source:
AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons)
"AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people 50 and over. We provide information and resources; advocate on legislative, consumer, and legal issues; assist members to serve their communities; and offer a wide range of unique benefits,special products, and services for our members. These benefits include AARP Webplace at www.aarp.org, Modern Maturity and My Generation magazines, and the monthly AARP Bulletin. Active in every U.S. state and territory, AARP celebrates the attitude that age isn't just a number -- it's about how you live your life."

Internet Resources Related to Aging (U.S.)
List of Contents - like a site map, incl. links to sites organized under the following headings : General Interest - Government - Health - Housing - Income - Law - Leisure - Libraries, Clearinghouses and Databases - Social Services - States and Communities - Statistics and Research - Listservs - Newsgroups - Electronic Magazines - Search Tools - Alphabetical Index

Other Internet Directories Related to Aging - links to 9 directories, most from the U.S. Administration on Aging, including state and even local links to resources for seniors

Links to AARP sites in all states

AARP Online U.S. Retirement Calculator

Links to Statistical sites - incl. links to Canadian government sites (federal, provincial, territorial) - Canadian Government Statistical Offices - Provincial Government Statistical Bureaus - Statistical Offices in Rest of World - Population Statistics Sites - Tourism Statistics - Canada and the rest of the world - Tourism research links - Other Sources of Statistical Data - Financial/Monetary Information - Election & Riding Information (BC and Canada only) - Geography/Natural Resources - Housing Starts/Housing Market Information - Health Information - Income/Tax Data - USA Data - Other Research Avenues (in BC) - Economic Development (BC) - Policy Research links
Source:
BC Stats (Government site)

From the
Institut de la statistique du Québec :
(Québec statistical institute - English home page)

Interprovincial Comparisons
(available in French only)*

HTML version - table of contents (see below) with links to small PDF files for each section
PDF version (1.4MB, 110 pages) - February 2010
NOTE: The online HTML version will always be more recent than the latest PDF version because the HTML version is frequently updated while the PDF is a snapshot at a specific point in time.

Recommended
--- key resource for Québec statistics *and* for statistics for other Canadian jurisdictions!

Abbreviated table of contents:
Demography - Immigration - Canadian Francophonie - Production - Income - Manpower - Investment - Interprovincial Trade - International Trade - Consumption - Inflation - Financial Market - Public Finance - Federal Government Transfers [ incl. Transfers from federal government to persons, 1997-2007 and Current transfers from federal government to provincial governments, 1997-2007 ] [bolding added] - Legislatures - Portraits (Canada - The rest of Canada - Provinces and territories)

* If you need help translating
table tags and footnotes, try http://translate.google.ca/

Below, you'll find links to two of the top statistical sources I'd recommend for current and historical Canadian social programs:
Social Security Statistics, Canada and Provinces and Historical Statistics of Canada

Social Security Statistics, Canada and Provinces
1978-79 to 2002-03
http://goo.gl/iuNQ0

NOTE: As at January 2012, this report is no longer available on the Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSDC) website. All of the links below will take you to archived copies of the contents of the latest report in this series from the Government of Canada Web Archive:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/webarchives/index-e.html
If deleted website content is the bane of your existence too, see Brickbats (to HRSDC) and Bouquets (to the Government of Canada Web Archive) in the yellow text box below!

This report is a goldmine of statistical information (beneficiary data and expenditure data) on current and defunct Canadian federal social programs, and even some on provincial/territorial programs.

This report offers 25 years of longitudinal data on costs and numbers of beneficiaries for most programs - over 100 tables - covering a large number of programs --- here's a partial list:
- Child Tax Benefit, Family Allowances, the Child Tax Credit, Old Age Security/Guaranteed Income Supplement/Spouse's Allowance ("The Allowance"), Federal Training and Employment Programs, Federal Goods and Services Tax Credit, the Canada/Quebec Pension Plans, War Veterans' and Civilian War Allowances, Veterans' and Civilians' Disability Pensions, Unemployment/Employment Insurance, the Canada Assistance Plan, Workers' Compensation, Youth Allowances, Social Assistance and Social Services for Registered Indians --- and more...

---------------------------

Social Security Statistics, Canada and Provinces
1978-79 to 2002-03
http://goo.gl/iuNQ0
NOTE : This is an archived copy from the Government of Canada Web Archive:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/webarchives/index-e.html

Preface (short blurb only)
http://goo.gl/830Pp

List of Tables
http://goo.gl/66N3I
Read the Introductory notes at the top of the page and in Appendix A [ http://goo.gl/uU7TX ] of this report for all methodological notes.
"...Tables in this report have been organized into two parts. Part I presents three Overview Tables which illustrate the trends in social security expenditures by all levels of government for Canada. Part II comprises Component Tables which provide data on beneficiaries and expenditures for individual programs."

A number of older tables were removed from this edition of the Social Security Statistics report, including some tables with info on Blind Persons' Allowances, Disabled Persons' Allowances and Unemployed Assistance.
Check older editions of this report for those older stats:
http://goo.gl/NgYfn

Many of the tables are historical and likely of little interest except to historians and CAP-o-philes --- they offer historical caseload and expenditure statistics on each of the CAP cost-sharing components (General Assistance - Homes for Special Care for Children and Adults - Child Welfare - Health Care - Other Welfare Services and Work Activity).

Scroll down the list of tables [ http://goo.gl/66N3I ] to find a particular program, then click on its name to access the HTML version of the table (the HTML page includes links to the PDF and Excel versions of the table).

You'll find many key stats tables and some interesting analyses here - only a few of which appear below
- includes links to over two dozen tables (Tables 352-911) with info on federal contributions under the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) and the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) to the cost of provincial and territorial welfare programs.
NOTE: for more info about CAP, the CHST and the Canada Social Transfer (CST, which replaced the CHST in April 2004), see the Canada Assistance Plan / Canada Health and Social Transfer / Canada Social Transfer Resources page of this site:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/cap.htm

A few sample tables:

Table 360
Total Federal-Provincial Cost-Shared Program Expenditures, 1978-79 to 1999-2000
http://goo.gl/6dgGz
NOTE: Table 360 traces the evolution/devolution of transfers under the Canada Assistance Plan (in dollars) from 1976 to 1999. No new claims were paid out under CAP after the Canada Health and Social Transfer came into effect in April 1996; amounts shown as CAP expenditures for the fiscal years after 1995-96 are final settlements with each jurisdiction for all outstanding commitments by the federal government.

Table 361
Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) - Number of Beneficiaries of General Assistance (including dependants), as of March 31, 1979 to 1996
http://goo.gl/4T2ce
- This is a key table for research on welfare programs - welfare dependency statistics by jurisdiction over the years. These are the final, definitive numbers.

Table 362
Total Federal-Provincial Cost-Shared Expenditures for General Assistance, by Province/Territory, 1978-79 to 1995-96
http://goo.gl/0z3yn
- this table should be of special interest for welfare historians and number-crunchers - it shows exactly when Canadian government spending on welfare (by the federal and provincial/territorial governments) started looking a little fuzzier. When the feds imposed the cap on CAP (max. 5% annual increase in total CAP payments) in Ontario, Alberta and BC in the early 1990s, those three provinces stopped reporting how much of their CAP dollars were going to welfare (vs. other CAP components covered under the same federal contribution). Table 362 shows that as of 1991-92, the federal contribution to those three provinces for General Assistance appears as "n/a" - so it's been impossible to produce a national figure since then. Unless, of course, one wanders over into the minefield of provincial government welfare statistics, where welfare programs (and related expenditures) have undergone a major transformation. If you *do* want to check out welfare stats for each Canadian jurisdiction, your best starting point is the Key Welfare Links Page of this website - http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/welfare.htm - which includes links to welfare stats in each province and territory where they're available.

