Glossary

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Basic price

A basic price valuation includes the costs of production factors (labour and capital) and taxes and subsidies on production factors. See modified basic price.

Benchmark

Values which are obtained from higher quality observations and serve as standards for gauging values that are obtained from less reliable sources. For example, annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) values derived from comprehensive annual surveys or censuses within the balanced framework of the input-output accounts are benchmarks for the monthly GDP indicators which are typically based on observations collected by sample monthly surveys.

Census

A census refers to the collection of information about characteristics of interest from all units in a population.

Commodity

See products.

Disposition

The disposition of a good or service is the sum of its intermediate use (by all sectors) and its final use as personal expenditure, fixed capital formation (by all sectors), current government expenditure, exports and net additions to inventories. When valued at basic prices, total disposition or demand is equal to supply.

Economic production

Economic production is an activity carried out under the control and responsibility of an institutional unit that uses inputs of labour, capital, and goods and services to produce outputs of goods or services.

Economic territory

The economic territory of a country encompasses the geographic territory, plus the air space, territorial waters and continental shelf, as well as its territorial enclaves abroad (embassies, consulates, military bases, etc.).

Employment

Employment is the number of all employee and self-employment jobs in an industry. It should be noted that a job that exists for only part of the year (for example 4 months) counts as only a fraction of a job (1/3 of a job) for the year. It should also be noted that a part-time job at 10 hours a week counts as much as a full-time job at 50 hours a week; each is one job.

Establishment

An establishment is the most homogeneous unit of production for which the business maintains accounting records from which it is possible to assemble all the data elements required to compile the full structure of the gross value of production (total sales or shipments, and inventories), the cost of materials and services, and labour and capital used in production.

Exports (interprovincial and international)

Exports are receipts from other provinces and territories or from abroad for sales of merchandise or services.

Factor cost

A valuation reflecting the cost of production factors (labour and capital). It corresponds to the value remaining after the deduction from market prices of all applicable taxes and subsidies.

Final domestic demand

The sum of personal expenditure on consumer goods and services, net government current expenditure on goods and services, government gross fixed capital formation and business gross fixed capital formation.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The total unduplicated value of the goods and services produced in the economic territory of a country or region during a given period. GDP can be measured three ways: as total incomes earned in current production (income approach), as total final sales of current production (expenditure approach), or as total net values added in current production (value added approach). It can be valued either at basic prices or at market prices.

GDP - expenditure based

Expenditure based GDP is total final sales of current production or final expenditures at purchasers' prices (including the FOB value of exports of goods and services less the FOB value of imports of goods and services).

GDP - income based

Income based GDP is compensation of employees, plus taxes less subsidies on products and imports, plus gross mixed income, plus gross operating surplus.

GDP at basic prices

GDP at basic prices is GDP at market prices minus taxes less subsidies on products. GDP at basic prices is also equal to the traditional value at factor cost plus taxes less subsidies on the factors of production (labour and capital).

GDP at factor cost

An industry's GDP at factor cost equals the sum of its factor incomes, i.e., the sum of wages and salaries, supplementary labour income, mixed income and other operating surplus.

GDP at market prices

GDP at market prices equals GDP at basic prices plus taxes less subsidies on products. It is also equal to expenditure based GDP.

GDP by industry

GDP of an industry (also referred to as value added) equals output by the industry minus the value of intermediate inputs that were purchased from other industries, domestic or foreign. Value added is a measure of how much an industry has contributed to the value of its output over and above the value of intermediate inputs. GDP by industry for the economy as a whole is the sum of values added by all industries resident in Canada.

GDP by industry at basic prices

When evaluated at basic prices, an industry's GDP is the sum of its factor incomes (wages and salaries, supplementary labour income, mixed income and other operating surplus) plus taxes on production less subsidies on production.

GDP by industry at market prices

An industry's GDP at market prices equals its GDP at basic prices plus  taxes on products less subsidies on products.

Gross fixed capital formation

Gross fixed capital formation is the value of a producer's acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during the accounting period plus certain additions to the value of non-produced assets (such as subsoil assets or major improvements in the quantity, quality or productivity of land) realized by the productive activity of institutional units.

Input-Output (I-O) accounts

See input-output accounts.

Imports (interprovincial and international)

Imports are payments for goods and services originating from abroad or from other provinces or territories. Imports are valued C.I.F. (cost, insurance and freight included) including customs duties at the border of the exporting country or province or territory.

