CANSIM I (Canadian Socio-economic Information Management System), is the original version of Statistics Canada's computerized data base and information retrieval service. It contains 908,879 time series covering a wide variety of data on such topics as the System of National Accounts, Labour, Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Agriculture, Finance, Demographics and Crime. 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.

Please note that as of June 1, 2002 all CANSIM series have been discontinued as we move to the new CANSIM II version.

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'
• Choose CANSIM I
  
• Click on 'About CANSIM' 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.

SEARCHING:

Several options are available to begin searching CANSIM for data:

1) CANSIM quick starts

a) Frequently requested CANSIM series

b) Value-added CANSIM series

2) Search CANSIM

a) by catalogue files

b) alphabetically by matrix

c) matrix by number

d) by label - single or multiple series

1a) To retrieve Frequently requested CANSIM series

• Click on desired series
• Read accompanying notes for a description of data in the file
• Arrow down to options form
• Type in the beginning and terminating dates to narrow your results to years required
  
• Under frequency option, click on arrow button and click on the option of choice - annual, monthly, etc.
• If you change the frequency you must choose a conversion method. Click on the arrow button and choose from the option list - eg. do you want a sum total or an average?
• To choose output option, 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
• 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.

1b) Value-added CANSIM service

• These are pre-defined tables and graphs
• Click on table required
  

2. Searching CANSIM by Subject, Matrix, or Label:

• This option should be used for specific, detailed searches of matrix, main or full-text index
  
• See CANSIM glossary for definitions of terms used (matrix, label, etc.) by clicking on
  underlined terms
• 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 is the most
  appropriate
• Click on appropriate table
• Follow above search techniques to fill in retrieval form
• Assistance may be required for first-time users of the search function
• Staff at the DRC are available to provide instruction on basic and advanced search
  techniques

DOWNLOADING, PRINTING:

• Choose print or save options from tool bar.
  

FREQUENTLY REQUESTED CANSIM SERIES

DISCONTINUED SERIES

Please note that as of June 1, 2002 all CANSIM series have been discontinued as we move to the new CANSIM II version.

November 30, 1999

Please note that the following annual matrices have been
deleted, matrices 7414 to 7419.

December 2, 1997

Gross Domestic Product based on National Income and
Expenditure Accounts, Annual Matrices 6627, 6628, 6631, 6632,
6634-6640, 6643-6654, 6657, 6659, 6660, 6670-6685, 6687,
6689-6691, 6693-6698, 6743, 6744, 6840-6847, 6917

Please note that the following matrices have been terminated:

Matrices 6627, 6634, 6655, 6840, 6845

The following matrices have been deleted:
Matrices 6628, 6631, 6632, 6635-6640, 6643-6655, 6657, 6659,
6660, 6670-6685, 6687, 6689-6691, 6693-6698, 6743, 6744,
6841-6844, 6846, 6847, 6917

These matrices have no replacements. Quarterly matrices may
be used to calculate annual data.

CANSIM II

Statistics Canada has introduced a new version of CANSIM called CANSIM II. CANSIM II is now running simultaneously with CANSIM I.. Below please find a concordance of CANSIM I Matrix Numbers to CANSIM II Table Numbers.

CANSIM Concordance

Updated 2003/01 cp