Table 434
Total Federal Payments under CAP, 1978-79 to 1999-2000
http://goo.gl/DC0Y8
[The note under table 360 also applies to this table. ]

Table 435
Number of Beneficiaries (including dependants) of Provincial and Municipal Social Assistance, as of March 31, 1997 to 2003
http://goo.gl/Z8UYR

Table 438
Provincial and Municipal Social Assistance Program Expenditures, 1980-81 to 2002-03
http://goo.gl/l7tfV

Table 526
Provincial and Territorial Children's Benefits and Earned Income Supplements, Expenditures for Fiscal years 1978-79 to 2002-03
http://goo.gl/aKu9s

[Original] Source:
Social Policy
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/publications_resources/statistics/index.shtml

[ Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/home.shtml ]

Archive source:
Collections Canada
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
[Library and Archives Canada]

January 27, 2012
Brickbats and Kudos:

Brickbats to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada!

During the 1990s, five separate editions of Social Security Statistics, Canada and Provinces - a valuable statistical report for social researchers of every stripe - were posted to the website of the Department that is currently (01/2012) known as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). Each edition contains 25 years of stats on Canadian social programs, and each edition adds a few years' stats but it also drops the oldest stats. For the most complete set of statistics - covering fiscal years 1970-71 to 2002-2003 - researchers had to download both the oldest edition (1970-71 to 1994-95) and the most recent (1978-79 to 2002-2003). In late 2011, HRSDC did a cleanup of its website, which included deleting not one or two but all five editions of Social Security Statistics, along with a few other historical gems. Evidently, there was no historian among the group that decided to remove this report from the site.
Boooooo.

Kudos to the Government of Canada Web Archive!

The Government of Canada Web Archive
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/webarchives/index-e.html
Since the Fall of 2007, Library and Archives Canada has been harvesting the web domain of the Federal Government of Canada (starting in December 2005). Client access to the content of the Government of Canada Web Archive is provided through searching by keyword, by department name, and by URL. The archive currently contains over 170 million digital objects and more than 7 terabytes of data.
Source:
Library and Archives Canada
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html
Comment (by Gilles):
The Government of Canada Web Archive is a handy tool to track down website content that's been deleted from the Internet, but only for federal government site content and only back to December 2005. It was relatively simple for me to find an old version of the HRSDC website and to drill down to the Social Policy reports, including five complete editions of Social Security Statistics covering the period from 1970-71 to 2002-2003.

Social Policy Reports (this links is from the Govt. of Canada Web Archive)
http://goo.gl/5MLk0
This is how the Social Policy Reports page looked before it was "cleaned up" in December 2011.
It includes functional links to the full text of five editions of Social Security Statistics, Canada and Provinces and many other historical treasures that no longer appear on the HRSDC reports page.

See also:

Publications Canada
http://publications.gc.ca/
The federal government's Depository Services Program (DSP) and Publications websites have been integrated into a single searchable, browseable database of federal government publications. The website of the Depository Services Program was officially decommissioned on December 8, 2011.

NOTE:
If you're searching for "older" (pre-December 2005) deleted website content or for any content that's not from a federal govt. site, try the Wayback Machine (Internet Archive):
http://www.archive.org/web/web.php
Copy and paste a URL into the search box on the Wayback Machine home page and click "Take Me Back".
The Results page consists of a calendar where you can retrieve earlier versions of that page by clicking on any date that's in a blue circle.

Historical Statistics of Canada (2nd edition, 1983)
Jointly produced by the Social Science Federation of Canada and Statistics Canada

Historical Statistics of Canada contains links to over 1,000 statistical tables (downloadable in Excel format) on the social, economic and institutional conditions of Canada from the start of the Confederation in 1867 to the mid-1970s. It's worth downloading the free Microsoft Excel File Viewer if you don't have Excel software on your machine.
Go to the home page and browse the table of contents of this excellent historical resource. Tables are arranged in sections with an introduction explaining the content of each section, the principal sources of data for each table, and general explanatory notes regarding the statistics. This online statistical collection complements and expands on Human Resources Development Canada's Social Security Statistics, Canada and Provinces report.

For a complete list of topics covered, see the Alphabetical Index - everything's there from Accidents and Fatalities to Zinc Production.

Here's a sample section:

Section C: Social Security - by T. Russell Robinson, Health and Welfare Canada
Contains seven pages of historical information on the evolution of Canadian social programs, plus links to over 180 tables organized under the following headings: Federal Income Security Programs - Federal and Provincial Income Insurance Programs - Cost-shared Federal-Provincial Income Security Programs - Federal and Provincial Social Service Programs - Provincial-Municipal Income Security Programs - Government Expenditures on Social Security by Broad Program Areas. Unfortunately, the section on the Canada Assistance Plan provides stats only from 1970 to 1975, but you'll find other historical gems here, like federal transfers to the provinces and territories, 1947 to 1975, Unemployment insurance account, 1942 to 1976, Old Age Pensions recipients for Canada and by province, March 1928 to 1951, and much more...
If you're looking for historical Canadian social program stats, this is the place to start!

February 26, 2012
Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/89-503-x2010001-eng.htm
This is the sixth edition of Women in Canada – representing the 25th anniversary of this publication. (...) As noted in the original 1985 report, "Women in Canada is intended to aid the continuing discussion and evaluation of the changing roles and social characteristics of Canadian women as well as contribute to the development of policies concerning the status of women in Canada."

General contents of this publication:

(Click the link above, then select a chapter in the left-hand margin of that page.
Each section appears in HTML format, and a link to the PDF file appears at the top of each section.)

* Female population
* Families, Living Arrangements and Unpaid Work
* Women and Health
* Women and Education
* Paid work
* Economic Well-being
* Women and the Criminal Justice System
* First Nations, Métis and Inuit Women
* Immigrant Women
* Visible Minority Women
* Senior Women
* Women with activity limitations
* Tables and charts <========== links to 200+ tables and charts!
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/2010001/tbl-c-g-eng.htm
* More information
* Other issues in this series

Source:
Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report - Product main page*
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=89-503-X&lang=eng
Understanding the role of women in Canadian society and how it has changed over time is dependent on having information that can begin to shed light on the diverse circumstances and experiences of women. Women in Canada provides an unparalleled compilation of data related to women's family status, education, employment, economic well-being, unpaid work, health, and more.
---
[ * On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest issue
of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Related subjects:

* Population and demography
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/theme-theme.action?pid=3867&lang=eng&more=0

* Society and community
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/theme-theme.action?pid=75&lang=eng&more=0

* Women and gender
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/subtheme-soustheme.action?pid=75&id=78&lang=eng&more=0

Welfare Statistics

Current/Historical Provincial/Territorial Welfare Statistics:
- see the Key Welfare Links page of this site - it contains links to welfare statistics in many Canadian provinces (but sadly not all ---- yet), and these are usually more detailed than the stats that appear below.

-----------------

National Welfare Statistics

Welfare Dependency in Canada
National Statistics? What national statistics?
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, about $6.6 Billion of the federal government's Canada Social Transfer to the provinces and territories will be for welfare and social programs.

As taxpayers, how can we tell whether that money is well spent if the latest national, public welfare dependency statistics are for March 2005?

