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Description: This dashboard provides an interactive view of eight indicators from the Quality of Life Framework for Canada: Life satisfaction, sense of meaning and purpose, future outlook, loneliness, someone to count on, sense of belonging to local community, perceived mental health, and perceived health. The data can be organized by province, gender and other characteristics such as age group. This dashboard is based on quarterly data from the Canadian Social Survey.

Description: This fact sheet offers a summary of content changes for the 2026 Census specific to the following topics: date of birth (age), sex at birth and gender, relationship to Person 1, and marital status. The tested changes for each topic are explained, along with the resulting approach for 2026.

Description: This product presents information from the Census of Population for various levels of geography. Data include characteristics for: population, age, sex, dwellings, families, marital status, language, income, education and labour as examples.

Starting with the age and sex major day of release and on major days of release thereafter, profile component data are available at the Canada, province and territory, economic region, census division, census subdivision, census metropolitan area, census agglomeration, population centre, census tract, designated place, federal electoral district and dissemination area. This product may be downloaded in various formats, they include CSV, TAB, IVT or XML.

Description: Microdata files are unique among census products in that they give users access to unaggregated data. This makes the public use microdata files (PUMFs) powerful research tools. Each file contains anonymous individual responses on a large number of variables. The PUMF user can group and manipulate these variables to suit his/her own data and research requirements. Tabulations not included in other census products can be created or relationships between variables can be analysed by using different statistical tests. PUMFs provide quick access to a comprehensive social and economic database about Canada and its people. All subject-matter covered by the census is included in the microdata files. However, to ensure the anonymity of the respondents, geographic identifiers have been restricted to the provinces/territories and large metropolitan areas. Microdata files have traditionally been disseminated on magnetic tape, which required access to a mainframe computer. For the first time, the 1991 PUMFs will also be available on CD-ROM for microcomputer applications. This file contains data based on a 3% of the population enumerated in the 1991 Census. It provides information on the demographic, social and economic characteristics of the Canadian population. The Individual File allows users to return to the base unit of the census, enabling them to group and manipulate the data to suit their own data and research requirements.

This product provides two basic tools to assist users in accessing and using the 1991 Census Public Use Microdata File - Individuals CD-ROM.

Description: Microdata files are unique among census products in that they give users access to unaggregated data. This makes the public use microdata files (PUMFs) powerful research tools. Each file contains anonymous individual responses on a large number of variables. The PUMF user can group and manipulate these variables to suit his/her own data and research requirements. Tabulations not included in other census products can be created or relationships between variables can be analysed by using different statistical tests. PUMFs provide quick access to a comprehensive social and economic database about Canada and its people. All subject-matter covered by the census is included in the microdata files. However, to ensure the anonymity of the respondents, geographic identifiers have been restricted to the provinces/territories and large metropolitan areas. Microdata files have traditionally been disseminated on magnetic tape, which required access to a mainframe computer. For the first time, the 1991 PUMFs will also be available on CD-ROM for microcomputer applications. This file contains data based on a 3% of the population enumerated in the 1991 Census. It provides information on the demographic, social and economic characteristics of the Canadian population. The Households and Housing File allows users to return to the base unit of the census, enabling them to group and manipulate the data to suit their own data and research requirements.

This product provides two basic tools to assist users in accessing and using the 1991 Census Public Use Microdata File - Households and Housing CD-ROM.

Description: Using record linkage, this article compares marital status as identified in the 2015 T1 tax data to what was provided in the 2016 Census using record linkage.

Description: This product presents information from the Census of Population for various levels of geography. Data are from the 2021 Census of Population and are available according to the major releases of the 2021 Census release dates: February 9, 2022 – Population and dwelling counts; April 27, 2022 – Age, Sex at birth and gender, Type of dwelling; July 13, 2022 – Families, households and marital status, Canadian military experience, Income; August 17, 2022 – Language; September 21, 2022 – Indigenous peoples, Housing; October 26, 2022 – Immigration, place of birth, and citizenship, Ethnocultural and religious diversity, Mobility and migration; November 30, 2022 – Education, Labour, Language of work, Commuting, Instruction in the official minority language.

Description: This product presents information from the Census of Population for various levels of geography. Data are from the 2021 Census of Population and are available according to the major releases of the 2021 Census release dates: February 9, 2022 – Population and dwelling counts; April 27, 2022 – Age, Sex at birth and gender, Type of dwelling; July 13, 2022 – Families, households and marital status, Canadian military experience, Income; August 17, 2022 – Language; September 21, 2022 – Indigenous peoples, Housing; October 26, 2022 – Immigration, place of birth, and citizenship, Ethnocultural and religious diversity, Mobility and migration; November 30, 2022 – Education, Labour, Language of work, Commuting, Instruction in the official minority language.

