The main objective of the National Cannabis Survey is to obtain detailed information about the habits of people who use cannabis, including cannabis purchasing and usage behaviours. The survey aims to understand how many Canadians use and do not use cannabis. Health Canada and other organizations will use the data to monitor changes in cannabis use.
Collection period:
From July 14, 2023 to October 15, 2023
Collection methods:
Electronic questionnaire with telephone follow-up for non-response.
Survey participation:
Voluntary
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
Record linkage
To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the response burden, Statistics Canada may combine the information you provide with data from other surveys or administrative sources.
Topics covered in the survey
The survey asks questions about:
- cannabis use behaviors
- cannabis use by product type
- cannabis spending habits
- product type
- homegrow
- education
- Indigenous identity
- sociodemographic characteristics
- sexual orientation
- long term conditions
- general health
- total household income
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
- Why should I respond to the National Cannabis Survey?
- Should I respond to the National Cannabis Survey even if I only smoke or vape occasionally, or not at all?
- How does this survey benefit Canadians?
- Why does Statistics Canada want to know personal information such as my gender and postal code?
- How will you safeguard the confidentiality of my information?
- Could the person responding be someone other than the person receiving the invitation letter?
- When will the results be released?
Why should I respond to the National Cannabis Survey?
By participating in the survey, you can help ensure that Canadians have the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about cannabis. It will also help us monitor change in cannabis use, how it impacts the Canadian economy, as well as other health and social services. Your participation in this survey will provide important data that will be used to make evidence-based decisions about cannabis, including how it affects peoples’ health and how to ensure it is used safely.
Should I respond to the National Cannabis Survey even if I only consume cannabis occasionally, or not at all?
Yes, you should respond to the survey. This information is just as important since it will help Statistics Canada understand how many Canadians, from province to province, use and do not use cannabis. In order to provide a clear picture of these behaviors in Canada, it is essential that all respondents complete the questionnaire.
How does this survey benefit Canadians?
The survey will be used to understand cannabis use and purchasing patterns in Canada since the legalization of cannabis and it's impact on the Canadian economy. The data will also be used to inform evidence-based national and provincial strategies, policies, and programs. These include the effectiveness of harm reduction strategies, such as education and prevention programs.
Why does Statistics Canada want to know personal information such as my gender and postal code?
When your data reaches Statistics Canada—whether from surveys or administrative sources—some of it is used to create a demographic profile. We then remove personal identifiers and only retain information such as age, gender, and geographical location. This data is merged with that of other people who share the same demographic profile (for example, groupings based on the same age, gender or geographical location).
Even if questions related to personal information may seem irrelevant to the subject of the survey, they provide a deeper knowledge of respondents' characteristics, which allows us to create a representative sample of the Canadian population. By analyzing this large database, researchers can observe emerging patterns and trends and provide important information to governments, non-profit organizations, researchers, and the wider public.
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.
Could the person responding be someone other than the person receiving the invitation letter?
To understand change in Canadians’ cannabis use, we need information directly from each respondent. We ask that each selected respondent complete the survey on their own, in order to get the most truthful answers possible. You can skip any questions that you are not comfortable in answering.
When will the results be released?
Survey results will be released in early 2024.