Labour Force Survey Expert Panel

The social and economic impacts of COVID-19 have fuelled an extraordinary demand for timely, high-quality data on the health of Canada's people, society and economy. In response to this demand, Statistics Canada has enhanced many of its programs, including its Labour Force Survey (LFS), with the creation of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) Expert Panel.

Comprised of national and international experts from government, academia and non-governmental agencies, the LFS Expert Panel will provide independent advice and guidance on one of Statistics Canada's most important statistical programs.

To ensure that these enhancements result in a deeper and broader understanding of evolving market conditions, the Panel will:

  • Provide strategic advice to Statistics Canada on strategies to engage with respondents and encourage participation in the Labour Force Survey;
  • Provide expert advice to Statistics Canada on the analysis of Labour Force Survey data; and,
  • Act as a liaison on data quality with the broader community of LFS data users.

Listed below, Panel members were selected to reflect a wide-range of expertise and experience, including in the use of LFS data and international experience in the management of similar large-scale statistical programs. With the help of these experts, the LFS will provide even better data and insights to Canadians on evolving labour market conditions in our country.

Internal membership

Chair: Lynn Barr-Telford, Assistant Chief Statistician, Social, Health and Labour Statistics

Secretary: Josée Bégin, Director General, Labour Market, Education and Socioeconomic Well-being Statistics Branch

Agency subject matter: Centre for Labour Market Information, Modern Statistical Methods and Data Science Branch, and Collection and Regional Services Branch.

External membership

John L. Eltinge

John L. Eltinge

Assistant Director, Research and Methodology, United States Census Bureau

John Eltinge is the U.S. Census Bureau Liaison to Statistics Canada's LFS Expert Panel. Mr. Eltinge is the Assistant Director for Research and Methodology at the United States Census Bureau.  Before 2016, he served as the Associate Commissioner for Survey Methods Research at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Prior to that, he served as a senior mathematical statistician at BLS, and an associate professor with tenure in the Department of Statistics at Texas A&M University.  He gave the Roger Herriot Memorial Lecture on Innovation in the Federal Statistical System; and was previously the President of the Washington Statistical Society, the overall chair of the 2003 Joint Statistical Meetings, an associate editor for The American Statistician, and an associate editor for the Applications and Case Studies Section of Journal of the American Statistical Association. In addition, at the 2018 Joint Statistical Meetings, he presented the annual plenary Deming Memorial Lecture, "Improving the Quality and Value of Statistical Information: 14 Questions on Management". A webcast of this lecture is available through: Plenary Session Webcasts

His research interests include the following: data quality; design optimization; integration of multiple data sources; imputation; time series; and small domain estimation.

Mr. Eltinge holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Statistics at Iowa State University; is a fellow of the American Statistical Association; an editor of the Harvard Data Science Review; an associate editor for Journal of Official Statistics and for Survey Methodology Journal; and a member of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology.

Dr. John L. Eltinge
Howard Ramos

Howard Ramos

Professor, Sociology Department, Western University

Howard Ramos is a professor at Western University as well as the Chair of the Department of Sociology. He investigates issues of social justice and social change and has published four books and over 50 articles and chapters on social movements, human rights, Indigenous issues, environmental advocacy, urban change, economic and tourism development, technology, ethnicity, race, immigration, and equity, diversity and inclusion in higher education. Dr. Ramos has worked with a wide range of advocacy and community organizations and is committed to knowledge translation and evidence-based policy.

Howard Ramos
Karyne B. Charbonneau

Karyne B. Charbonneau

Director, Prices, Labour and Housing Division, Canadian Economic Analysis Department, Bank of Canada

Karyne B. Charbonneau is the Director of the Canadian Economic Analysis (CEA) Department's Prices, Labour and Housing division. She is primarily responsible for the evolution of the labour market and inflation in the near term.

Ms. Charbonneau joined the Bank of Canada in 2013 as a Senior Economist in the International Economic Analysis Department. Prior to occupying her current role, she was a Policy Advisor in CEA and provided guidance on the impact of trade policy changes on the Canadian economy.

Her research focuses on applied econometrics, international trade and labour economics. She received her PhD in economics from Princeton University.

Karyne Charbonneau
Thomas Storring

Thomas Storring

Director of Economics and Statistics, Nova Scotia Department of Finance and Treasury Board

Thomas Storring is the Director of Economics and Statistics for the Nova Scotia Department of Finance and Treasury Board. His work focuses on macroeconomic conditions in the Province: how macroeconomics affects the government's fiscal choices and how government decisions affect the economy. He is the focal point for Statistics Canada within the Province of Nova Scotia, and advises Statistics Canada on the Province's needs and priorities for the national statistical system.

Mr. Storring has worked as an economist for over 20 years in provincial finance departments in Ontario and Nova Scotia, as well as for J. D. Irving, Limited. Over the last 10 years, Thomas has taught at both Saint Mary's University and Dalhousie University, lecturing on money and banking, public finance, statistics, principles of economics, as well as global economics for Saint Mary's MBA program. He completed his undergraduate degree in economics at Acadia University and received his Master's in economics at the University of Oxford.

Thomas Storring
Mikal Skuterud

Mikal Skuterud

Professor, Economics Department, University of Waterloo

Mikal Skuterud is a full-time Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Waterloo and is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF) and the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA). He received his Master's degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia and his PhD in Economics from McMaster University.

His research interests include: the labour market integration of immigrants, labour market policies that influence hours of work, and the economics of trade unions. His work has appeared in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Labor Economics, and the Canadian Journal of Economics and has received national media coverage in the New York Times and the Globe and Mail.

Mikal Skuterud
Bjorn Jarvis

Bjorn Jarvis

Program Manager, Labour Surveys Branch, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Bjorn Jarvis is the head of the Labour Surveys Branch at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which comprises the Labour Force Survey and related household surveys, and employer (establishment/business) surveys. In this role, he has overseen innovative transformation of Labour Force Survey methods, analysis and communication. This role included managing the impacts of COVID-19 on Labour Force statistics. Over his 16 years in official statistics, Bjorn has held a broad range of survey and administrative statistics roles in the labour and population statistics programs. He is a highly regarded survey statistician and communicator, with deep connections to the labour statistics user community in Australia.

Bjorn Jarvis
Angella MacEwen

Angella MacEwen

Senior Economist, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Broadbent Institute

Angella MacEwen is a Senior Economist at the Canadian Union of Public Employees, a policy fellow with the Broadbent Institute and a member of the National Stakeholder Advisory Panel (NSAP) at the Labour Market Information Council (LMIC). Her primary focus is understanding precarity and inequality in the Canadian labour market and evaluating policy solutions proposed for these issues. She also studies the impacts of Canadian economic and social policy on workers, especially climate policy and international trade and investment treaties. Ms. MacEwen writes a quarterly publication, Economy at Work, which aims to communicate current economic issues to a broad audience. She holds an MA in Economics from Dalhousie University.

Angella MacEwen

Variant of NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 - Manufacturing and Logging - Background information

Status

This variant of the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada 2017 V2.0 was approved as a departmental standard on October 16, 2017. It replaces the NAPCS 2017 Version 1.0 Manufacturing and Logging variant.

The Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries (ASML) is a survey of the manufacturing and logging industries in Canada. It is intended to cover all establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing and logging activities as well as some sales offices and warehouses which support these establishments.

The details collected include principal industrial statistics (such as revenue, salaries and wages, cost of materials and supplies used, cost of energy and water utility, inventories, etc.), as well as information about the commodities produced and consumed. Data collected by the ASML industries help measure the production of Canada's industrial and primary resource sectors, as well as provide an indication of the well-being of each industry covered by the survey and its contribution to the Canadian and Provincial economy.

Within Statistics Canada, the data are used by the Canadian System of National Accounts, the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing and Prices programs. The data are also used by the business community, trade associations, federal and provincial departments, as well as international organizations and associations to profile the manufacturing and logging industries, undertake market studies, forecast demand and develop trade and tariff policies. The manufacturing variant was created to capture additional details on products that NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 1.0 would otherwise not have collected. By adding an extra (eighth) digit to the classification, additional detail can be collected. In NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0, some of those eight digit variant codes were brought up to the standard seven digit level. Those products include tobacco (see NAPCS Canada code 212112 - Cigars, chewing and smoking tobacco), chemicals (see codes 26321 - Petrochemicals, 27113 - Basic organic chemicals, n.e.c., 27211 - Ammonia and chemical fertilizers and 28111 - Plastic resins), cement (see code 46511 - Cement) and asphalt (see code 26211 - Asphalt (except natural) and asphalt products). The variant 8 digits codes left in Version 2.0 are for wood products, such as codes under NAPCS Canada 1451221 - Fuel products of waste wood, 157112 - Waste and scrap of wood, 24122 - Reconstituted wood products, 24124 - Other sawmill products, and treated wood products, and 462134 - Other wood millwork products.

