This study is conducted in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada. The purpose of the Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey is to collect information on national immunization coverage for vaccines administered to children and pregnant women.
Your information may be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes. In addition, information from partially completed or unsaved questionnaires may be retained and used.
The survey is intended to:
- determine if children and pregnant women are vaccinated in accordance with recommended immunization schedules for publicly funded vaccines;
- provide the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization with estimates of national vaccine coverage for childhood vaccines such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio;
- provide information on parental and guardian knowledge and beliefs about vaccines.
Collection period:
Collection methods:
Electronic questionnaire, telephone interview and mail-out/mail back
Survey participation:
Confidentiality
Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19. Your information will be kept strictly confidential.
Data sharing agreements and record linkage
To enhance the data from this survey and reduce response burden, Statistics Canada will combine responses from this survey with information from regional, provincial or territorial immunization registries. To do this, you or your child's name, gender, address, birth date and health number will be shared with your provincial or territorial ministry of health or regional health authority. We will share this information only with your consent, and these organizations have agreed to keep this information strictly confidential.
In addition, Statistics Canada will combine your responses from this survey with the tax data of all members of the household.
Statistics Canada may also combine your responses from this survey with information from other surveys or from administrative data sources.
Topics covered in the survey
The survey asks questions about
- immunization status
- beliefs and knowledge of vaccines
- demographics.
Published data
Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats. To find all the documents related to this survey, follow the links below and type the name of the survey in the search engine located at the left of your screen to filter the results.
Data: You will find tables, profiles of a community or region, thematic maps, public use microdata files, and data visualization tools.
Analysis: You will have direct access to Stats in brief (e.g., releases from The Daily, fact sheets), articles and reports, and journals and periodicals.
Survey-specific questions
- What is the Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey (CNICS)?
- Why was I or my child selected?
- How will the data be used? Who will use it?
- My child is not vaccinated, why do you include him in your survey?
- Why is this survey not available in Inuinnaqtun or Inuktitut?
- How will you safeguard the confidentiality of my information?
- How do I access survey results?
What is the Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey (CNICS)?
The Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey (CNICS) is conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada and collects information about children’s immunizations from parents or guardians and about vaccines received during pregnancy. Additional questions on parental knowledge and beliefs regarding immunization are also included.
Why was I or my child selected?
Respondents were randomly selected from administrative data sources produced by Statistics Canada.
How will the data be used? Who will use it?
The primary goal of the 2021 Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey is to estimate national immunization coverage rates for childhood vaccines and vaccines received during pregnancy.
In addition, the data collected will help policy-makers to determine where improvements are needed for prenatal, childhood, and youth immunization programs and services.
It will also provide the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization with national estimates of immunization coverage. In addition to Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, other federal and provincial government departments and researchers may also use and analyze the results.
My child is not vaccinated, why do you include him in your survey?
This is an opportunity to provide your input. Everyone’s participation is important as it helps to ensure we have an accurate picture of the current situation across the country.
Why is this survey not available in Inuinnaqtun or Inuktitut?
Due to the complexity of the platform used by Statistics Canada for electronic questionnaires, this survey is only available in English and in French.
We are currently working to address these limitations, so that electronic questionnaires in additional languages can be an option for other surveys. We are very pleased that after nearly two years in development, Statistics Canada’s upcoming pilot for the Nunavut Government Employee Survey will include the first electronic questionnaire available in Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, and we hope that in the future more surveys will have this option.
In addition, the Census 2021 questions have been translated into 13 Indigenous languages and dialects, including Inuktitut. The Census Help Line is currently exploring options to hire Inuktitut-speaking officers to field calls in real time related to the Census questionnaire.
How will you safeguard the confidentiality of my information?
As with all Statistics Canada surveys, any information provided will remain confidential pursuant to the Statistics Act.
Statistics Canada takes the privacy of Canadians very seriously. Published data can never identify you or your household.
To find out more about the measures in place to safeguard the confidentiality of your information, visit Statistics Canada's Trust Centre.
How do I access survey results?
We anticipate that the data from this survey will be available early in 2023.