Description: This product presents information from the Census of Population for various levels of geography. Data are from the 2021 Census of Population and are available according to the major releases of the 2021 Census release dates: February 9, 2022 – Population and dwelling counts; April 27, 2022 – Age, Sex at birth and gender, Type of dwelling; July 13, 2022 – Families, households and marital status, Canadian military experience, Income; August 17, 2022 – Language; September 21, 2022 – Indigenous peoples, Housing; October 26, 2022 – Immigration, place of birth, and citizenship, Ethnocultural and religious diversity, Mobility and migration; November 30, 2022 – Education, Labour, Language of work, Commuting, Instruction in the official minority language.

Description: This product presents information from the Census of Population for various levels of geography. Data are from the 2021 Census of Population and are available according to the major releases of the 2021 Census release dates: February 9, 2022 – Population and dwelling counts; April 27, 2022 – Age, Sex at birth and gender, Type of dwelling; July 13, 2022 – Families, households and marital status, Canadian military experience, Income; August 17, 2022 – Language; September 21, 2022 – Indigenous peoples, Housing; October 26, 2022 – Immigration, place of birth, and citizenship, Ethnocultural and religious diversity, Mobility and migration; November 30, 2022 – Education, Labour, Language of work, Commuting, Instruction in the official minority language.

Description:

Using 2011 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the age and sex as well as families, households, marital status, structural type of dwelling and collectives and language characteristics for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations. In the census product line, groups of related variables are referred to as 'release components of profiles.' These are made available with the major releases of variables of the census cycle, starting with age and sex. Together, they will form a complete Census Profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions. Starting with the age and sex major day of release, and on major days of release thereafter, profile component data are available at the Canada, province and territory, economic region, census division and census subdivision levels, at the census metropolitan area, census agglomeration, population centre, and census tract levels, designated places, and at the federal electoral district (based on the 2013 Representation Order) level. Profile component data for all other standard geographic areas, including dissemination areas, dissolved census subdivisions, and forward sortation areas, will be available after the major days of release.

Description:

This topic contains data on mobility status and interprovincial migration based on the mobility 1 year ago and 5 years ago questions. The data allow us to provide information on mobility in Canada when combined with sociodemographic characteristics such as age, sex, marital status and mother tongue.

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This table presents a cross-tabulation of data using selected characteristics from the National Household Survey.

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This table presents a cross-tabulation of data using selected characteristics from the National Household Survey.

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This table presents a cross-tabulation of data on Aboriginal peoples using selected characteristics from the National Household Survey.

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This topic presents data on census families, including the number of families, family size and structure. The data also include persons living in families, with relatives, with non-relatives and living alone. Family structure refers to the classification of census families into married couples or common-law couples (including opposite-sex or same-sex), and lone-parent families.

Data are also presented on household characteristics. The household type refers to the number and types of census families living in a household. The household size refers to the number of people in the household.

This topic also presents data on marital status and common-law relationships, by age and sex, for the entire Canadian population. These data show the number of persons who never-married, are married, separated, divorced or widowed, and those who are not married, whether they are living common-law or not.

©This data includes information copied with permission from Canada Post Corporation.

Description:

Using 2011 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the age and sex variable as well as families, households, marital status, structural type of dwelling and collectives and language characteristics for Canada, provinces, territories and forward sortation areas.

In the census product line, groups of related variables are referred to as 'release components of profiles.' These are made available with the major releases of variables of the census cycle, starting with age and sex. Together, they will form a complete Census Profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Starting with the age and sex major day of release, and on major days of release thereafter, profile component data are available at the Canada, province and territory, economic region, census division and census subdivision levels, at the census metropolitan area, census agglomeration, population centre, and census tract levels, designated places, and at the federal electoral district (based on the 2003 Representation Order) level. Profile component data for all other standard geographic areas, including dissemination areas, dissolved census subdivisions, and forward sortation areas, will be available after the major days of release.

©This data includes information copied with permission from Canada Post Corporation.

Description:

Using 2011 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the age and sex as well as families, households, marital status, structural type of dwelling and collectives, and language characteristics for Canada, provinces, territories, census divisions and dissolved census subdivisions.

In the census product line, groups of related variables are referred to as 'release components of profiles.' These are made available with the major releases of variables of the census cycle, starting with age and sex. Together, they will form a complete Census Profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Starting with the age and sex major day of release, and on major days of release thereafter, profile component data are available at the Canada, province and territory, economic region, census division and census subdivision levels, at the census metropolitan area, census agglomeration, population centre, and census tract levels, designated places, and at the federal electoral district (based on the 2003 Representation Order) level.