Changes to the Variant of NAPCS Canada 2017 Version 2.0 - Manufacturing and Logging

The Variant of NAPCS Canada version 2.0 – Manufacturing and Logging has been updated this December 11 2020, to help the Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries (ASML) program with improving the measurement of the use and production of plastic in the manufacturing industries. The updated variant was renamed Variant of NAPCS Canada version 2.0 – Manufacturing and Logging Rev.1 (for Revision 1). There are four (4) variant codes that have been expanded to twelve (12) codes, along with title changes to five (5) other codes, as shown below:

The Variant of NAPCS Canada version 2.0 – Manufacturing and Logging has been updated this December 11 2020, to help the Annual Survey of Manufacturing and Logging Industries (ASML) program with improving the measurement of the use and production of plastic in the manufacturing industries. There are four variant codes that have been expanded to 12 codes, along with title changes to 5 other codes, as shown below:
Old ASML variant Code Old ASML variant English Title Updated ASML variant Code Updated ASML variant English Title GSIM Type of Change
28111110 Polyester resins 28111111 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins RC4.1 - Breakdown
28111110 Polyester resins 28111112 Other thermoplastic polyester resins RC4.1 - Breakdown
28111210 Polyethylene, low-density 28111210 Low-density polyethylene resins VC2 - Name change
28111220 Polyethylene, linear low-density 28111220 Linear low-density polyethylene resins VC2 - Name change
28111230 Polyethylene, high-density 28111230 High-density polyethylene resins VC2 - Name change
28111410 Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene 28111410 Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resins VC2 - Name change
28111420 Polyvinyl chloride 28111420 Polyvinyl chloride resins VC2 - Name change
28111430 All other thermoplastic resins 28111431 Polypropylene resins RC4.2 - Split off
28111430 All other thermoplastic resins 28111432 Thermoplastic polyurethane resins RC4.2 - Split off
28111430 All other thermoplastic resins 28111433 Polyamide (nylon) resins RC4.2 - Split off
28111430 All other thermoplastic resins 28111434 All other thermoplastic resins, n.e.c. RC4.2 - Split off
28111510 Phenol-formaldehyde resins 28111511 Phenolic resins RC4.1 - Breakdown
28111510 Phenol-formaldehyde resins 28111512 Urea formaldehyde resins RC4.1 - Breakdown
28111510 Phenol-formaldehyde resins 28111513 All other formaldehyde based resins RC4.1 - Breakdown
28111610 Other thermosetting resins 28111611 Unsaturated polyester (thermosetting) resins RC4.2 - Split off
28111610 Other thermosetting resins 28111612 Thermosetting  polyurethane resins RC4.2 - Split off
28111610 Other thermosetting resins 28111613 Other thermosetting resins, n.e.c. RC4.2 - Split off

Description of changes in the classification, including Codes, Titles, Classes, Subclasses and Detailed categories (Based on GSIM)

Hierarchical structure

The structure of the NAPCS Canada 2017 variant for Manufacturing and Logging is hierarchical. It is composed of five levels.

  • level 1: group (three- digit standard codes)
  • level 2: class (five-digit standard codes)
  • level 3: subclass (six-digit standard codes)
  • level 4: detail (seven-digit standard codes)
  • level 5: detail (eight-digit variant codes)
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Video - Introduction to Raster Data (Part 1): Processing and Visualizing Single-Band Rasters

Catalogue number: Catalogue number: 89200005

Issue number: 2020019

Release date: December 1, 2020

QGIS Demo 19

Introduction to Raster Data (Part 1): Processing and Visualizing Single-Band Rasters - Video transcript

(The Statistics Canada symbol and Canada wordmark appear on screen with the title: "Introduction to Raster Data (Part 1): Processing and Visualizing Single-Band Rasters")

So in today's tutorial we'll introduce using raster data in QGIS - specifically focussing on single-band rasters. These rasters depict changes in a single continuous variable, such as precipitation, slope or elevation. One of the most common single-band rasters are Digital Elevation Models or DEMs for short, which show changes in height above sea level. We'll cover some generic raster functions, such as Merge and Reproject; discuss the parameters for their visualization, and then in a follow up demo cover some DEM specific tools and the Raster Calculator. This will provide you with foundational skills for processing, combining and visualizing single-band rasters. Raster datasets epitomize the finer resolution and powerful analyses that are possible with publically available datasets, with resolutions of 15 to 30 metres being common.

As established, for a selection of files in the Browser Panel we can right-click and Add Selected Layers to load them simultaneously in to the Layers Panel. The boundaries between the DEMs are pronounced, resulting in their splotchy appearance. And this is because visualization is tailored to their specific value ranges, which vary significantly due to the mountainous terrain.

To address this we can merge the DEMs into one file, which will create a uniform value range for visualization. In the Processing Toolbox search and open the Merge tool under GDAL - Raster miscellaneous. Click Select All in the Multiple Selection box for the Input Layers. Since we want the full value range to be used in visualization leave the Grab pseudocolour from first layer parameter unchecked. The separate band parameter applies to composite rasters, such as satellite imagery. Since we are using single-band rasters we'll leave it unchecked. NoData values often relate to the cells at the edge of rasters, and may appear as a black perimeter. Here we'll leave the NoData values as default, as well as the compression parameters. So run with a temporary output file, since the merged file is around 1 gigabyte. And the process takes around 6 minutes to complete. If one tool fails there are often alternatives. For example, here we could use r.patch, a GRASS tool, to merge the rasters.

Once complete, the merged file appears like this. The visualization is a marked improvement, with the full value range being used in its rendering.

Now we'll use the Warp (reproject) tool to transform the projection and coordinate reference system. In general, it is best practice to avoid projecting rasters due to potential adverse effects on cell alignments or values but in this case we want to use a projected system for spatial analysis. There are a few additional parameters to specify within the tool. This includes the Source CRS, selecting NAD 83 (CSRS), a geographic coordinate system, from the drop-down. Then we can specify the Target coordinate reference system to transform to, opening the system selector and entering 26911 for NAD83 UTM Zone 11 N, which corresponds with the current location. Change the Resampling method to Bilinear, as Nearest Neighbour is better suited to thematic rasters. Once again we'll leave the NoData values unset, as we'll define them in our output raster. Leave the georeferenced units as-is to use the source layer's resolution. And we'll leave all other parameters with defaults and once again save to a temporary output file. And the tool takes roughly 12 minutes to complete.

As we can see, there were some effects on cell alignment and values, with the warped DEM containing slightly different value ranges. To address this open the Layer Properties box and within the Histogram tab, click Compute Values to assess the distribution of raster data values. Zooming in, based on the distribution, our minimum value is similar to the merged DEM, with 0 being a NoData Value. Clicking on the Hand icon we can interactively select the minimum value in the Histogram, or enter it manually – matching it to the minimum value in the merged DEM: 552. In the Transparency tab, we'll enter 0 as the NoData value to remove the black perimeter around the warped DEM. The min and max values could also be defined in the Symbology tab. So as we can see, the available Layer Properties Box tabs for rasters partly overlap with those of vector datasets. Clicking OK, removing the NoData value and adjusting the minimum has improved the visualization of the warped DEM.

To export a raster to a new dataset we can apply the same procedures applied to vectors. Right-click the raster, Export and click Save as to open the Save Raster Layer As box. We can select the file Format from the drop-down – with GeoTIFF being the most common, and we can optionally create a virtual raster or VRT file. This links the source datasets and applied processes, reducing processing times, file sizes as well as providing other processing advantages. For this format, a subfolder needs to be specified, which will also be the filename. Otherwise, provide an output filename and directory here entering PmBCDEM for projected merged British Columbia digital elevation model.

We can also specify the output cell-size, the source resolution being 15 m by 15 m or 225 square meters per pixel. Finer resolutions result in larger file sizes. So to reduce the total file-size, there is a trade-off, requiring a coarser resolution. Alternatively we can specify the number of rows and columns for the output raster, which will adjust the cell-size accordingly. Here we'll use the source resolution. There are also compression options and a parameter to build pyramids, which we'll cover momentarily with a separate tool. To remove any known NoData values or unrealistic values in the exported raster we could expand and check the NoData values box, click the Plus icon and enter the value range such as -9999 to -1. After clicking OK, the permanent file will be created and added to the Layers Panel.

