The Business & Community Newsletter – October 2019

Canadian businesses need authoritative information from sources they can trust – all at the click of a mouse.

That's why Statistics Canada is constantly working to make data more accessible.

In August, the agency launched the Producer Price Indexes (PPI) Portal, a one-stop shop for data and products related to producer price indexes. This new subject-matter portal is one of several being developed as part of the agency's modernization initiative.

Producer price indexes track the average change in prices Canadian producers receive or pay for goods and services over time. They cover a wide range of economic activities, such as manufacturing, construction and financial services.

The new PPI Portal provides the most recent key indicators and a carousel of featured products as well as buttons to other PPI products. It will continually evolve to include new tools and features, as well as new related data products.

Users will also benefit from more timely information: The portal serves as a bulletin board to announce upcoming new changes to PPI programs. This means users can get PPI-related information well before regular data releases.

The portal will be updated regularly as new information becomes available.

The September 2019 issue of Health Reports, contains two interesting articles.

The first article "The association between walkable neighbourhoods and physical activity across the lifespan" looks at the effect of neighbourhood walkability on residents' level of physical activity. The study combined a newly developed walkability index—the Canadian Active Living Environments database (a geography-based set of measures that represents the active living friendliness or walkability of Canadian communities)—with data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey and the Canadian Community Health Survey.

The activity friendliness of a neighbourhood reflects how well a neighbourhood's design promotes walking. Walkability is based on how well streets are connected, how close they are to destinations such as schools, workplaces, stores and parks, and how many people live there.

The second article "An examination of the associations between walkable neighbourhoods and obesity and self-rated health in Canadians" examines the association between a neighbourhood's walkability or activity friendliness and the prevalence of overweight and obesity, as well as self-rated general and mental health among Canadians.

The infographic "Walkable neighbourhoods and physical activity in Canada," is also available.

Sales up in six provinces and all census metropolitan areas

Provincially, retail sales were up in six provinces, with the largest increases observed in Ontario and, to a lesser extent, the Prairie provinces.

After a relatively flat month in June, retail sales in Ontario (+1.2%) picked up in July. Sales in the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Toronto were up 1.1%.

In Alberta (+0.7%), retail sales were up for the first time in three months as a result of higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

Retail sales advanced in both Saskatchewan (+0.9%) and Manitoba (+0.6%) in July. The gain in Manitoba coincided with a percentage point reduction in the provincial sales tax, effective July 1, 2019.

In Quebec, retail sales were down 0.4% despite higher sales in the CMA of Montréal (+0.5%).

Lower sales were reported in British Columbia (-0.8%). However, sales in the CMA of Vancouver rose 0.5%.

Analysis of the new data is now available in The Daily, and three tables: 20-10-0008-01, 20-10-0072-01 and 20-10-0078-01.

This infographic, "What will the population of Canada look like in 2068?" describes key findings from Statistics Canada's national population projections. The projected size and age structure of the Canadian population in 2068 according to selected projection scenarios.

Several trends were observed in the New Housing Price Indexes and average prices over the last five years. Using data from the New Housing Price Survey, this infographic "What is happening to the prices of new houses in Canada?" shows which of the selected census metropolitan areas (CMA) surveyed are leading the way in annual price movements over the last 5 years, and provides the average price in 2013 compared to the average price of 2018 for selected CMAs.