Click the link above to access a table from the National Council of Welfare showing the number of people receiving provincial-territorial welfare benefits by province and territory, from March 1995 to March 2005
PLUS a comparable table showing the number of people receiving provincial-territorial welfare benefits for the period from March 2005 to March 2009 prepared by the Institut de la statistique du Québec in the context of the Institut's ongoing interprovincial comparisons.
PLUS a rant about the pitiful state of Canadian welfare statistics and
why the Canadian Social Research Links Guy thinks the situation may get worse before it gets better.

Some tidbits from the table
that you'll find by clicking the above link:

In March 1995, there were 3,070,900 people on welfare in Canada.
By 2005, that number had dropped to 1, 682, 500.
In March 2009, there were 1, 711, 500 people on welfare in Canada.
The percentage of the Canadian population on welfare in March 2005 was 5.2%.
By March 2009, that proportion had decreased to 5.1%.
[% of the population was not calculated in March 1995.]

Un GROS MERCI à l'Institut de la statistique du Québec d'avoir produit
et rendu publique cette source précieuse de statistiques sur l'aide sociale au Canada!

A GIANT THANK-YOU to the Institut de la statistique du Québec [English Home Page]
for producing this important table on welfare dependency and for posting it online for all to use

Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2008
[Posted online July 2011]
Produced by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Directors of Income Support
This report includes a description of, and statistics related to, the welfare system in each province and territory, information about federal-provincial-territorial jurisdictional and funding issues, a bit of historical info on the Canada Assistance Plan and the Canada Health and Social Transfer, etc.

"In recognition of the growing public demand for comprehensive information on provincial and territorial social assistance programs and caseloads, the Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2008 is the fifth annual joint publication by federal, provincial and territorial governments. The report provides a general overview of social assistance in Canada, as well as a description of income support-related/social assistance programs in each jurisdiction. This report does not include social assistance rates as this information is currently available to the public on most provincial and territorial government Web sites."
(Excerpt from Chapter 1 - Summary)

NOTE: Chapter Two of the report is a seven-page descriptive overview of social assistance in Canada in 2008, comprising a (very) brief history of federal social assistance since 1966 and general information about how welfare works in Canadian provinces and territories (including the treatment of federal child benefits under welfare programs, welfare eligibility conditions and administrative rules, etc.). Other chapters of the report provide, for each province and territory, information on eligibility (including asset and income exemption levels) and benefits (but no actual benefit levels), as well as an impressive number of statistical tables, graphs and charts providing numbers of cases and beneficiaries (time series statistics going back as far as the mid-1990s, depending on the jurisdiction), profile information (age/education/sex of household head, cases by reason for assistance) and even (for most jurisdictions) the percentage of households reporting income.

Complete report
in one PDF file - (606K, 141 pages)

Links to the earlier editions of this report:
* Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2007
* Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2006
* Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2005
* Social Assistance Statistical Report: 2004

Source:
Social Policy
[ Human Resources and Skills Development Canada ]

Historical snapshots of the mid-1990s, when the world was a (somewhat) kinder, gentler place...

Social Assistance in Canada, 1994
* Also available from the Government of Canada Web Archive:
http://goo.gl/au93G
Over 40 pages of information on Canadian social assistance programs as they operated in 1994. Much of the information in this document is still as relevant today as it was back then - eligibility, benefits, administrative rules, and more. Includes information about cost-sharing of welfare costs under the Canada Assistance Plan. Question-and-answer format for quick reference. This work was part of a larger study of social assistance in 24 countries released by the OECD early in 1996. I was the author of this report, with a lot of input from a number of colleagues in the Department at the time. If you want a snapshot of what welfare was like in Canada before the Canada Health and Social Transfer in 1996, try this one...

NOTE: Social Assistance in Canada, 1994 is the final submission of the Canadian federal government in the context of the 1996 OECD study appearing immediately below. This report is a critical and comparative overview of how social assistance or welfare operated in the mid-1990s in 24 countries (including Canada, with a special focus on Ontario). The chapter on Canada presents a factual snapshot of how welfare was working in Canada just before the 50-50 federal cost-sharing under the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) was replaced by a block fund, the Canada Health and Social Transfer, in April of 1996.

The OECD study consisted of a two-stream approach: for each country involved in the study, an "expert informant" (academic) and a "national government official" received a questionnaire on social assistance programs. The questionnaires were different from one another - federal government officials were asked to provide factual responses to over 70 questions, while the academics' questionnaire focused more on an in-depth critique of those same programs. Social Work Professor Patricia Evans was the Canadian expert informant, and I completed the submission, with input from a number of other government colleagues, on behalf of the Canadian government.

---

1996 international social assistance study
- detailed comparison of how social assistance programs operated
in 24 OECD countries, including Canada and the United States (see Volume II)

Social Assistance in OECD Countries
Volume I : Synthesis Report (PDF - 2.6MB, 207 pages)
A study carried out on behalf of the Department of Social Security and the
OECD by the Social Policy Research Unit
1996

Social Assistance in OECD Countries
Volume II : Country Reports (PDF - 4.8MB, 499 pages)
A study carried out on behalf of the Department of Social Security and the OECD by the Social Policy Research Unit
By Tony Eardley, Jonathan Bradshaw, John Ditch, Ian Gough and Peter Whiteford
1996

Participating countries:
* Australia * Greece * Norway * Austria * Iceland * Portugal * Belgium * Ireland
* Spain * Canada * Italy * Sweden * Denmark * Japan * Switzerland * Finland
* Luxembourg * Turkey * France * Netherlands * United States * Germany
* New Zealand * United Kingdom

Source:
United Kingdom
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

NOTE:
Mirror links to access these two reports:

If the links to the two reports in the left column are dead, use the links below. Complete copies of both reports are stored on the Canadian Social Research Links server.

Social Assistance in OECD Countries
Volume I : Synthesis Report (PDF - 2.6MB, 207 pages)

---

Social Assistance in OECD Countries
Volume II : Country Reports (PDF - 4.8MB, 499 pages)

September 12, 2010
NOTE: See Welfare stats are important! for a rare (but deserved) accolade from me on behalf of all social researchers to the six provinces that are presenting current welfare statistics on their websites.

From the National Council of Welfare:

Profiles of Welfare: Myths and Realities (Spring 1998)
- large statistical collection covering twenty years of data, examining variables like family types, reasons for assistance, age, education, duration of spells on assistance, housing and more

Source:
National Council of Welfare
The National Council of Welfare advises the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development in respect of any matters relating to social development that the Minister may refer to the Council for its consideration or that the Council considers appropriate.

