Statistics Canada Releases Nonprofit Economic Data

Statistics Canada has released a new report examining nonprofit organizations’ economic contribution from 2007 to 2017. The report provides important new data on the sector that recognizes nonprofits as key contributors of the economy. For example: economic activity in the Canadian nonprofit sector totaled $169.2 billion in 2017, representing 8.5% of Canada’s GDP. The report provides data on GDP by subsector, sources of income by subsector, employment in the sector, nonprofit sector share of GDP by province/territory and economic contribution of volunteering.

This new report is an encouraging development as the sector uses the information to better understand its contributions to society. While this release represents a one-time update to the data, we will continue to advocate that the federal government make this data dissemination a regular occurrence.[1] In the meantime, stay tuned for further analysis on the report, with a focus on the Alberta-specific data. 

[1] CCVO was among 162 organizations who signed onto a letter to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, highlighting the importance of sector data collection. We also recently submitted a recommendation to the Special Senate Committee asking the federal government to collect, analyze, and disseminate reliable and relevant data on Canada’s nonprofit and charitable sector on an ongoing basis.