Real-time local business conditions, February 27 to March 5, 2023

The Real-time Local Business Conditions Index is released as an experimental statistic to measure business activity in real time during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The index tracks business conditions in Abbotsford, Barrie, Calgary, Edmonton, Guelph, Halifax, Hamilton, Kanata, Kelowna, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Milton, Moncton, Montréal, Oshawa, Ottawa–Gatineau, Quebec, Regina, Saskatoon, Sherbrooke, St. Catharines–Niagara Falls, St. John's, Toronto, Trois-Rivières, Vancouver, Victoria, White Rock, Windsor, and Winnipeg.

A rising index reflects improving business conditions in an urban centre, while a declining index signals deteriorating business conditions.

The Index has three components that combine alternative data sources with Statistics Canada's data holdings: the first is a static component to measure the economic size of a business district at the local level; the second tracks operating conditions of the businesses in a given area; and the third measures the level of business activity in the area using road traffic data.

Next release

Data on real-time local business conditions for March 6 to 12 will be released on March 17.