You may have noticed the longer rendering times for the rasters. This is because the source resolution is being used regardless of the canvas scale. To improve it we can run the output through the Build Pyramids tool, which will create multiple coarser resolution versions of the input, which are then applied for rendering based on the canvas scale. We can then specify the Resampling method and whether the pyramids should be created internally within the DEM file or as an external .ovr file for GeoTiffs. As you can see, clicking Run, this significantly improves rendering times within the Canvas, as we zoom in and out and change the canvas location.

Now let's discuss raster visualization. Once again we'll repeat defining the NoData Value within our permanent raster – entering 0. The data distribution in the Histogram tab is the same as our temporary reprojected file. And finally in the Symbology tab we'll match the minimum value to the merged raster. Clicking apply, the visualization of the DEM now matches that of the temporary merged and reprojected DEMs.

The Symbology tab, as with vector datasets, is used for visualization. The Render type drop-down is equivalent to the Style drop-down, where we can apply different visualization schemes. For the single band rasters - Singleband gray - is the default, but we can also apply Singleband pseudocolour and, specifically for the DEMs, Hillshade. Paletted / Unique is used for thematic rasters and multi-band is used for composite imagery to assign bands to the visible spectrum for analysis and visualization.

There are various Contrast enhancement options in the drop-down. We'll leave it with the default - Stretch to Min/Max. Expanding the Min/Max Value Settings we can specify how the value ranges are applied in rendering. So switch to cumulative count cut. This enhanced the contrast and brightness between cells, using values between the 2nd and 98th percentile. So change the values to 0.5% and 99.5%. And this reduces the contrast, since we are using a larger range of the data – resulting in less values falling outside of the minimum and maximum values. Conversely using a smaller distribution of the total values, entering 5.0% and 95.0%, once again intensifies the contrast and brightness. We could also define the range in standard deviations. So changing it to 5 standard deviations, the contrast and brightness is noticeably reduced. Conversely, using 0.5 has the opposite effect, with more of the DEM values occurring outside of that range. Switch back to Cumulative Count Cut with default values and click Apply.

The Statistics Extent determines the raster values used based on the canvas. By default they apply to the Whole Raster, meaning zooming in or out produces no change in rendering. Alternatively we could switch to the Current extent to optimize visualization for a specific location and scale, or select Updated extent for a dynamic visualization. Now as we change the scale and location of the canvas, the values and visualization of the DEM is adjusted accordingly.

Finally, the Color Rendering drop-down of the symbology tab can be used to fine-tune the visualization. Now let's switch to a Pseudocolour style in the Render type drop-down. Apply the Red-Yellow-Green ramp from the expanded All Ramps side-bar. Reopen the colour ramp, and click Invert Colour Ramp. The particular Interpolation method can be specified as linear, discrete or exact, which varies according to the intended use. We'll leave the other settings as default, clicking Apply and OK. So this is another common visualization for DEMs, with red showing mountain peaks and greens visualizing valley bottoms. Ensure you have a permanent file of the DEM saved which we'll use in the Part II of this demo and then save the project file with a distinctive name.

(The words: "For comments or questions about this video, GIS tools or other Statistics Canada products or services, please contact us: statcan.sisagrequestssrsrequetesag.statcan@canada.ca" appear on screen.)

(Canada wordmark appears.)

Requests for information – Travel and tourism

Under the authority of the Statistics Act, Statistics Canada is hereby requesting the following information, which will be used solely for statistical and research purposes and will be protected in accordance with the provisions of the Statistics Act and any other applicable law. This is a mandatory request for data.

Domestic travel

VIA Rail Ticketing Database

What information is being requested?

Statistics Canada is requesting information about tickets sold by VIA Rail including date of travel, train number, origin and destination, fare class, type of ticket, total cost, and an indicator of whether the ticket was refunded.

What personal information is included in this request?

This request does not contain any personal information.

What years of data will be requested?

Monthly data from January 2018 onwards.

From whom will the information be requested?

This information is being requested from Transport Canada.

Why is this information being requested?

Statistics Canada requires this information to benchmark the number of train trips and spending on train travel within Canada. This will improve the estimates of the National Travel Survey (NTS) and the Visitor Travel Survey (VTS).

The information may also be used to replace questions on train fare spending, thereby reducing the burden on survey respondents.

The estimates from the NTS and the VTS are essential for measuring tourism’s impact and are critical for policy makers, researchers, and industry stakeholders to help support Canada's tourism sector and to better serve visitors during their stay in Canada.

Statistics Canada may also use the information for other statistical and research purposes.

Why were these organizations selected as data providers?

Transport Canada is the department who receives and possesses this data under federal regulations and are responsible for the development and maintenance of the VIA Rail Ticketing Database.

When will this information be requested?

September 2024

What Statistics Canada programs will primarily use these data?

National Travel Survey

Visitor Travel Survey

When was this request published?

August 8, 2024

International travel

Electronic customs declaration data

What information is being requested?

Statistics Canada is requesting contact information (email addresses) from travellers using Canada Border Services Agency's electronic customs declaration mobile application, as well as the following information from their declarations made in the application: first name(s), surname(s) and initial(s) of traveller(s), language(s) spoken by traveller(s), mode of transportation, port of entry, flight number, date of arrival, purpose of trip, date(s) of birth, country(ies) of issue for documents, document type(s) and document number(s).

Only data for non-resident visitors to Canada will be retained.

What personal information is included in this request?

This request contains personal information such as travellers' names, dates of birth, email addresses and travel document information for visitors to Canada. Personal identifiers are required to reliably identify and contact potential survey respondents for the Visitor Travel Survey. The personal identifiers are removed once survey responses are received and all published data files or tables are either anonymized or aggregated.

What years of data will be requested?

  • Annual data starting in January 2020.
  • Daily data beginning with January 2024 (ongoing).

From whom will the information be requested?

The information is being requested from Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Why is this information being requested?

This information is required to obtain travellers' contact and customs declaration information so that the redesigned Visitor Travel Survey can build a reliable list of international visitors to Canada from which to select a sample. Without this information, it is virtually impossible to reliably contact international visitors to complete the survey, except those travelling by commercial air.

The estimates from the Visitor Travel Survey are essential for measuring tourism's impact and are critical for policy makers, researchers, and industry stakeholders to help support Canada's tourism sector and to better serve visitors during their stay in Canada. Individual Canadians benefit from the survey because a thriving tourism industry, driven by smart decisions from reliable data, leads to jobs and investment in local communities and infrastructure.

Statistics Canada may also use the information for other statistical and research purposes.

Why were these organizations selected as data providers?

Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for the development and maintenance of the electronic customs declaration mobile applications, so they are the owners of this data once collected from travellers.

When will this information be requested?

January 2024 and onward (daily).

What Statistics Canada programs will primarily use these data?

Visitor Travel Survey

When was this request published?

October 3, 2023

Travel and traveller characteristics

Aggregate anonymized mobile phone movement data

What information is being requested?

Anonymized and aggregate information on Canadians travelling in Canada and Americans travelling to Canada is being requested. Information will include number of visitors, number of trips, number of nights, nights per visitor, and nights per trip at the geography level of FSA (forward sortation area: the three first characters of the postal code).

What personal information is included in this request?

This request does not include personal information.

What years of data will be requested?

Monthly data beginning with January 2018 (ongoing).

From whom will the information be requested?

This information is being requested from Environics Analytics Group

Why is this information being requested?

Statistics Canada requires this information to produce and publish statistics on domestic travel within Canada by both Canadians and Americans. This will help fill important data gaps and provide travel information that would normally be collected from travel surveys, ultimately eliminating response burden. Data can be used by policy makers, researchers, and industry stakeholders to help support Canada's tourism sector which employs Canadians directly and indirectly in the transportation, restaurant and food services, accommodation and cultural as well as recreational industries. High quality detailed tourism data benefits the Canadian economy and, in turn, all Canadians.

Statistics Canada may also use the information for other statistical and research purposes.

Why were these organizations selected as data providers?

Environics Analytics Group (EAG) provides a range of large-sample-size surveys, administrative data, mobile movement data and detailed current estimates of the population. The data span both Canada and the US and are maintained and updated regularly. EAG takes research data, and administrative data and uses statistical and geographic techniques to express the data for small geographies for all of Canada providing datasets that are needed to produce timely and quality detailed tourism data.

When will this information be requested?

December 2020 and onward (monthly).

When was this request published?

