Canada at a Glance, 2022
A word from the Chief Statistician

I am pleased to present the 2022 edition of Canada at a Glance. In it you’ll find some of the most current statistics on topics that affect us as Canadians: demographics, health, the economy, the environment, and more. This year, we’ve included new topics such as Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2+ people, racialized groups, and persons with disabilities. Since this booklet aims to provide a brief portrait of Canada, we felt it essential to include information about these groups that shape our country. Canada at a Glance also includes data on the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is our duty to evolve alongside society and measure data accordingly to better represent emerging priorities such as a global crisis developing in real time.

The pandemic has affected all Canadians in various ways, but some groups have been impacted more than others. It’s important to tell their story: racialized groups, women, persons with disabilities, and many others. Our survey results are categorical in this respect, underscoring the need for statistical data on more vulnerable population groups. The Disaggregated Data Action Plan, announced in Budget 2021, helps us to produce more detailed statistics—in other words, data from large datasets that we subdivide into categories such as gender and sex, age, region or municipality, ethnic origin, and income level. These more detailed data shed light on the realities and challenges that affect specific segments of our population. Harnessing these data through better policies is how we will continue to build a more fair and inclusive country for all Canadians.

But we’re also shedding more light on other key priorities. In recent years, we’ve collected additional data on the impacts of the pandemic on businesses while continuing to publish key economic information, such as the Consumer Price Index, unemployment rates and gross domestic product. We’re currently in the development stages of an innovative environmental statistics project: the Census of Environment, whose purpose is to provide a comprehensive picture of the complex relationship between ecosystems and the economy, society, and human health in one easily accessible location. This will serve to support governments in their efforts to respond to the effects of climate change.

To produce these data and plan our statistical programs, we work with Canadians in a variety of ways. For example, after consulting representatives of various population groups and receiving their feedback, a number of changes were made to the 2021 Census questionnaire. These changes included a new question on gender—for the first time allowing transgender and non-binary respondents to identify themselves—as well as important changes and additions to the questions on Indigenous peoples.

Statistics Canada is able to provide high-quality data thanks to your participation in the census, as well as our household surveys, such as the Labour Force Survey, the Canadian Community Health Survey, and many others. We would also like to acknowledge the invaluable, ongoing collaboration of our various partners, from private companies to the academic community and government partners of all levels.

Thank you for your trust and cooperation.

I hope you enjoy this edition of Canada at a Glance.

Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada