Resources for market research

Find key market research tools and resources to better understand your customers and industry.

On this page

• General
• Demographics
• Spending patterns
• Industry
• Economic data
• Directories
• International trade

General

Provincial

• BC Stats has the largest collection of B.C.-based statistical products, services and expertise
• Public libraries offer online magazines and newspaper databases, community organization listings and more
• Professional regulatory agencies in B.C. provide oversight and certification for certain occupations and may have sector-specific information available

Federal

• Statistics Canada publishes a wide variety of information on economic and social conditions in Canada
• Innovation, Science, Economic Development Canada (ISED) is a comprehensive source of Canadian market and business information

Other

• Small Business Accelerator helps you search for sources of industry-specific business information
• CivicInfo BC has a selection of surveys and data archives for topics like tax rates, fees and general community statistics

Demographics

Demographic information may be helpful to identify your target market and future demand.

• Statistics Canada collects census data like age, gender and income across the entire population once every 5 years
• BC Stats provides yearly population estimates for regions across B.C.
• Population projections from BC Stats estimate future population sizes using trends like births, deaths and migration
• ISED’s statistics and open data on immigration is updated monthly

Spending patterns

Understanding what the average household spends can help you assess whether your product or service is affordable. Trade information may influence demand for your product or service.

• Statistics Canada collects data for household spending every 2 years
• ISED’s Trade Data Online includes data from over 200 countries and can help identify trends, new markets and competition

Industry

Industry information that can help you build a realistic budget, pricing strategy and understand trends.

• Financial Performance Database provides financial benchmarks for over 1,000 types of businesses across Canada
• Canadian Industry Statistics contains data on GDP, productivity, wages, trade and more for hundreds of industries across Canada
• Economic analysis and statistics provide research and analysis of trade, investment and indicators of the Canadian economy

Economic data

Major Canadian banks provide analysis and forecasts on the global economy and financial markets.

They also offer reports on topics like:

• Inflation
• Housing
• Labour markets
• Interest rates
• Provincial economic forecasts

Data resources:

• BMO: Economic research
• CIBC: Economics research
• Royal Bank: Economics
• Scotiabank: Economics publications
• TD: Economics

Directories

Find search tools for products, manufacturers and distributors.

• Fraser's Canadian Industrial Products Directory lists Canadian industrial products. 
• The Canadian Trade Index lists 50,000 products from over 25,000 Canadian manufacturers and distributors

International trade

Find resources and agencies to help guide businesses to expand to new markets.

Provincial

• Trade and Invest BC has information on federal direct investments (FDI) and trade relationships with countries around the world

• Export Navigator offers advice on how to grow your business, export your services and helps with more complex questions

Federal

• Canadian Importers Database provides lists of firms that import products into Canada

International

• The United Nations Statistics Division provides a comprehensive list of statistics on countries around the world
• TradeMap is the world’s largest trade database with information on exports global demand, market opportunities and competitors by product and country
• CIA World Factbook has detailed information on countries, including economic, geographic and political statistics