December 8, 2020

Video - Introduction to Raster Data (Part 2): Digital Elevation Models (DEM) Tools and the Raster Calculator

Catalogue number: Catalogue number: 89200005

Issue number: 2020020

Release date: December 1, 2020

QGIS Demo 20

Introduction to Raster Data (Part 2): Digital Elevation Models (DEM) Tools and the Raster Calculator - Video transcript

(The Statistics Canada symbol and Canada wordmark appear on screen with the title: "Introduction to Raster Data (Part 2): Digital Elevation Models (DEM) Tools and the Raster Calculator")

So welcome back everyone. For Part 2 of Intro to Raster Data we'll explore some DEM specific tools, particularly the Slope, Hillshade and Aspect tools. For each of these, there are multiple alternatives available in the Processing Toolbox, each with slightly different parameters and applications. Then we'll move on to the raster calculator, first using it to select cells by criteria of interest, and then to combine raster variables for further analysis. Broadly, DEMs and related datasets can be used to extract 3D information and conduct a wide-variety of analyses and visualizations. This is because elevation and its related characteristics significantly influence both biophysical and socio-economic processes. Just a few examples include daylight hours, growing season lengths, soil erosion potential, visibility and optimal routes for transportation or movement across a landscape.

So with the pseudocolour DEM loaded and duplicated in the Layers Panel, the first tool we'll explore is the Slope tool. As alluded to, there are many options. We'll use the GDAL Slope tool. The ratio of vertical to horizontal units is 1 to 1, since we transformed the merged DEM to a projected coordinate system, with units in metres in the previous demo. Otherwise we'd have to calculate and enter the appropriate ratio of 1 metre to 1 degree. Optionally, we can calculate slope as a percentage instead of degrees, which would be suitable for flatter locations. However, with rise over run slope at 45° is 100%, and as it approaches 90 degrees approaches infinity. And therefore we'll leave it unchecked to avoid astronomically large and unintuitive values in the output, given the mountainous terrain. We will check Compute Edges to avoid potential adverse edge effects and then run with a temporary file. So I've used the Build Pyramids tool on most rasters in this demo to improve rendering times, which you can do as well.

So as we can see Slope varied between 0 to 80 degrees. And unsurprisingly there are many more changes in slope in the mountainous southwest area of the DEM compared to the flatter region in the northeast. Slope is a key parameter in many analyses, such as determining the optimal route across a landscape or examining risk potential for mass movements like land-slides or avalanches.

The next tool that we'll examine is the Hillshade tool, once again using the GDAL version. If we were in a flatter location, such as the Prairies, we could apply a vertical exaggeration factor such as 5 or 10. And this effectively acts as a multiplier to enhance the visualization of elevation changes. For our area the default of 1, meaning no exaggeration, is appropriate. Leaving the next three parameters as default, we can check Compute Edges and run the tool once with Combined Shading and then again with Multidirectional Shading checked.

But as noted in the previous demo, we can also apply Hillshade as a visualization style to our DEM in the Rendering drop-down of the Symbology tab. And this is the traditional single-light source hillshade. So let's click Apply – and then I'll adjust the canvas scale to better see the visualization.

So the azimuth defines the horizontal direction of sunlight, from north, south, east or west, in degrees. So the default of 315, means that lighting is coming from the northwest, with shading occurring on the southeast facing slopes. We can alter the values in the box and click Apply. So lighting from the East adjusts shaded areas to the western facing slopes. Alternatively, we can also spin the Azimuth wheel. With lighting from the south, logically, the shade occurs on the north facing slopes. I've included links to the guides for determining realistic azimuth and angle values for a given location and at a time of interest in the video description. So the Altitude parameter adjusts the vertical angle of the sun in the sky. Altering the value to 25, shadow lengths shrink, because as it approaches 0° lighting is occurring from directly overhead. Then changing to a value of 75, the length of shadows increases substantially. As the angle approaches 90° lighting is occurring from the horizon, like with sunrise or sunsets. Now we'll switch back to the default settings by clicking on the tabs, and click OK.

Now let's take a look at the multi-directional and combined hillshades. So as we can see the multidirectional hillshade is relatively similar to the traditional hillshade, with just a few additional lighting sources incorporated in the output. Conversely, the combined hillshade is notably different from the others, since lighting is occurring from all directions. In the Transparency tab set the global opacity to 50%. Now let's toggle on the duplicated DEM and drape the hillshade over it. This is another standard visualization of DEMs. It provides a pseudo-3D visualization, with the texture of the mountainous terrain draped over the pseudocolour visualization of elevational changes. And we could use any of the output hillshades for this purpose. To create an actual 3D visualization of the overlaid rasters, expand the View drop-down and select New 3D Map View. Click the Configure icon and specify the DEM raster in the drop-down. Clicking OK, back in the 3D Map View window we can hold the Ctrl key and left-click to change the tilt of the 3D view. Then we can use the scroll-bar on the mouse to zoom in or out.

Hillshades also have multiple analytical applications, since they are another key factor influencing properties such as melt periods, growing conditions and vegetation distribution. And this influence also extends to our next tool, the Aspect tool.

The Aspect tool creates a raster showing the direction of hillslopes expressed in degrees. Once again we'll use the GDAL tool. Check return 0 instead of -9999 for flat areas and Compute Edges, selecting the DEM as the input, and then run with a temporary output file. The output then appears as such. For a more intuitive visualization switch the Render type to Singleband Pseudocolour with a Spectral colour ramp and click Apply. This should distinctively colour the four cardinal directions, and we can substitute values in the Label column for their text equivalents: entering E for east for 90 degrees, S for 180 degrees, W for 270 and N for 360, as well as flat areas for 0. If we change the mode to Equal Interval and then the classes to 9 we can also add inter-cardinal directions and relabel as needed. So 45 would be northeast, 135 would be southeast, and so on.

So now we'll move on to the Raster Calculator. It is akin to the Select by Expression, Field Calculator and Intersection tools for vector data combined. It is a versatile tool that can be used to query, reclassify and combine raster files. We'll explore some of these applications with a simple scenario. So say we want to isolate the locations for a new farm with some known environmental constraints corresponding to our existing rasters. We can use the Raster Calculator to isolate those areas. So let's begin by selecting cells by criteria of interest. We'll use the Slope raster, specifying cells with a slope less than or equal to 10 degrees.

"Slope@1" <= 10

And here, the @1 symbol refers to the band number, relevant for composite rasters. So for single-band and thematic rasters there is only one band, meaning all of them will be followed by @1. The only other required parameter is a reference layer, here using the Slope raster. Then we can run the tool with a temporary output.

When it completes, the output appears like this. So open the Layer Properties box and change the render type to Paletted - clicking Classify. As we can see– the values are 0 or 1, indicating False and True for the specified criteria. So re-enabling the duplicate DEM, unsurprisingly the zero values mostly occur in the mountainous area, while ones correspond to select valley bottoms and flatter areas in the northeast.

So reopen the calculator. To retain the input values that match our criteria of interest we must multiply our original query by the input raster. This is because cells that match the criteria will be multiplied 1 by the original value, which equals the original value. Conversely those that do not meet the criteria will be 0 multiplied by the original values, which will always be 0 – retaining only the cells that match that particular criteria. Once again provide the reference layer and then run.

("Slope@1" <= 10)* "Slope@1"

Now we could repeat with a slightly more complex example, using the Aspect raster to isolate east, south and west facing slopes. Start with a double-open bracket, then enter aspect greater than or equal to 90 AND less than or equal to 270 degrees – which will exclude our north facing slopes. However, if we also wanted to include flat areas we could add OR equal to 0 as a separate component using our Expression syntax. Then close the brackets and multiply by the Aspect raster to retain their specific values. Copy this expression for reuse in the next example. If any issues were encountered using the Raster Calculator, the r.reclass tool could be used to retain and reformat values of interest within a raster – and we'll cover this tool in an upcoming demo.

(The words: "(("Aspect@1" >= 90 AND "Aspect@1" <= 270) OR ("Aspect@1" = 0))* "Aspect@1"" appear on screen.)

Now let's use the Raster Calculator to combine variables of interest. Here we'll combine the previous queries to create a weighted raster in assessing the suitability of locations for a new farm according to the specific conditions of interest. So start with adding open brackets and slope less than or equal to 10 degrees.

Close the bracket and then multiply the expression by 0.75 to assign the weighting value and close the bracket.

(The words: "(("Slope@1" <= 10 )*0.75)" appear on screen.)