--------------------------------

From Statistics Canada:

Social program spending in Canada:

Government transfer payments to persons
On this one table, you'll find the latest five years' worth of information on national expenditures (provincial stats available for a small fee) in the area of transfers to persons, which includes (among other programs):
* Family and youth allowances * Child tax benefit or credit * Pensions - First and Second World Wars * War veterans' allowances * Grants to aboriginal persons and organizations * Goods and services tax credit * Employment insurance benefits * Old Age Security Fund payments * Provincial Social assistance, income maintenance * Social assistance, other [bolding added] * Workers compensation benefits * Canada and Quebec Pension Plans.
NOTE: In case you're interested in province-level stats, click the "384-0009" link under 'Source' at the bottom of the table. There you can obtain more specialized CANSIM tables, including provincial tables, for a few dollars each. The "Find information related to this table" link (which is also at the bottom of the StatCan table) contains methodological notes and other related StatCan products, many of which are free of charge.
---

Welfare leavers:

BC - What Happened to Welfare Applicants Who Dropped from Radar?
Government failed to track those who stopped applying, then didn't file tax returns.
By Andrew MacLeod
February 3, 2011
Many people who started applying for welfare in British Columbia but didn't finish the application process made more money than they would have had they received assistance, a British Columbia government study said. [See the link to the study below). But the study only included people who filed income tax returns for three years in a row, leading one welfare observer to conclude the government still knows little about how changes to the system in 2002 affected the most vulnerable. At that time the government introduced, among other changes, a three-week delay in the process where applicants were expected to look for work.
(...)
In a March 2009, report called "Last Resort," (PDF - 2.2MB, 132 pages), the B.C. Ombudsperson's Office said the ministry had agreed to find out whether people who discontinue their application process move on to employment or educational programs within two months, and to report their findings publicly. While the government's outcomes report obtained by The Tyee confirms many people fail to complete the application process, it adds little to what's known about what happens to those people. "After the [2002] change in the application process, 58 per cent of applicants that were not exempted from the three-week work search requirement did not return for the second stage of the application process," the report said.
Source:
The Tyee

---

Social Assistance Use: Trends in incidence, entry and exit rates
August 2004
by R. Sceviour and R. Finnie
"This paper explores the dynamics of Social Assistance use over this period [1995-2000] to calculate annual incidence and entry and exit rates at both the national and provincial level, broken down by family type. These breakdowns, available for the first time ever, are revealing as policy varied by province and family type and not all provinces shared equally in the recession or the expansion that followed it. The paper does not attempt to apportion the movements in SA participation rates between those related to the economy and changes in the administration of welfare. The focus is on the empirical record of SA entry, exit, and annual participation rates.
Source:
Feature Articles [NOTE: check out dozens of links to past feature articles here!]
Canadian Economic Observer
[ Statistics Canada ]
Followup article:
November 17, 2004
Social Assistance by Province, 1993-2003
Feature Article in the November 2004 issue of The Canadian Economic Observer
"Social assistance rates fell in every province between 1993 and 2003, but nowhere was the decline more dramatic than in Alberta and Ontario, according to a new report."
Earlier studies on welfare leavers:
Life after welfare : 1994 to 1999
March 2003
"Family incomes rose for the majority of people who stopped receiving welfare benefits during the 1990s. However, for about one out of every three individuals, family income declined significantly, according to a first-ever national study of the economic outcome for people who left welfare rolls."
The link above takes you to a summary of the report.
Complete report:
Life After Welfare: The Economic Well Being
of Welfare Leavers in Canada during the 1990s (PDF file - 332K, 32 pages)
Source:
The Daily
[ Statistics Canada ]
Related Links:
After Welfare - Contrasting Studies (British Columbia)
"Statistics Canada has released a study on people who leave welfare that contrasts with the story spun by BC's Minister of Human Resources, Murray Coell. "Life After Welfare: The Economic Well Being of Welfare Leavers in Canada during the 1990s" by Marc Frenette and Garnett Picot provides some fascinating contrasts with Coell's characterization of the 90s and
with what are passing as welfare exit surveys in his ministry."
Source : Strategic Thoughts
---

U.S.

Welfare Leavers in Colorado (PDF - 726K 87 pages)
Prepared by Sam Elkin et al
For the Colorado Department of Human Services
July 31, 2009

Selected key findings
The good news:
Only about one in ten individuals who stopped receiving cash assistance through Colorado Works returned to welfare.
The bad news:
Fifty-nine percent of leavers were receiving food stamps; about one-third were receiving some form of housing assistance; almost half of childless leavers had no public health insurance coverage (although 3/4 of parents had coverage for their kids)
Related link:
Colorado Department of Human Services
Source:
The Lewin Group
The Lewin Group is an Ingenix company. Ingenix, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, was founded in 1996 to develop, acquire and integrate the world's best-in-class health care information technology capabilities. The Lewin Group operates with editorial independence and provides its clients with the very best expert and impartial health care and human services policy research and consulting services.

---

Reports on Welfare Leavers and Diversion in the U.S.
-over 100 links to Cross-State Summaries and National Reports as well as state and county reports.
Source: Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]

-----------------

From the Canadian Council on Social Development:

Stats & Facts
Poverty, welfare and income stats

Work and welfare: Looking at both sides of the equation
Excellent historical snapshot of welfare dependency levels and welfare rate information for 1992
by province for selected family types and sizes (a single employable person, an unattached person with a disability, a single parent with one child and a couple with two children).
- includes comparisons of welfare income, minimum wages and poverty lines across jurisdictions and over time.

Table 1: Percentage of Population on Social Assistance, by Province (% change from 1982 to 1992)
Table 2: Net Welfare Income versus Work at Minimum Wage, 1992
Table 3: Net Social Assistance Income versus Poverty Lines (1992)
Table 4: Minimum Wage versus Poverty Lines (1992)
Table 5: Minimum Wage by Province, 1976 and 1992

Source:
Perception Magazine
[ Canadian Council on Social Development ]

Stats & Facts replaces the
CCSD website's Free Statistics section. All historical poverty and income data, as well as welfare rates, are archived and available in the economic security section of Stats & Facts.

- The Social Indicators Launchpad - nearly 100 links to information about social indicators in Canada and other countries

Poverty/income statistics

From Statistics Canada:

Income in Canada - product main page *
Income in Canada is an annual analytical report which summarizes the economic well-being of Canadians. It includes an extensive collection of income statistics, covering topics such as income distribution, income tax, government transfers, and low income back to 1976.
---
[ * On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest issue
of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Related subjects:

* Income, pensions, spending and wealth
* Household, family and personal income
* Low income and inequality

June 15, 2011
Income of Canadians, 2009
Median after-tax income for Canadian families of two or more people amounted to $63,800 in 2009, virtually unchanged from 2008. This was the second consecutive year without significant change in after-tax income following four years of growth. (...) After-tax income for unattached individuals remained stable at $25,500, though this was not the case for all unattached individuals. For senior unattached individuals, the median rose 4.5% to $23,300.
NOTE : With this release, users now have free access to the 202 CANSIM Series tables. Tables are accessible using a PC or Mac via the web browser.

- includes three tables:
----- Selected income concepts by main family types
----- Selected income concepts for economic families of two persons or more by province, 2009
----- Percentage of persons in low income (1992 base after-tax income low income cut-offs)

Source:
Income in Canada - product main page *
Income in Canada is an annual analytical report which summarizes the economic well-being of Canadians. It includes an extensive collection of income statistics, covering topics such as income distribution, income tax, government transfers, and low income back to 1976.
---
[ * On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest issue
of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Related subjects at StatCan:

* Income, pensions, spending and wealth
* Household, family and personal income
* Low income and inequality

Related external links:

Poverty report shows single men faring less well than single moms
June 15, 2011
By Bruce Cheadle and Heather Scoffield
(...) A new national study by Statistics Canada shows poverty is still much higher among single mothers than among the general public. But with one in five single moms living in poverty, they have seen a steady improvement for the last 15 years — even during the recession. The same study, released Wednesday, found that almost a third of single men are living in poverty.About 21.5 per cent of single mothers were living below the low-income cutoff in 2009, according to StatsCan. That's less than in the 23.4 per cent in 2008 and steep drop from the mid-1990s, when more than half of single mothers were considered to be living in poverty. The dramatic improvement is partly because single mothers are far more active in the workforce now than 15 years ago, says Armine Yalnizyan, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. (...) Plus, key social programs developed in the late 1990s have greatly benefited mothers, said Toronto-based social scientist John Stapleton. The benefits are usually attached to children — such as the Child Tax Benefit. Stapleton believes child support has also improved as courts have become more vigilant, and are able to enforce guidelines and use DNA evidence to force fathers to pay more.
Source:
Macleans.ca

