Numeric Data

This guide pulls together resources for finding numeric datasets and statistics. Email data.library@mcgill.ca for help finding what you need.

Best bets to start

• Odesi to find datasets on a topic.
• Statistics Canada to find Canadian statistics on a topic.
• Institut de la statistique du Québec to find Quebec statistics on a topic.

Find data by geography or subject

• Visit the Find Data by Geography page to find Canadian, Quebec, United States, and international datasets.
• Data are also grouped by subject and subtopic. Browse the Find Data by Subject page to view the list of subjects and subtopics covered in this guide.

Researchers sometimes find that the public-use microdata files made available via the Data Liberation Initiative are insufficiently detailed for their needs. The Research Data Centres (RDCs) offer secure access to detailed microdata from population and household surveys, censuses and administrative files in universities across the country. Staffed by Statistics Canada analysts, RDCs operate in accordance with the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act and are accessible only to researchers with approved projects and security clearance. 

The Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS) is an RDC that offers access to detailed data from large-scale surveys carried out by Statistics Canada and the Institut de la statistique du Québec. It also provides the workspace, equipment and professional as well as technical resources needed to exploit these surveys. Our local branch is the McGill-Concordia Laboratory of the QICSS.