Provided the weighting values add up to 1, we can combine as many raster layers as are relevant to the analysis. Here we're assigning a greater weight to slope conditions. Now add plus, open bracket and paste in the Aspect query from the previous example. Multiply the query by 0.25 and close the bracket.

(The words: " + ((("Aspect@1" >= 90 AND "Aspect@1" <= 270) OR ("Aspect@1" = 0))*0.25)" appear on screen.)

Now we can run the tool and create our weighted raster of the slope and aspect variables.

The values of the output are between 0 and 1, but unlike the binary true-false raster we initially created, this raster contains a gradient or range of values. Switch the Render type to pseudocolour and apply a Greens colour ramp. So values closer to 0 are less suitable according to the specific conditions, while areas closer to 1 are more suitable. As we established, the most suitable locations correspond with the flatter northeast region, while the mountainous areas are largely unsuitable. We could incorporate other rasters for a more realistic assessment, such as masking out any lakes, rivers or existing for farmland, or incorporating soils layers, in isolating suitable sites for a new farm.

We can then also use the Contour Tool (GDAL) in the Processing Toolbox to create isolines from the raster datasets. Isolines delineate areas of equal value, with contours specifically referring to elevation. Using the DEM as an input, we can switch the Attribute Name to Z - a common abbreviation. And change the Interval to 250 or 500 to reduce processing time and the file size. We could Check 3D vector to enable 3D visualizations of our output. Finally we'll enter a NoData value of -9999 – and run the tool. Although applied to the DEM here, it could be applied to any single-band raster, including slope, aspect or as another example using agricultural soil samples we could create a raster and contours showing areas of equal fertilizer, pesticide or nutrient application. We'll use this tool again in an upcoming demo.

We can overlay the output contours over the DEM and adjust visualization, such as adding labels as required.

And to conclude I'd just like to highlight some additional analysis that can be done with the available tools to demonstrate the finer resolution analyses that can be performed using raster datasets. So the first is a cost direction and cumulative cost raster, generated using the DEM, Slope and Annual Crop Inventory rasters for the region, with defined Start and End Points. The Slope and Annual Crop Inventories were reclassified and combined to create a Friction raster, dictating the costs associated with travelling between cells. So Urban, Agricultural and Forest classes and areas of lower slope values assigned smaller costs than other covering other land-cover classes and higher slope areas. Switching to the Cumulative Cost raster, once again we can see that the costs of traversing the mountainous area were much greater than the foothills and plains to the northeast.

The second example is a Viewshed from one of the mountain tops, showing the areas that were visible from a selected point. Viewsheds are used in landscape planning and architectural applications to ensure viewlines are retained and safety requirements are adhered to. So the tutorial and additional examples demonstrate how we can derive diverse analytical products from just a few simple layers – ranging from routing optimization to planning applications to environmental analysis.

(The words: "For comments or questions about this video, GIS tools or other Statistics Canada products or services, please contact us: statcan.sisagrequestssrsrequetesag.statcan@canada.ca" appear on screen.)

(Canada wordmark appears.)

Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales (September 2020)

Retail Commodity Survey: CVs for Total Sales (September 2020)
NAPCS-CANADA Month
202006 202007 202008 202009
Total commodities, retail trade commissions and miscellaneous services 0.64 0.69 0.69 0.59
Retail Services (except commissions) [561] 0.64 0.69 0.68 0.58
Food at retail [56111] 0.64 0.61 0.81 0.61
Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, at retail [56112] 0.55 0.52 0.52 0.52
Cannabis products, at retail [56113] 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Clothing at retail [56121] 1.15 1.04 1.07 0.87
Footwear at retail [56122] 2.26 2.05 2.17 1.70
Jewellery and watches, luggage and briefcases, at retail [56123] 9.57 10.12 9.08 10.81
Home furniture, furnishings, housewares, appliances and electronics, at retail [56131] 0.71 0.71 0.73 0.68
Sporting and leisure products (except publications, audio and video recordings, and game software), at retail [56141] 2.04 2.66 3.00 3.45
Publications at retail [56142] 8.08 7.42 8.50 8.62
Audio and video recordings, and game software, at retail [56143] 3.19 6.29 7.86 5.56
Motor vehicles at retail [56151] 2.20 2.64 2.58 1.96
Recreational vehicles at retail [56152] 5.71 3.50 3.79 4.00
Motor vehicle parts, accessories and supplies, at retail [56153] 1.58 1.91 1.67 1.52
Automotive and household fuels, at retail [56161] 3.40 2.65 2.13 2.10
Home health products at retail [56171] 2.56 2.77 2.26 2.62
Infant care, personal and beauty products, at retail [56172] 3.47 3.72 2.70 2.31
Hardware, tools, renovation and lawn and garden products, at retail [56181] 2.11 1.59 1.22 1.36
Miscellaneous products at retail [56191] 3.12 2.57 2.37 2.46
Total retail trade commissions and miscellaneous servicesFootnotes 1 1.66 1.62 1.65 1.65

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Comprises the following North American Product Classification System (NAPCS): 51411, 51412, 53112, 56211, 57111, 58111, 58121, 58122, 58131, 58141, 72332, 833111, 841, 85131 and 851511.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

CVs for operating revenue - Amusement and recreation - 2019

CVs for operating revenue - Amusement and recreation - 2019
Table summary
This table displays the results of CVs for operating revenue - Amusement and recreation - 2019. The information is grouped by Geography (appearing as row headers), CVs for operating revenue by Amusement parks and arcades and Other amusement and recreation industries, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Geography CVs for operating revenue
percent
Amusement parks and arcades Other amusement and recreation industries
Canada 1.80 0.41
Newfoundland and Labrador 0.00 2.23
Prince Edward Island 0.00 1.30
Nova Scotia 0.00 2.28
New Brunswick 0.00 1.58
Quebec 2.85 0.75
Ontario 3.10 0.50
Manitoba 0.00 0.90
Saskatchewan 0.00 1.66
Alberta 2.82 2.17
British Columbia 4.45 0.65
Yukon .. 0.00
Northwest Territories 0.00 0.00
Nunavut .. 0.00

Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS) Guide, 2019

Concepts used by the Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS)

Designated trades

Apprenticeship training and trade qualifications in Canada are governed by the provincial and territorial jurisdictions. These jurisdictions determine the trades, for which, apprenticeship training is made available as well as the trades, for which, certificates are granted. These are referred to as designated trades. The jurisdictions also determine which of the designated trades require certification in order to work unsupervised in the trade. The list of designated trades varies considerably between the jurisdictions. Data from the Registered Apprenticeship Information System (RAIS) include those trades that are designated in at least one province or territory.

Registered apprentices are people who are in a supervised work training program in a designated trade within their provincial or territorial jurisdiction. The apprentice must be registered with the appropriate governing body (usually a Ministry of Education or Labour or a trade specific industry's governing body) in order to complete the training.

Trade Qualifiers or Trade Challengers are people who have worked in a specific trade for an extended period of time, without necessarily having ever been an apprentice, and who have received certification from a jurisdiction, usually done via a skills assessment examination in the trade.

Registrations

The total registrations in apprenticeship programs is the count of any registrations that occurred during the reporting period (from January to December of the calendar year) within one of the 13 jurisdictions (province or territories).

Total registrations = Already registered + New registrations + Reinstatements

  • Already registered - the number of registrations carried forward from the previous calendar year
  • New registrations - new entrants to any apprenticeship program that occurred during the 12 months reporting period
  • Reinstatements - registrations by people who had left an apprenticeship program in a specific trade in a previous year and had returned to the same apprenticeship program during the reporting period

Red Seal and non-Red Seal Programs

The Red Seal Program sets common standards assessing the skills of tradespersons across Canada in specific trades, referred to as the "Red Seal" trades. Tradespersons who meet the Red Seal standards, through examination, receive a Red Seal endorsement on their provincial/territorial trade certificates. The Red Seal endorsement provides recognition that your certificate meets an interprovincial standard that is recognized in each province and territory.

Non-Red Seal trades do not have interprovincial standards. Many of these trades do not have an examination requirement in order to work in the trade.

Certification

The requirements for granting a certificate varies by jurisdiction in Canada. In most instances, an apprentice is issued a certificate if he or she completes requirements such as supervised on-the-job training, technical training, as well as passing one or more examinations. Most trade qualifiers (Challengers), meanwhile, become certified once they pass an examination.

Certification terminology

There are jurisdictional differences in the names of certificates awarded.

