CANSIM II (Canadian Socio-economic Information Management System), is the new version of Statistics Canada's computerized data base and information retrieval service. It contains over time 25,000,000 series covering a wide variety of data on such topics as Agriculture, Construction, Crime, Demographics, Finance, Health, Labour, Manufacturing, Trade, and the System of National Accounts . Selected data on population estimates and vital statistics are also available.  Cansim is the most heavily used database at Canadian academic institutions.

Statistics Canada offers access to Cansim to educational institutions through a consortial arrangement with the University of Toronto CHASS Data Centre. Access to this site is subject to a licencing agreement which stipulates use by members of  the University of  Guelph, the University of Waterloo, and Wilfrid Laurier University communities for academic, non- commerical purposes. Data files are updated weekly.

ACCESS:

Access to the  TriUniversity Data Resources  community for non-commercial use is available through links from the TriUniversity Data Resources  home page (http://tdr.tug-libraries.on.ca).

• Move cursor over the option 'TDR Data' to open up a drop-down menu of data choices
• In the new menu, arrow down to 'CANSIM'
• Select 'CANSIM II'
• Click on 'Continue in English'
  
• Click on 'What is CANSIM II @ CHASS' for background information
  

NOTE: A fee-for-service link is provided for users requiring data for commercial, non-
academic purposes. Choose the direct link to the Statistics Canada homepage from the main page link 'Consortia'. Users will be asked for a credit card number before data files are released for downloading.

CANSIM I & CANSIM II

Please note that there are differences between the two versions. Matrices listed in CANSIM I have been replaced in CANSIM II by Tables. Below please find a concordance of CANSIM I Matrix Numbers to CANSIM II Table Numbers. A concordance is also available for locating series numbers within the two CANSIM versions.

CANSIM II Table to CANSIM I Matrix Concordance

CANSIM II to CANSIM I Series Concordance

CANSIM 1 Matrix to CANSIM II Table Concordance
- NOTE: This file was last updated January 2003.

SEARCHING:

Several options are available to begin searching CANSIM II for data:

1) CANSIM II quick starts

a) Frequently requested CANSIM series

b) CANSIM II by Subject

c) CANSIM II Integrated Meta Data Base

2) Search CANSIM

a) by catalogue files

b) alphabetically by table

c) sequentially by table

d) table by number

e) series by label

f) by label - single or multiple series

Searching CANSIM II by Subject, Table, or Series Label:

Searches can be used for specific, detailed searches of table or series indexes

• Subject searches provides a drill-down method of selection by topic
  
• Catalogue searches allow for key-words to be searched. More than one result may be found. Users must look through the list of results to determine which table and series is the most appropriate
• Click on appropriate series. Entire tables cannot be downloaded due to size
• The top section of the series page provides details of Scaling Factor, Frequency, Reference Dates, and CANSIM I equivilent series links

Retrieving a Series:

• Arrow down to 'Retrieve CANSIM II Vector '
• Press 'Retrieve' to retrieve the entire series OR:
• For retrieval of a partial series - Type in the beginning and terminating dates to narrow your results to years required (Please Note: in CANSIM II you must fill in dates in the year, month, day format indicated regardless of frequency of series). See 'Earliest Reference Point' and 'Latest Reference Point' to ensure the series covers the dates you require.
  
• CANSIM II does not have a frequency option
• To choose output format, click on the arrow button to display choices. If you want a plain text table choose plain. Spreadsheet options are also listed for users requiring further data manipulations. Choose Comma-separated (csv) as a standard format for pulling data into a spreadsheet package.
• Arrow up to first line of form and click on 'Retrieve'
• Once results are displayed use file/save from browser tool bar
• To plot your results, fill in the plot form found below the retrieve form. This will display your results as vertical bars, dots or lines.
• Assistance may be required for first-time users of the search function
• Staff at your local data service office are available to provide instruction on basic and advanced search techniques

DOWNLOADING, PRINTING:

• Choose print or save options from tool bar.

FREQUENTLY REQUESTED SERIES:

DISCONTINUED SERIES IN CANSIM I

Please note that although CANSIM I is still available, all series have been discontinued as of June 1, 2002.

Updated: 2005/09 cp