---

Poverty in Canada has increased: STATSCAN reports
Jun 16, 2011
As expected, the effects of the recession were felt across the country and caused an increase in the number of Canadians struggling with low-income. Yesterday, STATSCAN released its report on incomes for 2009, which indicated that almost 10% of the population (3.2 million) is struggling with poverty, and average incomes have stagnated. This confirms what many social justice and anti-poverty advocates have long stated in the past year looking at recent foodbank and social assistance reports – poverty in Canada is getting worse.
Source:
Canada Without Poverty (CWP)
Canada Without Poverty is a federally incorporated, non-partisan, not-for-profit and charitable organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty in Canada. [ More info ]
NOTE : Canada Without Poverty was founded in 1971 as the National Anti-Poverty Organization and changed its name to CWP in April 2009

Partners:

Dignity for All: the campaign for a poverty-free Canada
Dignity for All is a multi-year, multi-partner, non-partisan campaign. This campaign’s vision is to make a poverty-free and more socially secure and cohesive Canada a reality by 2020. The conviction behind this campaign is that Canadians must respect and defend the right of every person to dignity and security. [ More info ]

Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ)
Mission : to promote public justice in Canada by shaping key public policy debates through research and analysis, publishing and public dialogue. CPJ encourages citizens, leaders in society and governments to support policies and practices which reflect God’s call for love, justice and stewardship. [ More info ]

Make Poverty History
The Make Poverty History campaign is a coalition of organizations that have come together for the common cause of making poverty history both at home and abroad. [ More info ]

---

June 15, 2011
Low Income Lines, 2009-2010
HTML version <=== Click this link for detailed information on each of the three measures listed below.
PDF version (1.8MB, 39 pages)
In order to provide a holographic or complete picture of low income, Statistics Canada uses three complementary low income lines:
- the Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs)
- the Low Income Measures (LIMs)
- the Market Basket Measure (MBM)

StatCan always takes great pains to emphasize that "these measures are not measures of poverty, but strictly measures of low income."
StatCan has been consistently repeating that disclaimer since Ivan Fellegi, Chief Statistician of Canada, posted the following edict on his agency's website in 1997:

"On poverty and low income" - by Ivan Fellegi (1997)
- explains why his agency's low income cut-offs should not be used as the "official" poverty line for Canada.

How can LICOs, LIMs and the MBM can be measures of low income without being measures of poverty?
(A rose is a rose is a rose, no?...)

Related links:

From the
Globe and Mail Economy Lab:

Duration of unemployment in Canada, 2007-2011
http://goo.gl/XFZmi
February 8, 2012
- age 15 and higher, in thousands

---

Job vacancies by province
http://goo.gl/vdggb
January 24, 2012
- three-month average ending September, 2011

---

Mind the gap
November 9, 2009
Canada's monthly unemployment statistics have a significant gap that must be filled. They do not reveal the number of people whose employment-insurance benefits have expired and who are still out of work. (...) People who have dropped off the unemployment rolls - and are thus no longer included in the numbers - may have found new jobs, but they may also have simply exhausted their benefits. That shifts them into a much more harrowing situation where they are likely facing dire financial straits and may be forced to consider welfare. But we have no way of knowing if that is the case. (...)This is not just an issue of concern to economists interested in crunching the numbers to make their latest projections. It is about vital data that can direct governments and social agencies in their design of policies and their preparations to deliver resources to those most in need. Without these numbers, for example, no one knows how many people may be forced to seek welfare in the short term - a key issue for the provinces and municipalities that fund and administer the welfare system.
Source:
Globe and Mail

---

- Go to the Employment Insurance Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ei.htm

Aboriginal Statistics from
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
- Links to the following statistical reports :
* Aboriginal Demography – Population, Household and Family Projections, 2001-2026
* Aboriginal Labour Force Characteristics from the 1996 Census
* Aboriginal Women: A Profile from the 1996 Census, Second Edition, Revised December 2001
* Basic Departmental Data
* 1991 Census Highlights on Registered Indians: Annotated Tables
* Comparison of Social Conditions, 1991 and 1996
* Comparison of Socio-economic Conditions, 1996 and 2001
* Highlights of Aboriginal Conditions 1991, 1986: Demographic, Social and Economic Characteristics
* Historical Trends - Registered Indian Population 1982-2008
* Northern Indicators
* Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence
* Socio-economic Indicators in Indian Reserves and Comparable Communities, 1971-1991
* Statistics Canada's 1996 Census - Aboriginal Data
* Fact Sheet: 2006 Census Aboriginal Demographics

Basic Departmental Data (1995 to 2004 only)
- Large collection of statistics on a wide range of topics of interest in the area of First Nations social programs
- includes demographics, health, education, social conditions, housing, self-government and The North. The Social Conditions section offers statistics (including a number of ten-year time series) on children in care, adults in institutional care, social assistance recipients and beneficiaries, and social assistance program administration. Also includes a glossary.

Source:
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada

From Statistics Canada:

Aboriginal peoples
The Aboriginal peoples of Canada, as defined by the Constitution Act, 1982, comprise the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. These distinct groups have unique heritages, languages, cultures. Statistical information is available for the total Aboriginal population and each of the three groups.

Subtopics:
1. Aboriginal peoples (general)
2. Aboriginal society and community
3. Business and finance
4. Education, literacy and skills
5. Health and well-being
6. Households, housing and environment
7. Justice issues
8. Languages and cultures
9. Population characteristics
10. Work, income and spending
11. All subtopics for Aboriginal peoples

Canadian Income Tax Statistics
and GST/HST Statistics

Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (formerly Revenue Canada)

Income [Tax] Statistics and GST/HST Statistics

Final Statistics - Sample Data
Detailed profiles of Canadian taxfilers based on a stratified random sample of individual tax returns.

Interim Statistics - Universe Data
Preliminary statistics based on the universe of all returns filed and processed during a given tax year.

Locality code statistics
Tax data based on geographic area.

Compendium of GST/HST Statistics
Detailed profiles of goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) registrants.

T2 Corporate Statistics
Key taxation and select accounting information for all corporation tax returns that have been assessed or re-assessed.

Indicators of Well-being in Canada
http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/h.4m.2@-eng.jsp
This report gathers data from different sources and presents a comprehensive, up-to-date picture of the well-being of Canadians and Canadian society. It also shows how this picture may be changing over time. (...) You will find a wide range of indicators, or statistical measures, that show how things are going for Canadians. For example, there are data on how many hours we work each week, our education levels compared with the levels in other countries, the affordability of housing, and much more.

Areas of well-being that are covered in this report include:
* Work * Learning * Financial Security * Family Life * Housing * Social Participation * Leisure * Health * Security * Environment

Each of these areas is further broken down into sub-groups.
For example, "Financial Security" [ http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/d.4m.1.3n@-eng.jsp?did=4 ] includes:
Standard of Living - Family Income - Retirement Income - Low Income Incidence - Low Income Persistence - Net Worth (Wealth) - Life events - Personal Bankruptcies - Key influences - Income Distribution

Recommended reading!
The timeliness of the information and statistics in this HRSDC sub-site varies by area and sub-group --- some analysis dates back to 2007 and earlier, but most of the stats and trend analysis are for the year 2009. The content of certain sections is more recent --- for example, the What's New page [ http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/c.4nt.2nt@-eng.jsp?cid=28 ] shows that on September 8, 2011, "the following indicators have been updated with the latest data: Life Expectancy at Birth - Infant Mortality - Patient Satisfaction - Low Birth Weight - Victims of Property Crime - Victims of Violent Crime - Age of Mother at Childbirth."