Description:

This topic presents data on census families, including the number of families, family size and structure. The data also include persons living in families, with relatives, with non-relatives and living alone. Family structure refers to the classification of census families into married couples or common-law couples (including opposite-sex or same-sex), and lone-parent families.

Data are also presented on household characteristics. The household type refers to the number and types of census families living in a household. The household size refers to the number of people in the household.

This topic also presents data on marital status and common-law relationships, by age and sex, for the entire Canadian population. These data show the number of persons who never-married, are married, separated, divorced or widowed, and those who are not married, whether they are living common-law or not.

Description:

This topic presents data on census families, including the number of families, family size and structure. The data also include persons living in families, with relatives, with non-relatives and living alone. Family structure refers to the classification of census families into married couples or common-law couples (including opposite-sex or same-sex), and lone-parent families.

Data are also presented on household characteristics. The household type refers to the number and types of census families living in a household. The household size refers to the number of people in the household.

This topic also presents data on marital status and common-law relationships, by age and sex, for the entire Canadian population. These data show the number of persons who never-married, are married, separated, divorced or widowed, and those who are not married, whether they are living common-law or not.

Description:

This study examines prominent and emerging labour market trends of the 1990s to see if they have reversed under the pressure of the robust economic growth of 1997-1999. Specifically, it looks at the dramatic rise in self-employment, trends in job stability, and the low youth employment rate over the 1990s. The strong economic growth in 1997-1999 does not appear to have slowed the rise in self-employment, affected job stability, or dramatically increased youth employment rates. For self-employment this suggests that the rise in the 1990s was not primarily driven by slack labour demand forcing workers to create their own jobs. Job stability rose through much of the 1990s, pushed up by a low quit rate associated with low hiring. The best data currently available show that quit rates in particular have remained relatively low (given the position in the business cycle), and job tenure has remained high. There is little evidence that among paid workers job stability has deteriorated in the 1990s. Lagging youth employment rates were due in large part to an increased propensity for young persons to remain in school. Students have a lower employment rate, and a compositional shift towards more young students lowers the overall employment rate for youth. This propensity for the young to be students has not declined in 1997-1999, and as a result youth employment rates remain low by historical standards.

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This report provides a preliminary analysis of the effects of change on income and employment in rural areas of Canada, its influence on the risk of social exclusion and disadvantage (i.e., low income and low pay), and the differences that may arise in relation to non-rural areas.

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In this paper a dynamic employment model for women is estimated for rural and urban samples from the first four years of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics 1993 to 1996. The results provide evidence that there are significant differences between rural and urban labour markets. However, these do not appear to arise - as is often argued - from a lack of childcare facilities, differences in returns to human capital, or the existence of more "traditional" attitudes to the proper role of women in rural areas. The results also suggest labour market segmentation within rural areas with clear differences in employment for women belonging to low income households as shown in the decomposition results.

Description:

Historically, female employment rates in rural areas have been significantly below the rates for women in urban areas (Bollman, 1991; Fuguitt, Brown and Beale, 1989). The objective of this paper is to explore some of the factors associated with these rural-urban differences in female employment rates.

Description:

This article looks at the effect of declining religious attendance on social cohesion in the general society.

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Using three waves (1982, 1986, 1990) of the National Graduate Survey (NGS) we analyze the time it takes graduates of Canadian universities to start a full time job that lasts six months or more. We analyze duration to first job using the Cox proportional hazards model. Our results suggest large differences in the speed of the transition to work both within and between cohorts. They also suggest that the differences in duration to first job across NGS cohorts are not just driven by differences in business cycle conditions at the time of graduation. Over certain segments of duration the patterns of job-starting are similar across cohorts. Within cohorts the differences in the school-to-work transition across certain demographic groups are small, and for some the differences remain stable across cohorts.

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This article examines trends in teenage pregnancy in Canada, focussing on induced abortions, live births and fetal loss among women aged 15 to 19 in 1997.

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This article examines the extent of proxy reporting in the Natiional Population Health (NPHS). It also explores associations between proxy reporting status and the prevalence of selected health problems, and investigates the relationship between changes in proxy reporting status and two-year incidence of health problems.