They may include:

  • Certificate of Apprenticeship
  • Diploma of Qualification
  • Certificate of Qualification
  • Journeyperson's Certificate
  • Certificat d'aptitude
  • Certificat de compagnon
  • Certificat de compétence
  • Diplôme d'apprentissage

Federal, provincial and territorial changes pertinent to the interpretation of RAIS data

1. Revisions have been made to the Quebec 1991 to 2005 data, which also changed the previous Canada totals.

2. Prior to 1999, Nunavut was part of the Northwest Territories.

3. Starting in 2003, a change occurred in the reporting of Newfoundland and Labrador's information concerning newly registered apprentices and cancellations/suspensions.

4. The British Columbia data have been revised in 2005. This changed the previous Canada totals for 2005.

5. Starting with the 2005 reporting year, Prince Edward Island changed their information system and this may have affected historical comparisons. At the end of 2006, Prince Edward Island made some adjustments and revisions to their database which accounted for the change in the carry-over of registered apprentices for the beginning of 2007. In 2007, an increase in new registrations is, to some extent, related to a demand for skilled workers outside of the province. In 2008, due to technical difficulties during the redesign of their Registered Apprenticeship Information System, Prince Edward Island was not able to report a number of apprentices.

6. In 2006, minor trade code revisions were made to Manitoba.

7. In 2006 and 2007, differences may occur in Ontario related to the carry-over totals of active apprentices between both years. This is a result of the conversion of client data into Ontario's new database system. As a result, a clean-up of inactive clients occurred and this adjusted the active total of registered apprentices and their carry-over into 2007.

8. As of 2008, the portion of total Quebec trade information coming from Emploi-Quebec (EQ) is no longer being provided in aggregated form. The data from the province includes all trades with the exception of the automotive sector.

9. In 2008, Alberta incorrectly included the Industrial warehousing trade with the Partsperson and Partsperson (material) trades and also excluded the Construction Craft Worker trade.

10. In 2008, a distinct feature of the Rig Technician trade is that although individuals may be registered as apprentices in the trade in Ontario, their certificates are granted as trade qualifiers (challengers).

11. In 2008, Alberta reported a large number of discontinued apprentices, which was a result of them implementing a series of cancellations and suspensions of inactive apprentices.

12. In 2008 and 2009, new Quebec legislation affecting the Emploi-Quebec (EQ) sector trade was introduced. This resulted in some changes in the reporting of registered apprenticeship registrations.

13. An adjustment has been made to the Joiner trade in British Columbia, to include the trade in the Interior finishing major trade group, rather than in the previous Carpenter's major trade group.

14. In 2010, the Emploi-Quebec (EQ) data included revised trade programs where some of the trades have been segmented into several levels. This segmentation created possible multiple registrations and completions by a single individual apprentice, where previously only one registration and completion existed for this individual.

15. In 2011, the Electronics technician (Consumer Products) trade was no longer designated as a Red Seal trade.

16. In 2012, the Gasfitter - Class A and Gasfitter - Class B trades were designated as Red Seal trades.

17. In 2013, changes in provincial regulations governing drinking water related trades reported by Emploi-Quebec (EQ), have resulted in program changes, as well as the transferring of responsibility of some of these trades to the Conseil de la Construction du Québec (CCQ).

18. Begining in 2013, Ontario's data is received from two organizations. The registration data continues to be reported by the Ministry of Advanced Education Skills Development (MASED). They are also responsible for issuing Certificates of Apprenticeships upon the completion of technical training and on-the-job hours. The Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) is responsible for reporting data on Certificates of Qualifications, which are issued to apprentices upon the completion of a certification exam. This administrative practice has affected the RAIS data in a number of different ways.

  1. On April 8, 2013, MASED awarded a Certificate of Apprenticeship to approximately 6,000 apprentices who had completed their technical training and on-the-job hours, and had not yet received a Certificate of Qualification.
  2. There are discrepancies in the number of apprentices in Ontario due to differences in how MASED and OCOT define an apprentice. OCOT considers apprentices to be their members, for whom they have received membership applications with payment of annual membership fees. MASED considers apprentices to be individuals for whom they have received signed training agreements. In the MASED registration data, apprentices can have active and inactive statuses, which can also contribute to discrepancies. Inactive apprentices are apprentices with whom MASED have not received information about their progression in their apprenticeship program for more than a certain period of time. Active and inactive apprentices are included in the RAIS data. As such, the RAIS data may include previously registered apprentices, who have since discontinued their apprenticeship program, but have not yet informed MASED that they have discontinued their program.
  3. Beginning in 2013, apprentices who discontinued from apprenticeship programs in the past, but who remained on the database as already registered apprentices began to be removed from MASED records. These removals appear in the RAIS data files in the following years. The clean-up occurred during odd years (2013, 2015, and 2017). After discussion with the Ontario data partners in 2019, it was indicated that the last of these batch discontinuations were completed in 2017. As a result, there will be less of a spike in discontinuations, and more of a normalized trend from here starting in 2018 and onwards. Normal discontinuation figures for the province will be about 5,000 to 7,000 per year.
  4. In 2014 and 2015, apprentices who did not receive their Certificate of Qualification or Certificate of Apprenticeship in the same year were classified as trade qualifiers (Challengers) rather than apprentices. To align the RAIS data with the standard definition of trade qualifier (Challengers), these records were reclassified as apprentices with the release of the 2016 RAIS data. This revision led to a decrease of about 2,600 trade qualifiers (Challengers) in Ontario in both 2014 and 2015 compared to the previously released data.

19. In 2013, a regulatory change came into effect which affects both Ornamental ironworkers and Structural steel erectors under the jurisdiction of the Conseil de la Construction du Québec (CCQ). Workers in these two trades are now considered Ironworkers. Both the 2014 and 2015 reference years were also impacted by these regulatory changes.

20. In 2013, changes were made to the Automotive Service Technician trades in British Columbia. Apprentices no longer have to complete mandatory work-based training hours at each program level before progressing to the next level of technical training. The 2014 reference year was also impacted by these changes.

21. Certificates in the Steamfitter/Pipefitter trade under the Conseil de la Construction du Québec (CCQ), also include Plumbers.

22. Starting in 2013, Building/Construction Metalworker are coded to Metal Workers (other) instead of being included in the 'Other' category.

23. In 2014, the Heavy Equipment Operator (Dozer), Heavy Equipment Operator (Excavator) and Heavy Equipment Operator (Tractor-Loader-Backhoe) trades were designated as Red Seal trades.

24. Trade qualifiers (Challengers) in trades governed by Emploi-Quebec (EQ) represents certificates granted to individuals who received recognition for previously completed training. Emploi-Quebec (EQ) may, for example, recognize training in the case where an individual has a certificate in other provinces, territories, countries, or if the individual received a Diploma of Vocational Studies (DVS) in Quebec. These trade qualifiers (Challengers) also represent certificates granted as part of the regular re-certification process required in certain trades.

25. In March of 2014, there were changes made to the eligibility for the Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit (ATTC) in Ontario. This may have affected registration counts in some trades including those for information technology.

26. Prior to 2014, three welder programs (level A, level B, and level C) were offered in British Columbia. Starting in 2014, these three programs began to be phased out and replaced by a single apprenticeship program for welders. This change will impact registrations and certifications in this trade for the years following 2014.

27. Starting in 2017, changes are being made to the Automotive Service Technician program in British Columbia. The program is being restructured to align with other Canadian jurisdictions Automotive Service Technician Red Seal programs. These changes impacted reinstatement totals for 2017 and will potentially influence registrations counts for years following 2017.

28. In July 2018, Manitoba announced that it will perform a data clean-up every two years, starting with the 2019 reporting year. This clean-up resulted in lower numbers for both registrations and certifications for the 2019 reporting year.

29. In 2013, the structural steel erector trade and locksmith trade merged to become the ironworker worker trade. Transitional measures were put in place for journeypersons in these trades, which ended in July 2018.

30. British Columbia has some broad categories of trades where it is possible to receive a certificate after each level is completed, while other jurisdictions only certify apprentices after completing the final level.

  1. In 2019, the Industry Training Authority (ITA) made a decision to group some of their trades under one general trade. For example, Automotive Service Technician 1, Automotive Service Technician 2, and Automotive Service Technician 3 were combined into Automotive Service Technician.
  2. All the trades under Welder were not consolidated, but a general version of the Welder trade was created in 2019.
  3. Also, some apprenticeships were deactivated for certain trades and replaced by Challenge Pathway only, which is for trade qualifiers. Rig Technician, Petroleum Equipment Service Technician, and Water Well Driller are examples of these trades.