Source:
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/home.shtml

---

- Go to the Poverty Measures - Canadian Resources page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm

Canadian Health Statistics

Statistics Canada Health Statistics - from Statistics Canada
- incl. links to :
* Health Publications
* Health Surveys and Statistical Programs
* Health Subtopic
* Health Summary Tables
* Health Data in CANSIM
* Products
* Health Indicators
* Health Fact Sheets
* Health at a Glance
* Health Profile
* Health Reports
* Health Trends
* For researchers
* Health Research Working Paper Series
* How to access data
* Record Linkage Program
* Links
* Associated products
* Partners
* Workshops and conferences
* More...

---

Canadian Institute for Health Information
"The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is an independent, national, not-for-profit organization working to improve the health of Canadians and the health care system by providing quality, reliable and timely health information. CIHI's mandate was established jointly by federal and provincial/territorial ministers of health to coordinate the development and maintenance of a comprehensive and integrated approach to health information for Canada, and to provide and coordinate the provision of accurate and timely data and information required for establishing sound health policy, effectively managing the Canadian health system, and generating public awareness about factors affecting good health."
See the Sitemap of this enormous site for an overview of its content incl. links to research & reports, the CIHI Data Collection, standards, statistics and client services.

CIHI Health Statistics

Canadian Statistics on
Affordable Housing and Homelessness

Housing Research Tools and Resources
- from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Families, households and housing - from Statistics Canada

Old Age Security / Canada Pension Plan Statistics

Includes links to the following Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan stats:

* ISP Information Card (Rate Card) - updated quarterly,gives the maximum monthly rates for Canada Pension Plan, Quebec Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits, as well as other selected figures.

* Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security Statistical Bulletin - a monthly publication that provides detailed information such as the number of benefits in pay, the amounts paid, and the distribution of various benefits by age and sex.

* Canada Pension Plan Contributors Report - an annual publication with detailed statistics on the number of contributors and the amount of contributions to the Canada Pension Plan. Although the publication is annual, the data are 2 years in arrears. This is due to ongoing updating of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency T4 files prior to issuing.

* Canada Pension Plan Benefit Rates - maximum monthly rates for new CPP benefits from 1967 to date, as well as historical data related to the calculation of CPP contributions and benefits. This publication also contains historical tables on pension index and escalation factors.

* ISP Stats Book - annual publication, serves as a reference for Income Security Programs. It contains historical data on CPP and OAS monthly averages of benefits, new benefits and net payments in calendar years or fiscal years. Other data included in this publication are QPP, Average Weekly Wages and Consumer Prince Index data Average Weekly Wages and Statistics Canada's Low Income Cut-off levels.

* Social Security Agreements: Canadian Benefits Paid - data on Canadian Benefits paid (under Social Security Agreements) to people who have lived or worked in another country

* Tables of Rates for Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Allowance

Source:
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From
The Globe and Mail:

The Data Room : Interactives, videos and graphics
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/data-room/
The Data Room is The Globe and Mail's new resource for digging into the raw data on the economy.

Selected graphs from
the Data Room:

Old Age Security expenditures as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product
http://goo.gl/1mC7h
February 8, 2012
- total of the Old Age Pension, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and The Allowance (as % of GDP)

---

OAS expenditures: 1966-2060
http://goo.gl/ksENL
February 8, 2012
- historical (to 2009) and projected. Total includes expenditures realting to OAS, GIS and The Allowance and administrative expenses. Dollars are in projected nominal values.

---

OAS and GIS beneficiaries: 1966-2060
http://goo.gl/SJnmb
February 8, 2012
- Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement Beneficiaries Historical (to 2009) and projected

Source:
The Globe and Mail

Labour statistics from Statistics Canada
The labour market activities of the Canadian population, including: how many people are employed or unemployed; the unemployment rate; which industries or occupations people work in; the hours they work; commuting patterns; wage and non-wage benefits; job training; labour mobility; work absences, and more...

Labour Force Information - main product page*
This publication provides the most current monthly labour market statistics. Each month, this publication contains a brief commentary highlighting recent developments in the Canadian labour market. It also includes a series of charts and tables on a variety of labour force characteristics, such as employment and unemployment for Canada, the provinces, metropolitan areas and economic regions.
---
* On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest issue
of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues.

Related subjects:
Labour
Employment and unemployment

--------------------------------------------------------

Perspectives on Labour and Income - product main page*
This publication brings together and analyzes a wide range of labour and income data. Topics include youth in the labour market, pensions and retirement, work arrangements, education and training, and trends in family income.
* On the product main page, click "View" to see the latest issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues

Crime/Justice Statistics

From Statistics Canada:

Crime and Justice Statistics
The nature and extent of crime and the administration of criminal and civil justice in Canada.
Click the link to view resources (Daily releases, data tables, publications, and more ...) for the following subtopics:
1. Crime and justice (general)
2. Civil courts and family law
3. Correctional services
4. Crimes and offences
5. Criminal courts
6. Family violence
7. Justice system spending
8. Legal aid
9. Victims and victimization

Quick links
* Recently released analytical studies on crime and justice
* Statistics by subject: Crime and justice
* Tables by subject: Crime and justice
* Crimes and offences
* Victims and victimization

Selected studies/reports:

April 13, 2012
Police-reported data on street gang crime and cyber crime, 2010
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/120413/dq120413d-eng.htm
Data for 2010 on street gang crime and cyber crime are now available for a sub-set of police services across Canada reporting to the newest version of the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.Data are available upon request only.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact
Statistics Canada's National Contact Centre (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 613-951-8116;
infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or the Media Hotline (613-951-4636; mediahotline@statcan.gc.ca).

-----

April 12, 2012
Police-reported hate crimes, 2010
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/120412/dq120412b-eng.htm
Both the number and rate of police-reported hate crimes declined in 2010. Canadian police services reported 1,401 hate crimes in 2010 or 4.1 hate crimes per 100,000 population. This rate was 18% lower than in 2009 and followed two consecutive annual increases.

-----

March 8, 2012
Study: Victimization of older Canadians, 2009
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/120308/dq120308b-eng.htm
In 2009, more than 154,000 or 2% of people aged 55 or older living in the 10 provinces reported that they had been the victim of a violent crime in the previous 12 months. Older Canadians reported experiencing close to 241,000 incidents of violence in 2009, representing a rate of 28 per 1,000 population. This rate remained essentially unchanged from 2004, when data were last collected.

Related links:

Canada:
U.S. Tops in the World in Incarceration Rate: Conservatives Hoping to Catch Up
By Brian Gordon
February 4, 2008
The United States has more people in prison, per capita, than any other country in the world. More than China, more than Iran, more than oppressive dictatorships the world over. And this is the model that Stephen Harper and the Conservatives want to follow by implementing 'tougher' drug laws.
Source:
Green Party of Canada

Provincial/Territorial Government Statistical Information Sources

Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Québec
Ontario (Finance)
Saskatchewan
Alberta Government Home Page (I can't find Alberta stats even using a government-wide search engine)
BC Stats
Vital Statistics Agency - British Columbia
Northwest Territories
Yukon
Nunavut

NOTE: if any of the links above are broken, try this alternate source:

Provincial and territorial statistics offices - from Statistics Canada

Miscellaneous Canadian statistical links

Finding Canadian statistics
950 links to Canadian statistics on a wide range of topics from Aboriginal Peoples to Women
Source:
University of Toronto Data Library Service

Statistical Sites (BC Stats links)

Research Resources for the Social Sciences (Craig McKie) - MEGASITE!
- Craig McKie's Links to Demographic Sites

Economic Indicators - Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Finance Department)

Lars Osberg
Professor of Economics, Dalhousie University

Working Papers - dozens of papers back to 1993

CV/Publications by Lars Osberg - 175+ links articles, book chapters, etc.