Industry

An industry is a group of establishments engaged in the same or a similar kind of economic activity.

Input-output accounts

The Input-output (I-O) accounts are made up of several parts: the input-output tables (consisting of input, output and final demand tables) for the national economy as well as provinces and territories, the inter-provincial trade flow tables, the impact tables, and a number of supplementary tables for margins such as retail trade margins, wholesale trade margins, transport and tax margins.

Input-output tables

Input-output tables are part of the production accounts of the SNEA. They show the production of goods and services, the generation of income from the production process and the flows of goods and services through the economic system between producers and consumers. The transactors involved in the production process are individuals (persons or households), establishments (production units of businesses and governments), non-business entities such as non-profit institutions, and governments.

Intermediate consumption

Intermediate consumption consists of the value of the goods and services consumed as inputs by a process of production, excluding fixed assets whose consumption is recorded as consumption of fixed capital; the goods or services may be either transformed or used up by the production process.

International traveller

The term "international traveller" applies to all persons arriving in Canada who are cleared through Customs points of entry, whether travelling for business, pleasure or other reasons. The term "international traveller" is divided into three groups: non-resident traveller, resident traveller and other traveller.

Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Monthly household survey of individuals which provides demographic data on the employed and the unemployed, such as age, sex, family relationship, marital status, occupation and industry as well as data on the characteristics and past work experience of those not currently in the labour force. Compare with Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours (SEPH) .

Labour income

Total earnings of employees, consisting of wages and salaries as well as supplementary labour income (such as employer's contributions to pension funds, employee welfare funds, the Unemployment Insurance Fund and Workmen's Compensation Funds).

Margins

The additional cost elements that make up the difference between modified basic prices and purchasers' prices are called margins. Seven margins are distinguished in the input-output accounts: retail margins, wholesale margins, tax margins, transport margins, gas margins, storage margins, and pipeline margins.

Market prices

A valuation expressed in terms of the prices actually paid by the purchaser, that is, after all applicable taxes and subsidies. See factor cost.

Mixed income

Mixed income is a balancing item in the industry accounts of input-output accounts representing the return to both self-employed labour and capital of the unincorporated business. Mixed Income consists of earnings of proprietors of unincorporated businesses (sole proprietorships and partnerships) such as retailers and consultants, earnings of independent professional practitioners such as lawyers and dentists, net (after expenses) rental income of owners of real property and the accrued net farm income of farm operators.

Modified basic price

The modified basic price for a good or service is its selling price at the boundary of the producing establishment excluding sales and excise taxes levied after the final stage of production. This price includes subsidies, in the sense that it is not adjusted for subsidies received by the producer. Modified basic price is the most easily observable transaction price. It equals the purchaser price less transport, trade and tax margins involved in delivering the product to the purchaser. Industry production (output) and intermediate consumption (inputs) are measured in modified basic price in Canadian input-output accounts. This contrasts with valuation at basic prices recommended by System of National Accounts (SNA)1993 which requires that the sale price described above is adjusted for subsidies.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industrial classification system used to group producers into industries on the basis of similarities in their production processes. Developed jointly by Canada, Mexico and the United States in 1997, NAICS provides a common framework of classification which places industrial statistics compiled by the three countries on a comparable basis.

Operating surplus

Operating surplus is a balancing item in the industry accounts of input-output accounts. For business industries, it represents the return to capital of incorporated business. It consists of gross profits (including bad debts and charitable contributions) of corporations and government business enterprises (GBE's) before income taxes, including capital consumption allowances (corporate and unincorporated sectors), miscellaneous investment income, dividend paid net of dividend received, interest paid net of interest received, and inventory valuation adjustment (an adjustment for changes in the value of non-farm inventories due to price changes). Holding gains and losses, such as realized capital gains on asset sales, are excluded from operating surplus.

Output

Output consists of those goods and services that are produced within an establishment that become available for use outside that establishment, plus any goods and services produced for own final use.

Person-trip

A Person-trip for non-residents begins each time a non-resident traveller enters Canada. The person- trip concludes when the traveller leaves Canada. For residents, each time a person departs from their usual environment, a person-trip begins. It ends when the traveller returns to their usual environment.

Personal expenditure on consumer goods and services

Household spending on new consumer goods and on consumer services, plus any mark-up on used goods. Operating expenses of associations of individuals serving households are also included, under consumer services.

Pre-trip expenditures

See Tourism single purpose consumer durables.

