The Alternative Data Solution – Experience of the Producer Prices Division

Over the last decade, Statistics Canada’s Producer Prices Division has expanded its service producer price indexes program and continued to improve its goods and construction producer price indexes program. While the majority of price indexes are based on traditional survey methods, efforts were made to increase the use of administrative data and alternative data sources in order to reduce burden on our respondents. This paper focuses mainly on producer price programs, but also provides information on the growing importance of alternative data sources at Statistics Canada. In addition, it presents the operational challenges and risks that statistical offices could face when relying more and more on third-party outputs. Finally, it presents the tools being developed to integrate alternative data while collecting metadata.