Guides: Business: Market Assessment

Who should be your customer?

Who will be your target market? Where do they live? How old are they? How much money do they make? You'll need to attach some numbers to this group to help you quantify their buying power for your business plan. Some of the sources on this page should help you do that.

Statistics Canada: Census Profiles
Search for demographic data for large and small communities. Topics included: Population & dwelling counts, Age, Marital status, Family characteristics, Households, and Language.

Census Geography (Stats Canada)
"Census geography covers a wide range of geographic areas – from provinces and territories down to city blocks. These geographic areas have boundaries, names, and other information that make it possible to locate them on the ground and relate census data to them."

National Household Survey (NHS)
Search by topic: e.g., Aboriginal peoples, Immigration & Ethnocultural diversity, Education & Labour, Mobility & Migration, Income & Housing.

Survey of household spending, dwelling characteristics and household equipment
Household Spending Summary Tables
The Daily (by Statistics Canada)
You can read the Daily in several ways, e.g. “Releases by subject” with 32 subject categories.
Canada Year Book
Data compiled from Statistics Canada sources. Articles provide analysis and graphics.
Stats Canada Publications
Find Stats Can surveys and research papers by title, subject and catalogue number.
Canada Post: Householder counts and maps
"Canada Post's Householder Counts and Maps help Direct Marketers to target their audiences by providing information on the counts of houses, apartments, farms and businesses throughout Canada, along with associated Forward Sortation Area (FSA) and Letter Carrier Walk (LCW) maps."

U.S. Consumer Expediture Survey (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Data on the buying habits of American consumers gathered on behalf of the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. It also includes data on consumer incomes and other characteristics. Updated annually.

Advertising & Mass Media Data:

Fact Books (Magazines Canada website)
Provides links to the most recent Consumer Magazine, Digital Magazine, and Business Media fact books. The Consumer Magazine fact book has data on Canadian industry trends, magazine readership and circulation, ad positioning, and ad effectiveness. The Digital Magazine fact book looks at magazine trends and research from tablets, e-readers, social media and smartphones.
ComScore Insights
Access insights from ComScore, a digital analytics firm, via their blog posts, presentations and whitepapers on global trends in mobile and digital media.