Producer price

A valuation of goods and services that includes the price received by the producer for delivery at the boundary of the establishment (if domestically produced) or cost-insurance-and-freight (CIF, if imported from abroad) at the Canadian border excluding margins such as transport, trade, or applicable taxes or fees, but including import duties.

Products

Products, also called goods and services, are the result of production. They are exchanged and used for various purposes: as inputs in the production of other goods and services, as final consumption or for investment.

Production boundary

The boundary of production includes (a) the production of all individual or collective goods or services that are supplied to units other than their producers, or intended to be supplied, including the production of goods or services used up in the process of producing such goods or services, (b) the own-account production of all goods that are retained by their producers for their own final consumption or capital formation, and (c) the own-account production of housing services by owner-occupiers and of domestic and personal services produced by paid domestic staff, and (d) the own-account production of software.

Production factors

In general, there are two production factors: labour and capital.  Their use, when combined, result in economic production.

Purchaser's price

The purchaser's price is the amount paid by the purchaser, excluding any deductible value added tax (VAT) or similar deductible tax, in order to take delivery of a unit of a good or service at the time and the place required by the purchaser; the purchaser's price of a good includes any transport charges paid separately by the purchaser to take delivery at the required time and place.

Satellite account

An accounting system that follows the basic principles of the System of National Economic Accounts (SNEA) but also expands the analytical capacity for selected areas of economic or social concern, without overburdening or disrupting the central system. Satellite accounts are linked with the central framework of the national accounts and through them to the main body of integrated economic statistics

Subsidies on production

Subsidies are current payments to enterprises made by governments (domestic or foreign) without reciprocation. Subsidies on production are paid to enterprises for engaging in prescribed activities. Examples include work-force subsidies paid on the basis of employment or training of certain persons, or on the basis of pollution abatement.

Supplementary labour income

Supplementary Labour Income are expenditures by employers on their labour account which are regarded as compensation of employees. They include contributions to employment insurance, private and public pension plan contributions, and (beginning in 1990) retirement allowances.

Supply

The supply of a good or service is the sum of the values of its domestic output (from all sectors), plus imports, plus net withdrawals from inventories during an accounting period. When measured in modified basic prices, the supply of a good or service is by definition equal to its demand or disposition (in modified basic prices) during the same accounting period.

Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH)

A monthly establishment based sample survey, designed to measure the levels and month-to-month changes of payroll employment (number of employees), paid hours and earnings. These measures are compiled by industry and are classified by geographic location. Compare with Labour Force Survey.

System of National Economic Accounts (SNEA)

The System of National Economic Accounts (SNEA) consists of a coherent, consistent and integrated set of macroeconomic accounts, balance sheets and tables based on a set of internationally agreed concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules. In its broad outline, the Canadian System of National Economic Accounts (CSNEA) bears a close relationship to the international standard as described in the United Nations publication: System of National Accounts (SNA)1993.

Tax margin

A tax margin is the total of taxes on products applicable to the intermediate or final use of a particular good or service. A tax margin is estimated for each good and service used by each industry and by each category of final demand, showing the total amount of taxes on products paid on the purchase of the good or service. The total tax margin for an industry, or for a final demand category, is the total of such margins paid on all goods and services consumed.

Taxes on production

These are taxes that are paid by business and non-business entities, including persons, that are not linked to any productive activity. Taxes on production are levied by all three levels of government. Examples of federal taxes include capital taxes levied against corporate entities, Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation premiums, and Canadian Dairy Commission levies. Provincial taxes include (personal and commercial) motor vehicle license fees, land transfer taxes, and capital taxes. Local taxes include real property taxes, developers lot levies, and deed transfer taxes.

Taxes on products

This is the sum of taxes levied on goods and services beyond the producers' price valuation level. They are paid by business and non-business industries on their current purchases and by final users such as households on all their expenditures. Examples include the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), provincial sales taxes, federal excise taxes, import duties, and fuel taxes. Unlike taxes on production, these taxes are levied on quantities or values of goods and services produced or purchased in the economy. These taxes are part of tax margins in input-output accounts. Together with trade and transport margins, these taxes account for the difference between producers' prices and purchasers' prices valuations of goods and services.

Total economy

The total economy consists of all resident institutional units in the economic territory of Canada.  Alternatively, it consists of all transactors in all resident sectors, namely the business sector, the government sector, and the personal sector.

Tourism

The definition of tourism adapted from the World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Statistical Commission is : "the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes."

