The DLI: Data Liberation Initiative
On this page:
Selected Statistical Sources
This PDF document presents some of the most useful sources of Canadian statistics available online. The sources listed include both aggregate data and microdata.
What is the DLI?
The Data Liberation Initiative is a Statistics Canada program established in cooperation with various academic organizations, through which students, faculty and staff of Canadian universities get access to specialized electronic data previously unavailable or prohibitively expensive. Under the agreement, institutions pay a fixed fee to participate in the program. This gives them access to DLI products. They, in return, provide the infrastructure to give access to their users. The data is to be used for teaching and research only. Commercial use is prohibited.
For more information on the DLI program and a list of available products, see the DLI official website.
What kind of data is available through the DLI?
There are two forms of numeric data: aggregate data and microdata (raw data). For a definition of these terms, see the DLI Survival Guide. Although some versions of the data may already have been published in print publications and/or on Statistics Canada's Web site, sometimes with analysis, the DLI sources provide microdata so that researchers can perform their own tabulations or analysis.
Aggregate data is provided in formats such as Beyond 20/20, Excel, and other formats which allow the display and manipulation of data into new tables.
Microdata is provided in SPSS, SAS or other database-compatible formats for original statistical analysis. Knowledge of statistical techniques is necessary to access and manipulate the data.
The DLI also provides geographic data files in GIS format such as ArcReader and MapInfo.
DLI products complement the standard statistics available through Statistics Canada's regular channels.
How do I access DLI data?
Through the Web
Special consortium agreements with other institutions have made it possible for Concordia faculty, students and staff to access much of the DLI data through the Web, remotely, through common Web interfaces.
Aggregate data:
- CANSIM through:
- Canadian Census Analyser (also includes Census microdata files)
- CREPUQ's Statistical and Geographic Data page: (Detailed tables usually not available from Statistics Canada's website or CANSIM)
Microdata
- Equinox -- Includes Public Use Microdata Files (PUMF) for the Census and most Statistics Canada's surveys as well as aggregate data from multiple sources)
Geospatial data
- Canadian Census Geographic Files (CREPUQ's website)
- Equinox
(Choose "Geospatial" from the menu)
Note: more geospatial files are available from this page
In the library only, on CD-ROM
Some data products are produced on CD-ROM and are installed on public workstations in the library. See Numeric Databases and Government Publications Databases.
On request (DLI website: FTP and Web collection)
Some data can only be obtained on request, by the DLI Contact.
For more information, see:
A list of Surveys for a complete list of DLI products
List of upcoming product releases
Other sources of statistical data
- Statistics Canada makes much of its most popular statistics freely available to the public through the Statistics Canada web site. There are many other sources of statistics. In particular, see CANSIM @ Chass and CANSIM on E-STAT.
- ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) is the other major source of microdata. It focuses on U.S. social sciences data but also presents datasets of international and Canadian interest.
- For economic statistics, see the Economics subject page.
Contact
To request DLI products, or for more information, contact: Alex Guindon, DLI Contact at 848-2424, ext. 7754 or alex.guindon@concordia.ca
