Make More Sense of the Census

Need census stats written in plain English (or French) in order to build your market profile? Don't have the time or skills to do the analytical work required to make sense of the census data?

As a followup to my last post, click here for a link to a free copy the winter 2007 issue of Statistics Canada's Canadian Social Trends. This free, monthly publication contains analytical articles presenting some of the census data in words with supporting tables, graphs and charts. Based on 2006 census data, this issue provides census snapshots of Canadian urbanization, population (age and sex) and families. The issue also contains articles on trends in transitioning with young adults, home ownership and young adults, and re-accreditation and occupations of immigrant doctors and engineers.

More Potential Canadian Customers! Demographic Profiling

The Canadian population is now above 33 million people. Think about it: more people = more potential customers!

Click here to see the December 19, 2007 population estimates release from Statistics Canada. This release details which provinces showed the most and least growth due to births over deaths, immigration and interprovincial migration.

Demographic Profiling

That's great, you say, but how can someone build a business based on other demographic information? Do you want to find out who lives where: adults, teenagers, children, male/female? How can you find out the languages that are spoken in a particular community? How can you slice and dice the available demographic data to target a specific audience for your business' products and services?

Statistics Canada is always a good place to start and 2006 census data is now in the midst of being released, much of it for free. To quickly create a demographic profile of a community, go to:

1. Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.ca/ and select either English or French.
2. Click on the "Community Profiles" link, type in the desired place name with the appropriate province and click on the Search button.
3. Click on the match to your place name and the next page that appears in the "All Data" default. This provides details of your place name with male/female data compared to its corresponding provincial data: population and dwelling counts, age characteristics, marital status, dwelling data, family and household characteristics, language, immigrant and citizenship status, generation status and mobility status.

Demographics at the Postal Code Level!

Should you require more specific data, say to a particular postal code level, you can use Census Tract profiles. Using census tracts, you can target customers in specific geographic areas with populations from 2500 to 8000 people. There are three different ways to get to these small slices of demographic data, one being using postal codes. Click here to do this.

Language Data

Statistics Canada census data is released over time so check the releases periodically; some data is free and some is not. Some of the language data was released on December 4, 2007, much of it free and containing some excellent detailed data. Click here for access to this data.

By viewing/downloading a particular table (click on the numbered product), you can view such things as language knowledge by the population in a specific city. To do this:

1. Click on one of the catalogue product numbers i.e. Cat. No. 97-555-X2006016
2. Click on the "View/download this product" button
3. Click on the "Geographic index" link
4. Scroll down the page and click on your target geographic area's name
5. View or print the page or download the data in various formats (i.e. comma-delimited to use with Excel)

As an example, click here to show language knowledge in Oakville, Ontario.

Canadian Business Licences and Permits

Do you know where to go to get Canadian business licences or permits? Which ones do you need to start or grow your business?

Believe it or not, federal, provincial and local levels of government are working together to make this easy for you via BizPal, the Online Business Permits and Licences Service.

Here’s how you get started:

1. Go to www.bizpal.ca, select English or French and then click on the "BizPal for Entrepreneurs” link.
2. At the bottom of the next page, click on the “click here” link to get started.
3. Select your local government’s name. Note that if your municipality or town/city is not listed, you will need to contact your local government office (i.e. town hall).
4. You will be asked a variety of questions about your current or proposed business.
5. At the end of the questionnaire, you will get a customized list of potential permits and licences that you may require from all levels of government.