Canada-U.S. studies - see the Canadian Social Research Links Canadiana Links page

How does Canada compare with other countries?

The World Factbook : Canada
- incl. entries under the following headings:
* Geography * People * Government * Economy * Communications * Transportation - Military * Transnational Issues
Source:
CIA: The World Factbook
[ Central Intelligence Agency ]

--------------------------------------------------------------

Canada - from The World Bank Group
- incl. Canada and the World Bank Group - News & Events - Students and Youth - Academics and Researchers - Business Community - Civil Society - Media - Parliamentarians - Development Assistance from Canada - Contacts and Data

--------------------------------------------------------------

From the
Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) (Canada):
"The Centre for the Study of Living Standards is a non-profit, national, independent organization that seeks to contribute to a better understanding of trends in and determinants of productivity, living standards and economic and social well-being through research."

Index of Economic Well-being
Has economic well-being increased or decreased in recent years, and is it higher or lower in one country compared to others? Traditionally these questions have been answered by looking at trends in and comparisons of GDP per capita, but this is a poor measure of economic well-being. It measures consumption incompletely, ignoring the value of leisure and longer life spans, and it also ignores the value of accumulation for future generations. Furthermore, since it is an average, GDP per capita gives no indication of the likelihood that an individual will share in prosperity nor of the degree of anxiety with which individuals contemplate their futures."
- incl. links to:
Introduction and Methodology - The Index for Canada -The Index for Canada and the United States - The Index for Canada and the Provinces - The Index for OECD Countries - An Index of Labour Market Well-being - Weighting tool for Canada and OECD Countries.

The International Productivity Monitor is published by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) for Industry Canada. The objective of the Monitor is to focus attention on the importance of productivity for improving living standards and quality of life. The Monitor publishes high-quality articles on productivity issues, trends and developments in Canada and other countries and serves as a vehicle for the international discussion of productivity topics.

--------------------------------------------------------------

TradingEconomics.com
NOTE : On the Trading Economics website home page, you'll find info for different regions of the world and for each of 232 countries on the following : * GDP Billions US$ * GDP Growth * Interest rate * Inflation rate * Jobless rate * Gov. Budget * Exchange rate * Population

"Trading Economics provides its users with accurate information for 232 countries including historical data for more than 300.000 economic indicators, exchange rates, stock market indexes, government bond yields and commodity prices. Our data is regularly checked for inconsistencies and based on official sources; with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, central banks and national statistics bureaus being the most important. TradingEconomics.com has received more than 10 million page views from more than 200 countries."

--------------------------------------------------------------

Canada Country Report - from The Project on Human Development (Boston University)
[select Canada from the list of countries]

--------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------

Canada Country Information - from CountryReports.org

The Joy of Stats (video, duration 59:06)
http://ww3.tvo.org/video/172756/joy-stats
Hans Rosling can tell the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes. Rosling's passion for using statistics to understand the world and his entertaining online lectures have made him a YouTube legend. In this mind-expanding roller coaster ride through the world of statistics, Rosling explores the history of statistics, how stats work mathematically, and how, using statistics, we can take the massive deluge of data of today's computer age and use it to see the world as it really is.

American Statistical Links (links are added in reverse chronological order)

From
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity:

Spotlight on the States
50-State Resource Map Compiles Data,
Research, News and Policy Information
November 14, 2011

State and local governments, community-based organizations and other non-profits play a significant role in implementing policies and programs to reduce poverty and promote opportunity. Click the link above, then hover your mouse over a state to get a snapshot of poverty statistics in the state, then click or use the drop-down menu to access information and resources, news articles, and links to learn more about state efforts to reduce poverty.
- includes:
State poverty data and statistics: A compilation of data, including poverty, unemployment and asset poverty rates, and information on housing. Each data point links to
its source.
State policies: A listing of key state tax, asset-building and work support policies that help support low-income families; includes links to state or national organizations that track the issue.
Research: A compilation of relevant state research reports on issues related to poverty and opportunity.
News: A news feed of articles about poverty in a given state.

At a time when federal, state and local governments are seeking to reduce deficits by cutting programs for the needy, this resource provides vital up-to-date information for advocates, researchers, policymakers and foundations working to reduce poverty and promote opportunity.

Source:
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity:
The Source for News, Ideas and Action
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity: The Source for News, Ideas and Action is a non-partisan initiative that brings together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to find genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans. Through the ongoing exchange of ideas, research and data, Spotlight seeks to inform the policy debate about reducing poverty and increasing opportunity in the United States.

---

- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

CLASP DataFinder is a custom, easy-to-use tool developed to provide select demographic information as well as administrative data on programs that affect low-income people and families. Users can create and download custom tables that present a national picture, a state picture or a comparative look at states and communities. The DataFinder currently includes state and national data on:
* child care assistance spending and participation * Head Start and Early Head Start participation* Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) expenditures * young child demographics; and poverty. The tool also provides community-level statistics on education, demographics and youth violence. CLASP will add more data to this evolving tool over time.
1. Choose one or more states.
2. Choose one or more years (earliest year : 1997)
3. Choose Variables from the list below:
* Poverty
* Young Child Demographics
* Child Care Subsidies: CCDBG Participation
* Child Care Subsidies: Spending
* Head Start: All Programs
* Early Head Start
* Temporary Assistance Expenditure Data
* Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Caseload Data
* Educational Attainment
* Working Families Demographics
* Income and Work Supports

Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Since 1968, CLASP has been a trusted resource, a creative architect for systems change, and one of the country's most effective voices for low income people. CLASP's mission is to develop and advocate for policies at the federal, state and local levels that improve the lives of low income people. In particular, we seek policies that work to strengthen families and create pathways to education and work.
[ Source: About CLASP ]

[ Watch a two-minute video about CLASP - from the CLASP About Us page. ]

From the
U.S. Census Bureau:

The 2011 Statistical Abstract
The Statistical Abstract of the United States is the standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It is also designed to serve as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. The latter function is served by the introductory text to each section, the source note appearing below each table, and Appendix I, which comprises the Guide to Sources of Statistics, the Guide to State Statistical Abstracts, and the Guide to Foreign Statistical Abstracts. [ Excerpt from the Overview ]

Click the link above to scan the 2011 Statistical Abstract Table of contents
and download the individual sections in PDF format. Move your cursor over the list of sections in the left-hand margin to see the content of each of those sections.
[Most stats tables are for 2008 or 2009.]

Population - Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Divorces - Health and Nutrition - Education - Law Enforcement, Courts, and Prisons - Geography and Environment - Elections - State and Local Government Finances and Employment - Federal Government Finances and Employment - National Security and Veterans Affairs - Social Insurance and Human Services - Labor Force, Employment, and Earnings - Income, Expenditures, Poverty, and Wealth - Prices - Business Enterprise - Science and Technology - Agriculture - Forestry, Fishing, and Mining - Energy and Utilities - Construction and Housing - Manufactures - Wholesale and Retail Trade - Transportation - Information and Communications - Banking, Finance, and Insurance - Arts, Recreation, and Travel - Accommodation, Food Services, and Other Services - Foreign Commerce and Aid - Puerto Rico and the Island Areas - International Statistics
Appendix I. Guide to Sources of Statistics 879-893
Appendix I. Guide to State Statistical Abstracts 894-897
Appendix I. Guide to Foreign Statistical Abstracts 898-899
Appendix II. Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: Concepts, Components, and Population 900-920
Appendix III. Limitations of the Data 921-946
Appendix IV. Weights and Measures 947
Appendix V. Tables Deleted From Earlier Editions of the Statistical Abstract 949-950
Index 951-1010
Map of the United States, Showing Census Regions and Divisions Cover

Earlier editions of the Statistical Abstract - right back to 1789!