Tourism commodity

Tourism commodity is one for which a significant part of its total demand in Canada comes from visitors or if it represents a significant expense category within visitors' budgets.

Tourism commodity ratio

The ratio of demand to supply for a given tourism commodity. It measures the proportion of a tourism commodity that is actually purchased by tourists  It also provides the means to convert data classified by commodity into data classified by industry.

Tourism demand

Tourism demand is defined as the spending of Canadian and non-resident visitors on domestically produced commodities. It is the sum of tourism domestic demand and tourism exports.

Tourism domestic demand

Tourism domestic demand is the spending in Canada by Canadian visitors on domestically produced commodities.

Tourism domestic supply

Domestic supply of tourism commodities is defined as the total production in Canada of the tourism commodities which are mainly produced by tourism industries. Not all of domestic supply is purchased by visitors, so that supply exceeds tourism demand. For example, visitors purchase only a small proportion of food and beverage services, with most going to local consumption. Also, supply does not include imports. For example the sale of a ticket on a non-Canadian airline is excluded from supply.

Tourism employment

Tourism employment is a measure of employment in tourism and non-tourism industries. It is based on an estimate of jobs rather than "hours of work". Thus, someone who works 10 hours a week counts for as much, by this measure, as someone who works 50 hours a week.

Tourism exports

Tourism exports is spending by foreign visitors on Canadian-produced goods and services. It includes spending that may take place outside of Canada, for instance, the purchase of an airline ticket from a Canadian international carrier, to travel to Canada.

Tourism GDP

The total unduplicated value of production, within the boundaries of a region, of goods and services purchased by tourists. In the Canadian Tourism Satellite Accoun (CTSA), GDP is calculated at basic prices and includes only direct GDP.  GDP is also generated indirectly in the upstream production chain of a good or service. Although these indirect effects can be linked to tourism, they are not included in GDP

Tourism GDP ratio

This ratio is calculated by taking the tourism GDP and comparing it to the total GDP of the industry (i.e., tourism GDP + non-tourism GDP). It measures how much of the production of a certain industry is attributable to tourism.

Tourism imports

Tourism imports is spending on foreign-produced goods and services by Canadian tourists while travelling outside Canada.

Tourism industry

Tourism dndustry is an industry which as a direct result of the absence of tourism would cease to exist or would continue to exist only at significantly reduced levels of activity.  Some industries may be affected by the absence of tourism but not directly, for example the absence of tourism would greatly affect the air transportation industry and thus indirectly the catering industry.

Tourism industry ratio

The ratio of the tourism demand for all tourism commodities produced by a given industry to its output of those commodities. This ratio is used for internal calculations in the compilation of the CTSA at the detailed (unpublished) level. It is used specifically in the calculation, by industry, of GDP and employment that is attributable to tourism.

Tourism Satellite Account

Tourism Satellite Account is an accounting framework, based on the System of National Accounts, that serves to define tourism and is used to compile and integrate statistics on tourism, to measure its importance to the economy, and to facilitate its comparison with other industries within the economy.

Tourism single purpose consumer durables (pre-trip expenditures)

In the CTSA, five single-purpose consumer goods used chiefly for travel (motor homes, travel and tent trailers, luggage and travel sets, tents and camping equipment and sleeping bags) are included, irrespective of when they are bought.

Usual environment

The definition of usual environment of the World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Statistical Commission: "corresponds to the geographical boundaries within which an individual displaces himself/ herself within his/her regular routine of life."  For operational purposes, before reference year 2005, Canada defined this concept of "usual environment" as within 80 kilometers one way from home.  However, crossing an international border is considered going outside the usual environment, no matter the distance travelled.

Visitors

Visitors are persons who undertake tourism as defined above. They are referred to as either tourists (those who stay overnight or longer in the place visited), or same-day visitors. In Canada, "tourist" is used to denote all visitors, whether they are same-day or overnight visitors.

Wages and salaries

Wages and salaries consist of monetary compensation and payments-in-kind (e.g., board and lodging), to wage earners and salaried persons employed in private, public and non-profit institutions in Canada including domestic servants and baby-sitters. Other forms of compensation included here are commissions, bonuses, tips, directors' fees, taxable allowances, and the values of stock options of corporations. bonuses, commissions and retroactive wages are recorded in the period paid rather than earned. Wages and salaries are recorded on a gross basis, before deductions for taxes, employees' contributions to employment insurance, and private and public pension plans.