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The correlation of occupational gender composition and wages is the basis of pay equity/comparable worth legislation. A number of previous studies have examined this correlation in US data, identifying some of the determinants of low wages in "female jobs", as well as important limitations of public policy in this area. There is little evidence, however, from other jurisdictions. This omission is particularly disturbing in the case of Canada, which now has some of the most extensive pay equity legislation in the world. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive picture, circa the late 1980's, of the occupational gender segregation in Canada and its consequences for wages. We also draw explicit comparisons of our findings to evidence for the United States. We find that the link between female wages and gender composition is much stronger in the United States than in Canada, where it is generally small and not statistically significant. The relatively more advantageous position of women in female jobs in Canada is found to be linked to higher unionization rates and the industry-wage effects of "public goods" sectors.

Description:

This paper addresses the topic of inter-provincial migration in terms of the basic question: "who moves?" Panel logit models of the probability of moving from one year to the next are estimated using samples derived from the Longitudinal Administrative Database covering the period 1982-95. Explanatory variables include "environmental" factors, personal characteristics, labour market attributes, and a series of year variables. Separate models are estimated for eight age-sex groups.

The major findings include that: i) migration rates have been inversely related to the size of the province, presumably capturing economic conditions, labour market scale effects, and pure geographical distance, while language has also played an important role; ii) residents of smaller cities, towns, and especially rural areas have been less likely to move than individuals in larger cities; iii) age, marriage, and the presence of children have been negatively related to mobility, for both men and women; iv) migration has been positively related to the provincial unemployment rate, the individuals' receipt of unemployment insurance (except Entry Men), having no market income (except for Entry Men and Entry Women), and the receipt of social assistance (especially for men); v) beyond the zero earnings point, migration has been positively related to earnings levels for prime aged men, but not for others, and these effects are generally small (holding other factors constant); vi) there were no dramatic shifts in migration rates over time, but men's rates dropped off a bit in the 1990s while women's rates (except for the Entry group) generally held steadier or rose slightly, indicating a divergence in trends along gender lines.

Description: This fact sheet offers a summary of content changes for the 2026 Census specific to the following topics: date of birth (age), sex at birth and gender, relationship to Person 1, and marital status. The tested changes for each topic are explained, along with the resulting approach for 2026.

Description: This reference guide provides information to help users effectively use and interpret family, household and marital status data from the 2021 Census. This guide contains definitions and explanations of concepts, questions, classifications, data quality and comparability with other sources for this topic.

Description: This video is designed to give you a basic understanding of the demographic variable "marital status" and how this variable is created and used. The concepts legal marital status, common-law status and de-facto marital status, are explained to allow you to better understand, analyze and build census data tables using the marital status variable.

Description:

This topic presents data on the Aboriginal peoples of Canada and their demographic characteristics. Depending on the application, estimates using any of the following concepts may be appropriate for the Aboriginal population: (1) Aboriginal identity, (2) Aboriginal ancestry, (3) Registered or Treaty Indian status and (4) Membership in a First Nation or Indian band. Data from the 2011 National Household Survey are available for the geographical locations where these populations reside, including 'on reserve' census subdivisions and Inuit communities of Inuit Nunangat as well as other geographic areas such as the national (Canada), provincial and territorial levels.

Analytical products

The analytical document provides analysis on the key findings and trends in the data, and is complimented with the short articles found in NHS in Brief and the NHS Focus on Geography Series.

Data products

The NHS Profile is one data product that provides a statistical overview of user selected geographic areas based on several detailed variables and/or groups of variables. Other data products include data tables which represent a series of cross tabulations ranging in complexity and are available for various levels of geography.

Description:

This guide focuses on the following topic: Family variables.

Provides information that enables users to effectively use, apply and interpret data from the 2006 Census. Each guide contains definitions and explanations on census concepts, data quality and historical comparability. Additional information will be included for specific variables to help general users better understand the concepts and questions used in the census.

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This report focuses on five demographic variables: date of birth, age, sex, marital status and common-law status. The report describes how the data were collected, verified, processed, edited and imputed. The final section covers how the data were evaluated.

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This paper presents the questions, possible responses and question flows for the 2001 Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) preliminary questionnaire.

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The new product entitled "2001 Census Standard Products Stubsets" provides detailed information about all census variables, by category. It is released on the Internet only.

This series includes six general reference products: Preview of Products and Services, Census Dictionary, Catalogue, Standard Products Stubsets, Census Handbook and Technical Reports.

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This document presents the information for the new entry exit portion of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) labour interview.

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As the population ages, a greater demand for long-term care services and, in particular, nursing homes is expected. Policy analysts continue to search for alternative, less costly forms of care for the elderly and have attempted to develop programs to delay or prevent nursing-home entry. Health care administrators required information for planning the future demand for nursing-home services. This study assesses the relative importance of predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics in predicting and understanding nursing-home entry.