Spending Patterns in Canada

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This publication presents statistical highlights and key tables from the Survey of Household Spending (SHS). This annual survey collects information about expenditures by households and families in Canada on a wide variety of goods and services, as well as their dwelling characteristics and possession of household equipment such as appliances, audio and video equipment, and vehicles. The publication also includes analytical text, summary-level tables, a detailed table, notes and definitions, and information about survey methodology and data quality.

Information by format

([B] = Bilingual; see "Bilingual products" below )

Content note

Special care should be taken when attempting to compare data from the Survey of Household Spending (SHS) and the Family Expenditure Survey (FAMEX). See the Survey of Household Spending user guide (Catalogue no. 62F0026MIE) for more information. See also the Note to former users of data from the Family Expenditure Survey (Catalogue no. 62F0026MIE2000002).

Those interested in making comparisons with data from the Household Facilities and Equipment Survey should consult the Note to former users of data from the Household Facilities and Equipment Survey (Catalogue no. 62F0026MIE2000003). All of these guides are available free of charge from the Statistics Canada Internet site (www.statcan.ca).

Users requiring more detailed information may be interested in detailed tables from the Survey of Household Spending . See Catalogue nos. 62F0031XDB, 62F0032XDB, 62F0033XDB, 62F0034XDB, 62F0035XDB, 62F0041XDB, 62F0042XDB, 62F0043XDB, 62F0044XDB and 62F0045XDB.

In order to reduce response burden for northern households, the SHS will be conducted in the north only every second year, starting in 2001.

History note

The annual Survey of Household Spending (first conducted in 1997) replaces the Family Expenditure (FAMEX) Survey (conducted approximately every four years) and the Household Facilities and Equipment (HFE) Survey. The last FAMEX publication (Family expenditure in Canada, Catalogue no. 62-555-XPB) was for the reference year 1996. The last HFE publication (Household facilities and equipment, Catalogue no. 64-202-XPB) was for the reference year 1997.

Subjects

Keywords

accommodation, alcoholic beverages, automobiles, budgets, cellular telephones, child care, consumer goods and services, entertainment, expenditures, families with children, food, gambling, health care, household expenditures, household income, information and communication technologies, insurance payments, internet, internet use, lone-parent families, lotteries, motor vehicles, motorcycles, pension contributions, pensions, personal care, personal income taxes, pets, physicians, provincial differences, reading materials, recreation, rent, tobacco products, transportation services, two-parent families, utilities.

Free access

This product may also be accessible for free at these libraries.

Bilingual products

Some bilingual products have changed to separate English and French products. In these cases, back issues are bilingual and the more recent issues are unilingual.

Contacts

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85400 - Income Statistics Division
Client Services 613-951-7355 (income@statcan.gc.ca)