The June 2012 order from our list of upcoming data products (Schedule B) is now in the Community Data Program Catalogue! Let's take a quick look at the highlights.
The 2011 Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Permanent Residents Rounded Data Cube
The data cube is a remarkably detailed dataset that counts immigrant landings by Census geographies as small as the Census Subdivision, for the years 2000 through 2010. (2011 data to be released in the 2012 version.) The cube also includes crosstabulations for just about any information you might want, including immigrant class, education, occupational skills, age (single year!), and gender, just to name a few. The data are presented at the front end in the style of a Microsoft Excel pivot table, so it's easy for even the layperson to use.
Check it out: ImmigrantLandings_2010
December 2011 Canadian Business Patterns
Canadian Business Patterns (CBP) data show the number of businesses down to the Census Tract level. (Don't worry Parry Sound: Data are also available by CSD and CD!) In addition, the CPB will tell you the number of businesses in a given industry (by NAICS code at the 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6-digit level), and by the number of employees. (Note that the crosstab for the number of employees is grouped into categories, not averages.)
There are actually two datasets here: one for "locations" and one for "establishments". The distinction between them is a little complicated, but "locations" tend to better capture branches, chains, and other sub-entities of a given business, which can sometimes be excluded from the dataset of "establishments". The files are in .ivt format, so you'll have to install Beyond 20/20 Professional Browser in order to view them.
Check it out: CBP_2011_12
(Enhanced) Postal Code Conversion File
The Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF) provides a Latitude-Longitude coordinate for each Postal Code in Canada. For users who need to map data at the six-digit Postal Code level, the Postal Code Conversion File is an essential tool. Our version of the PCCF—enhanced by Environics Analytics—cross-references each postal code with its underlying Census geographies, (e.g., Census Tracts and Census Subdivisions), which can save a lot of analysis time when it comes to joining and aggregating.
Because there are so many Postal Codes in Canada, the table itself is fairly large. Like, north-of-half-a-million-rows large. As such, you might want to skip Excel and open it in SPSS, R, Access, or even ArcGIS. Mercifully, doing so is relatively simple becuase the dataset is in .csv format.
Check it out: PCCF_2012
TransUnion Credit Report Characteristics
Lastly, we have a dataset that's new to the program this year: TransUnion Credit Report Characteristics for the first quarter of 2011. It will tell you the average consumer debt for each Postal Code in Canada, as well as the risk of defaulting on consumer debt, and the risk of personal bankruptcy. Forget FSAs—we're talking about data for six-digit Postal Codes. You can map this dataset with the Postal Code Conversion File.
Like with the Postal Code Conversion File, the TransUnion data include over 400,000 rows in .csv format. As such, I'd recommend using a program that can handle more rows of data than Excel, like those mentioned above. If you don't know what program would best serve your purposes, don't hesitate to ask me.
Check it out: Credit report characteristics (2011Q1)
Envision
We also have a license for the super-useful Envision mapping and reporting tool with 2011 Census/NHS data built right into it. If you'd like to take it for a test spin, send me an email. We'll get more licenses and schedule some training sessions for 2013. Stay tuned for more details.
That's all for now. Happy data, and happy holidays!