Related link:

Don’t kill America’s databook
By Robert J. Samuelson
August 21, 2011
If you want to know something about America, there are few better places to start than the “Statistical Abstract of the United States.” Published annually by the Census Bureau, the Stat Abstract assembles about 1,400 tables describing our national condition. (...) The Stat Abstract is headed for the chopping block. The 2012 edition, scheduled for publication later this year, will be the last, unless someone saves it. (...) It can be argued that much of what’s in the Stat Abstract is online somewhere. True — but irrelevant. Many government and private databases are hard to access and search, even if you know what you want. Often, you don’t. The Stat Abstract has two great virtues. First, it conveniently presents in one place a huge amount of information from a vast array of government and private sources. (...) Second, the footnotes show where to get more information. (...) Without the Stat Abstract, statistics will become more hidden, and our collective knowledge will suffer. Must this be? If Census doesn’t rescind its misguided death sentence, the agency could contract with some wealthy private foundation to support the abstract.
Source:
Washington Post

United States Census 2010 - Home Page
Census Day was April 1 in the U.S. - the day when all Americans were counted by the Census Bureau.
The last day to return completed Census 2010 questionnaires was April 16.

[ 2010 United States Census - from Wikipedia ]

Welfare Dependence in the U.S. in 2008
(Posted March 9, 2009)

Indicators of Welfare Dependence: Annual Report to Congress, 2008
December 2008
The Welfare Indicators Act of 1994 requires the Department of Health and Human Services to prepare annual reports to Congress on indicators and predictors of welfare dependence. The 2008 Indicators of Welfare Dependence, the eleventh annual report, provides welfare dependence indicators through 2005, reflecting changes that have taken place since enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in August 1996. As directed by the Welfare Indicators Act, the report focuses on benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, formerly the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program; the Food Stamp Program; and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. (...) Finally, the report has four appendices that provide additional data on major welfare programs, alternative measures of dependence and nonmarital births, as well as background information on several data and technical issues.
[Source: Executive Summary]

Complete report:
* HTML Version
* PDF Version (674K, 157 pages)

- Indicators of Dependence include : Degree of Dependence - Receipt of Means-Tested Assistance and Labor Force Attachment - Rates of Receipt of Means-Tested Assistance - Rates of Participation in Means-Tested Assistance Programs - Multiple Program Receipt - Dependence Transitions - Program Spell Duration - Welfare Spell Duration with No Labor Force Attachment - Long-Term Receipt - Events Associated with the Beginning and Ending of Program Spells

- includes longitudinal and current caseload and expenditure data for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Food Stamp Program and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In addition, you'll find dozens of tables and charts showing predictors and risk factors associated with welfare receipt, such as : Poverty Rates - Deep Poverty Rates - Experimental Poverty Measures - Poverty Spells - Child Support - Food Insecurity - Lack of Health Insurance - Labor Force Attachment - Employment among the Low-Skilled - Earnings of Low-Skilled Workers - Educational Attainment - High School Dropout Rates - Adult Alcohol and Substance Abuse - Adult and Child Disability - Births to Unmarried Women/Teens - much more...

Program Data
**Excellent resource for qualitative AND quantitative information!
Detailed program description and information (historical and current), recent changes, and statistics for:
* Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
* Food Stamp Program
* Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Earlier annual reports - back to 1997

Source:
Human Services Policy (HSP)
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Complementary report from HHS:

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) :
Seventh Annual Report to Congress
News Release
December 2006
This report describes the characteristics and financial circumstances of TANF recipients and presents information regarding TANF caseloads and expenditures, work participation and earnings, State High Performance Bonus awards, child support collections, two-parent family formation and maintenance activities, out-of-wedlock births, child poverty, characteristics and financial circumstances of TANF recipients, Tribal TANF and specific Provisions of State Programs.

Complete report:

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) :
Seventh Annual Report to Congress
December 2006 ( latest version available on the Data & Reports page )
Executive Summary (PDF file - 32K, 9 pages)
Complete report without Appendix (PDF file - 6.7MB, 220 pages)
Appendix (PDF file - 2MB, 216 pages)
- includes detailed information and tables on the following aspects of welfare for able-bodied families with children* in America :
Caseload - Expenditures and Balances - Work Participation Rates - Work and Earnings - High Performance Bonus - Child Support Collections - Formation and Maintenance of Married Two-Parent Families - Out-of-Wedlock Births - Child Poverty and TANF - Characteristics and Financial Circumstances of TANF Recipients - Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Native Employment Works - Specific Provisions of State Programs - TANF Research and Evaluation - State Profiles

Source:
Administration for Children and Families
[ Department of Health and Human Services ]

Canadian reports about welfare to Parliament:
NONE.

Under the Canada Assistance Plan ("CAP", 1966-1996), the federal Department of Health and Welfare was required by law to table, in the House of Commons, an annual report on the operation of welfare programs and social services in Canada, in the same manner as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services presents annual reports on welfare dependence to Congress. In April 1996, a block fund called the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) replaced CAP's 50-50 cost-sharing as the statutory mechanism for determining federal contributions to provincial/territorial welfare programs. [ See A History of the Health and Social Transfers] Neither the CHST nor its successor, the Canada Social Transfer (since April 2004), contains rules regarding the production of reports about welfare for tabling and discussion in the Parliament of Canada. In fact, the last national public report about welfare in Canada that was tabled and discussed in the House of Commons was the final CAP Annual Report for 1995-96. In my view, that's not much accountability for a program of this magnitude. The CST will cost the Canadian taxpayer almost $11 billion in 2009-10 in cash transfers alone, all without any debate or even discussion in the House of Commons.

Because the CST is a block fund, and because it covers post-secondary education, early learning and childcare as well as welfare and social services, it's no longer possible to calculate how much each province and territory receives annually from Ottawa specifically earmarked for welfare. That's why you won't see any Canadian equivalent to Indicators of Welfare Dependence: Annual Report to Congress in the near future. That, and the fact that there doesn't appear to be any political will by the ruling federal party to support provincial-territorial programs of last resort at this time.

Related reading from Finance Canada:

Federal Transfers to Provinces and Territories - updated January 2009
...everything you ever wanted to know about federal transfers.
(or what the Department of Finance wants you to know about federal transfers)

International Comparisons

TradingEconomics.com
NOTE : On the Trading Economics website home page, you'll find info for different regions of the world and for each of 232 countries on the following : * GDP Billions US$ * GDP Growth * Interest rate * Inflation rate * Jobless rate * Gov. Budget * Exchange rate * Population

"Trading Economics provides its users with accurate information for 232 countries including historical data for more than 300.000 economic indicators, exchange rates, stock market indexes, government bond yields and commodity prices. Our data is regularly checked for inconsistencies and based on official sources; with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, central banks and national statistics bureaus being the most important.

Bank Deposit Rates in Canada
- unique Canada, U.S. and international bank interest rates, currency and risk research information. In particular, it provides interest rates from the major institutions in Canada, which you can compare to the United States, Asia or Europe.