31. Starting December 1st, 2019, British Columbia will no longer offer technical training for the Rig Technician apprenticeship program. The apprentices continuing in this trade were taking their technical training in Alberta; however, Alberta no longer offers technical training for this trade and is in the process of de-designating this apprenticeship. Individuals can still receive a designation in trade by challenging the exam in British Columbia.

Canadian Economic News, November 2020 edition

This module provides a concise summary of selected Canadian economic events, as well as international and financial market developments by calendar month. It is intended to provide contextual information only to support users of the economic data published by Statistics Canada. In identifying major events or developments, Statistics Canada is not suggesting that these have a material impact on the published economic data in a particular reference month.

All information presented here is obtained from publicly available news and information sources, and does not reflect any protected information provided to Statistics Canada by survey respondents.

COVID-19 timeline

  • The Government of Nova Scotia announced on October 30th that it was renewing the state of emergency, effective November 1st to November 15th. On November 13th, the Government extended the state of emergency until November 29th. On November 27th, the Government extended the state of emergency until December 13th.
  • The Government of Manitoba announced on November 6th that it would extend the province-wide state of emergency for a period of 30 days.
  • The Government of New Brunswick announced on November 6th that the state of emergency mandatory order was revised under the authority of the Emergency Measures Act. On November 13th, the Government announced the state of emergency mandatory order had been renewed. On November 26th, the state of emergency was further renewed.
  • The Government of British Columbia announced on November 10th that it had formally extended the provincial state of emergency until November 24th. The Government announced on November 24th that it was extending the provincial state of emergency until December 8th.
  • The Government of the Northwest Territories announced on November 10th that it had extended the territory-wide Public Health Emergency through November 24th. On November 19th, the Government extended the State of Emergency in the City of Yellowknife through December 4th.
  • The Government of Nunavut announced on November 12th that it had extended the territory's public health emergency until November 26th. On November 26th, the Government of Nunavut extended the territory's public health emergency until December 10th.
  • The Government of Canada announced on November 19th that it was extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until December 21, 2020. On November 29th, the Government of Canada announced it would extend the Mandatory Isolation Order and temporary travel restrictions for all travelers seeking entry into Canada from a country other than the United States, until January 21, 2021.
  • The Government of Alberta on November 24th declared a state of public health emergency.

Selected COVID-19 responses

  • The Government of Manitoba announced that, effective November 2nd, the Winnipeg Metro Region would move to the critical level (red) on the province's pandemic response system. This included the following changes:
    • Bars and restaurants will be closed except for take-out and delivery;
    • Most retail will be reduced to 25% capacity;
    • Sports and recreation programming will be suspended;
    • Gyms and fitness centres will have reduced capacity to 25%;
    • Movie theatres and concert halls will close;
    • Faith-based gatherings are reduced to 15% or 100 people, whichever is lower.

    On November 10th, the Government announced that the province of Manitoba would move to the critical level (red) to halt COVID-19 transmission. On November 19th, the Government announced updated health orders, including further restrictions on gatherings at private residences, prohibitions from assembling in a gathering of more than five people at any indoor or outdoor public place, and restrictions on retail businesses to sell only essential items in person and ensure compliance with capacity limits of 25%.
  • The Government of Alberta on November 12th announced new targeted measures to help protect the health system and limit the spread of COVID-19. The new public health measures included:
    • All restaurants, bars, lounges and pubs in regions under enhanced status must cease liquor sales by 10 p.m. and close by 11 p.m. for a two-week period from November 13th to 27th;
    • A two-week ban on group fitness classes, team sport activities and group performance activities in Edmonton and surrounding areas, Calgary and surrounding areas, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Red Deer;
    • Additional public health measures including maximum attendance of 50 at wedding or funeral services, recommendations against social gatherings in private homes, and recommendations that employers in office settings reduce the number of employees in the workplace at one time.
  • The Government of Canada announced on November 13th that it will invest an additional $1.5 billion in the Workforce Development Agreements to ensure quick access to training to help support workers in sectors hardest hit by COVID-19.
  • The Government of Saskatchewan announced new public health measures effective November 16th, including mandatory masking in indoor public places in all communities with populations of 5,000 people or greater, and the requirement that all restaurants and licensed establishments stop serving alcohol by 10 p.m. and that consumption end by 11 p.m. The Government later announced new measures effective November 19th, including the requirement to wear a non-medical mask in all indoor public spaces in the province, along with a decrease in indoor private gathering sizes from ten to five, including in the home.
  • The Government of Nunavut on November 16th announced that beginning November 18th, Nunavut would enter a mandatory, territory-wide restriction period for two weeks in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Government said that:
    • All non-essential services, businesses and organizations will be required to close and wherever possible, switch to work from home;
    • Masks are strongly recommended in public spaces, and when physical distancing cannot be maintained.

    The Government also said it would re-evaluate the effectiveness of these measures on December 2nd.
  • The Government of Ontario on November 20th announced it had extended all orders currently in force under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (ROA) until December 21, 2020. The Government also said that the province was moving certain public health unit regions to new levels in the COVID-19 Response Framework: Keeping Ontario Safe and Open, which included moving Toronto and Peel into Lockdown effective November 23rd. The Government said that measures under Lockdown include:
    • No indoor organized public events or social gatherings except with members of the same household;
    • Outdoor organized public events or social gatherings limited to a maximum of 10 people;
    • Retail permitted to be open for curbside pick-up or delivery only, with certain exceptions such as for supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, discount and big box retailers selling groceries, beer, wine and liquor stores, safety supply stores, and convenience stores, which will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity;
    • Restaurants, bars, and food and drink establishments will only be able to provide takeout, drive-through and delivery;
    • Personal care services closed;
    • Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments closed;
    • Indoor sports and recreational facilities, including pools, closed with limited exceptions.
  • The Government of Nova Scotia on November 20th announced new restrictions on gathering limits and social circles in urban and many suburban areas of Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and Hants County, including:
    • Five people can gather in a close social group without physical distancing, down from 10;
    • Onsite gatherings at long-term care facilities can have a maximum of five people (including residents and staff), down from 10;
    • 25 people, down from 50, can gather with physical distancing for informal indoor and outdoor social events;
    • Indoor events run by a recognized business or organization can have 50% of the venue's capacity to a maximum of 100 people with physical distancing, down from 200;
    • Outdoor events run by a recognized business or organization can have 150 people with physical distancing, down from 250.

    On November 24th, the Government of Nova Scotia announced new restrictions across the province, effective November 26th until December 9th, including avoiding non-essential travel in and out of western and central HRM and to other provinces. The Government also added new restrictions in western and central HRM, including:
    • Restaurants and licensed establishments are closed for in-person dining but may provide take-out or delivery;
    • Retail stores must restrict shoppers and staff to 25% or less of allowable capacity;
    • Profit and non-profit fitness and recreational facilities are closed;
    • Libraries and museums are closed;
    • The casino and First Nations gaming establishments are closed.
  • The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador on November 23rd announced that effective November 25th, people arriving in Newfoundland and Labrador from within the Atlantic Bubble would be required to self-isolate for 14 days. The Government also said that non-essential travel outside of Newfoundland and Labrador is not recommended at this time.
  • On November 23rd, the Government of Prince Edward Island said that it had decided to suspend non-essential travel within the Atlantic Bubble for the next two weeks to curb the spread of the pandemic. The Government said that anyone who needs to travel to Prince Edward Island, including residents of Atlantic Canada, will have to apply for pre-travel approval in advance.
  • On November 24th, the Government of Alberta announced that new mandatory restrictions came into effect and will be in place for at least three weeks. The new restrictions include:
    • No indoor social gatherings in any setting, outdoor gatherings with a maximum of 10 people;
    • Wedding and funeral services for a maximum of 10 people and no receptions permitted;
    • No festivals or events;
    • Grades 7 to 12 at-home learning between November 30th and January 11th, grades K to 6 at-home learning between December 18th and January 11th;
    • Working from home should be considered;
    • Banquet halls, conference centres, trade shows, auditoria and concert venues, children's play places, and all levels of sport closed for in-person services;
    • Restaurants, bars, pubs, and lounges will be open with restrictions;
    • Most retail businesses may remain open with capacity limited to 25%.

