Income in Canada

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Income in Canada is an annual analytical report which summarizes the economic well-being of Canadians. It includes an extensive collection of income statistics, covering topics such as income distribution, income tax, government transfers, and low income back to 1976. The data prior to 1993 are drawn from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). Beginning with 1998, the data are taken from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamnics (SLID). For the 1993 to 1997 period, estimates are based on a combined sample from SCF and SLID.

Income in Canada provides a complete list of the tables and directions for getting started. It also contains links to the background information on the survey, including content and methodology, and other SLID data products and services.

Users have free access to the 202 CANSIM Series tables. Tables are accessible using a PC or Mac via the web browser.

Information by format

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

Content note

As of May 2005, this publication is free of charge. It was previously sold for $36.

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) was conducted up to reference year 1997. SLID, in addition to its original mandate to produce longitudinal labour and income data, now has the responsibility for the annual cross-sectional income data. Integration of the cross-sectional and longitudinal income statistics programs promotes consistency in income estimates. As part of this integration, a change in product line, with the overall theme of providing output primarily in electronic form, has been instituted. This publication combines the most important sections of the SCF publications. SLID is a longitudinal household survey designed to capture changes in the economic well-being of individuals and families over time and the determinants of their well-being.

Statistics Canada's low-income cutoffs (LICOs) convey the income level at which a family may be in "straitened circumstances" because it has to spend significantly more of its income on the basics (food, shelter and clothing), than does the average family. The LICOs depend on family and community size. For many years, low-income cutoffs have been calculated using both total income (that is, income after transfers but before taxes) and after-tax income. Although LICOs are often referred to as poverty lines, they have no official status as such. For further information, please refer to "Feature article on poverty and low income", available on Statistics Canada's Web site (www.statcan.ca), under "Concepts, definitions and methods", followed by "Discussion papers or new surveys".

History note

This product replaces: 13-207-XPB Income distributions by size in Canada; 13-208-XPB, 13-208-XIB Family incomes, census families; 13-210-XPB Income after tax, distributions by size in Canada; 13-215-XPB, 13-215-XIB Characteristics of dual-earner families; 13-217-XPB, 13-217-XIB Earnings of men and women; 13-218-XPB Household facilities by income and other characteristics; 13-551-XPB, 13-551-XPB Low income cut-offs; 13-569-XPB, 13-569-XIB Low income persons;13-582-XIB, 13-582-XPB Low income measure (LIMs);13-592-XIB, 13-592-XPB Low income after tax (LICO-IAT 1992 base and LIM-IAT); and 13F0019XPB, 13F0019XIB Low income measures, low income after tax cut-offs and low income after tax measures.

Subjects

Keywords

age, average income, consumer price index, economic families, educational attainment, employment, family characteristics, government transfer payments, household income, income taxes, low income, low income cutoffs, marital status, measurement, provincial differences, salaries and wages, sex, survey methodology.

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

For more information about our products or services, please contact us.
85400 - Income Statistics Division
Client services - Income Statistics Division 613-951-7355 (income@statcan.gc.ca)