Resources

  • Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. announced that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency had announced approvals for Enbridge's Line 3 project, including the 401 Water Quality Certification, and that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources had released the final eight permits for the project. Enbridge later announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced approvals of federal permits for the project and that Enbridge had now received all federal permits required for replacing Line 3. Enbridge said final state permits and authorizations are still needed before work can begin.
  • Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corporation announced that, as part of an ongoing global review to identify cost efficiencies, it anticipated that up to 300 positions will be impacted by the end of 2021 across the company's affiliates in Canada, including Imperial Oil Limited, ExxonMobil Canada Ltd. and ExxonMobil Business Centre Canada ULC.
  • Calgary-based TransAlta Corporation announced it will discontinue all mining operations at the Highvale Mine by December 31, 2021, and that, effective January 1, 2022, the company will discontinue firing with coal in Canada.
  • UK-based Endeavour Mining Corporation and Teranga Gold Corporation of Toronto announced they had entered into a definitive agreement whereby Endeavour will acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of Teranga by way of a Plan of Arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act. The companies said the closing of the combination is anticipated to take place in the first quarter of 2021, subject to shareholder and court approval as well as applicable regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
  • Toronto-based IAMGOLD Corporation announced it was temporarily reducing the underground workforce at its Westwood mine in Canada, affecting approximately 437 workers or approximately 70% of the underground workforce. The company said that Westwood underground remains suspended following a seismic event reported earlier this month.
  • Toronto-based Norbord Inc. announced it had decided to permanently close the 100 Mile House OSB mill. Norbord said the mill had been indefinitely curtailed since August 2019 in response to a wood supply shortage and rising fibre costs.
  • Vancouver-based West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. and Norbord Inc. of Toronto announced they had entered into a strategic business combination pursuant to which West Fraser will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Norbord in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $4.0 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to shareholder approvals and approval by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, as well as regulatory approvals and closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature.
  • On November 24th, the Government of British Columbia announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce released its final determination for the First Administrative Review (AR1) in antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of certain softwood lumber products from Canada. The Government of Canada said the new duty rate that will apply to exports from most companies subject to the first administrative review is 8.99%, compared to the current rate of 20.23%.

Manufacturing

  • Oshawa-based General Motors of Canada Company announced that, subject to ratification of the 2020 agreement with Unifor, it plans to bring pickup production back to the Oshawa Assembly Plant while making additional investments at the St. Catharines Propulsion Plant and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre. GM said planned investment will include $1 billion to $1.3 billion at Oshawa Assembly with the expected hiring of 1,400 to 1,700 workers.

Transportation

  • Toronto-based Porter Airlines Inc. announced it was updating its planned restart date for flights to February 11, 2021, due to increasing COVID-19 cases and ongoing travel restrictions affecting customer demand.

Finance and insurance

  • Toronto-based Intact Financial Corporation announced that, together with Tryg A/S of Denmark, it had reached an agreement with RSA Insurance Group plc of the United Kingdom on the terms of a recommended all-cash acquisition for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of RSA for a total consideration of approximately $12.3 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary regulatory and shareholder approvals.
  • New York-based Nasdaq, Inc. and Verafin Inc. of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, a platform provider to help detect, investigate, and report money laundering and financial fraud, announced they had entered into a definitive agreement for Nasdaq to acquire Verafin for USD $2.75 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Other news

  • The Government of Canada announced the successful conclusion of talks for the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement—an interim deal that will be in place as Canada and the United Kingdom work towards negotiating a comprehensive free trade agreement. The Government said that as the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will no longer apply to the United Kingdom beginning January 1, 2021, this new agreement will provide continued access to the benefits of CETA on a bilateral basis.
  • The Government of Canada on November 30th released its Supporting Canadians and Fighting COVID-19: Fall Economic Statement 2020, which included investments in health care and infrastructure, support for businesses and workers, including lockdown support and support for those in highly affected sectors, as well a plan to invest up to $100 billion over the next three fiscal years. The Government forecasts a $381.6 billion deficit in 2020-2021 and a contraction in real GDP of 5.8% in 2020.
  • The Government of Ontario on November 5th released Budget 2020, Ontario's Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover, which included increased spending on health care; support for seniors and businesses; and investments to support jobs, including reducing electricity prices, lowering business property taxes, and providing workers with skills training. The Government forecasts a $38.5 billion deficit for 2020-2021 and a contraction in real GDP of 6.5% in 2020.
  • The Government of Quebec on November 12th presented its Update on Quebec's Economic and Financial Situation, which included additional measures totaling $1.8 billion over three years to continue to support Quebecers and revive the economy. The Government forecasts a $15 billion deficit in 2020-2021 and a contraction in real GDP of 6.0% in 2020.
  • The Government of Alberta on November 24th presented its fiscal update. The Government forecasts a $21.3 billion deficit for 2020-2021 and a contraction in real GDP of 8.1% in 2020.
  • The Government of Saskatchewan on November 27th released its 2020-2021 Mid-year report. The Government forecasts a $2.0 billion deficit for 2020-2021 and a contraction in real GDP of 5.0%.
  • Vancouver-based TELUS Corporation announced that TELUS International had entered into an agreement to acquire Lionbridge AI, a provider of crowd-based training data and annotation platform solutions used in the development of AI algorithms to power machine learning, for approximately $1.2 billion. The company said closing is expected to occur on December 31, 2020, subject to customary closing adjustments.
  • Missouri-based Caleres, Inc. announced it had commenced a strategic realignment of the Naturalizer retail locations in the United States and Canada, including plans to close approximately 133 Naturalizer stores by the end of fiscal year 2020.

United States and other international news

  • The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 0.00% to 0.25%. The last change in the target range was a 100 basis points decrease announced in March 2020. The FOMC also said that to support the flow of credit to households and businesses, the Federal Reserve over the coming months will increase its holdings of Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities at least at the current pace to sustain smooth market functioning.
  • The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.1%. The MPC also voted to maintain the stock of sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases at £20 billion, to continue with the existing programme of £100 billion of UK government bond purchases, and to increase the target stock of purchased UK government bonds by an additional £150 billion to take the total stock of government bond purchases to £875 billion.
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided on a package of further measures to support job creation and the recovery, including (i) a reduction in the cash rate target to 0.1%; (ii) a reduction in the target for the yield on the 3-year Australian Government bond to around 0.1%; (iii) a reduction in the interest rate on new drawings under the Term Funding Facility to 0.1%; (iv) a reduction in the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances to zero; and (v) the purchase of $100 billion of government bonds of maturities of around 5 to 10 years over the next six months.
  • The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) left the Official Cash Rate (OCR), its main policy rate, unchanged at 0.25% and agreed to continue with the Large Scale Asset Purchase (LSAP) Programme up to NZD $100 billion. The last change in the OCR was a 75 basis points reduction in March 2020. The RBNZ also agreed to provide additional monetary stimulus to the economy through a Funding for Lending Programme (FLP) that will reduce banks' funding costs and lower interest rates, commencing in December.
  • The Executive Board of Norway's Norges Bank decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 0.0%. The last change in the policy rate was a 25 basis points reduction in May 2020.
  • The Executive Board of Sweden's Riksbank left the repo rate unchanged at 0.00% and said the rate is expected to remain at this level in the coming years. The Board also decided to expand the envelope for the asset purchases by SEK 200 billion, to a nominal amount of up to SEK 700 billion, and to extend the asset purchase programme to December 13, 2021.
  • Atlanta, Georgia-based The Home Depot announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HD Supply Holdings, Inc., also of Atlanta, for a total enterprise value of approximately USD $8 billion. Home Depot said the transaction is expected to be completed by January 31, 2021, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
  • Pennsylvania-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) announced it had taken the next step to execute its prepackaged financial restructuring plan and filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court. PREIT said the filing will ensure it can continue all business operations without interruption.
  • Tennessee-based CBL Properties announced that CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., CBL & Associates Limited, and certain other related entities had filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to implement a plan to recapitalize the company, including restructuring portions of its debt. CBL Properties said all day-to-day operations and business of the Company's wholly owned, joint venture and third-party managed shopping centers will continue as normal.
  • Pennsylvania-based PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. of Spain announced they had signed a definitive agreement for PNC to acquire BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc. of Texas, including its U.S. banking subsidiary, BBVA USA, for a purchase price of USD $11.6 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in mid-2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
  • New York-based S&P Global Inc. and IHS Markit Ltd of the United Kingdom announced they had entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction which values IHS Markit at an enterprise value of USD $44 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2021, subject to shareholder, regulatory, and antitrust approvals, and other customary closing conditions.

Financial market news

  • West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at USD $45.34 per barrel on November 30th, up from a closing value of USD $35.79 at the end of October. Western Canadian Select crude oil traded in the USD $27 to $35 per barrel range throughout November. The Canadian dollar closed at 77.13 cents U.S. on November 30th, up from 75.09 cents U.S. at the end of October. The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 17,190.25 on November 30th, up from 15,580.64 at the end of October.
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