Canada’s population is getting a makeover, and it is changing the way we live. We are digging into new demographic data with Patrick Charbonneau, Section Chief in Demography at Statistics Canada, to see how big boomer and millennial generations, plus fewer younger people, are shaking up demand for housing, schools, and healthcare. We also look at the rise of the sandwich generation, the caregiving squeeze that comes with longer lives and smaller families, and the many ways older Canadians keep t...
May 13, 2026•19 min
Everyone wants to be happy, but just how happy are Canadians? On this episode of the Eh Sayers podcast, join quality of life experts from Statistics Canada and Engage Nova Scotia to explore the importance of quality of life programs and what they tell us about our well-being.
Apr 09, 2026•24 min
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) tells us about the health and size of Canada’s economy. But for those of us who don’t own or operate multi-million-dollar companies, why does it matter at all? In this episode, Amanda Sinclair, Assistant director for the National Economic Accounts at Statistics Canada, explains some surprising ways GDP can be useful and why, for certain Canadian households, the numbers don’t always seem to add up. Economic accounts statistics...
Jan 08, 2026•11 min
Think your Christmas tree knowledge is top‑notch? Time to put it to the test! In this holiday special of Eh Sayers, our colleagues face off in a trivia showdown all about Canada’s Christmas tree industry. Discover which nation first sparked the tradition, how much Canadian Christmas tree farmers earned in 2023, the surprising numbers behind exports and imports, and more festive facts. After listening, you’ll be the go‑to expert on Christmas trees at your holiday party! Oh Christmas tree, oh Chri...
Dec 10, 2025•9 min
Has Canada become a sedentary nation? Health data have never been more accessible. We have smart watches to count our steps, notifications about our screen times and apps to track our daily diets. Despite the futuristic tech, researchers are growing concerned. And they’re especially concerned about young Canadians. Today we sat down with Rachel Colley, a senior health researcher at StatCan for a deep dive into Canada’s obesity, physical activity and screen time trends. And the new data from the ...
Nov 13, 2025•22 min
Calllllll-i-forrrrr-nia... here we come? If you've changed your plans to visit the US recently, you're not alone. Nowadays, Canadians are more likely to be singing along to "Bobcaygeon" than "Sweet Home Alabama." Today, we're sitting down with Jane Lin, of the Tourism Statistics Program at Statistics Canada, to dig into StatCan's tourism data and talk about how travel is different these days. Travel and Tourism Statistics...
Aug 12, 2025•11 min
Two countries, both alike in dignity, In North America, where we lay our scene, From ancient friendship break to new trade tragedy, Of data on trade and tariffs, what might we glean? Join us as we speak with Guy Gellatly, Chief Economic Advisor, at Statistics Canada, as we explore what’s been going on with trade with our closest neighbour, what the early numbers suggest about the conflict, and what impact it might have on Canada’s economy. Focus on Canada and the United States...
Jul 15, 2025•14 min
Is that Canada in the corner? In the spotlight? Are we losing our religion? The census found that 12.6 million people reported no religious affiliation in 2021, more than 1/3 of Canada's population. But is there more to the picture? With guests Simon-Pierre Lacasse, Senior Analyst at StatCan, and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme, Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo, we're exploring what's driving this trend, whether "no religion" means "no spirituality," and how the story varies from spiritu...
May 06, 2025•38 min
What is it that helps someone transition from homeless to housed? We’re looking at new analysis of data from the Canadian Housing Survey to explore exactly that. In conversation with Peter Tilley, the CEO of the Ottawa Mission, and Jeff Randle, Chief of the Housing Need Project section at Statistics Canada, we’re asking why homelessness (and homelessness data!) is more complex than you might think, what factors most often led to regaining housing, and why housing can be challenging to maintain e...
Mar 10, 2025•24 min
It might not surprise you that your relationships with friends and family affect your well-being. Same with your health and your job. But what about the place where you live? Whether you live in the downtown core of a major city or a commuter town or a rural community, what impact does this have on your life satisfaction, loneliness and sense of belonging? StatCan’s Lauren Pinault joins us today at the mic to explore how the places we live affect our well-being. For more information: Beyond urba...
Jan 29, 2025•14 min
Over two thirds (70%) of Canadians experienced a cyber security incident in 2022. The strategies used by bad actors are getting more and more complex. Many of us are inundated with what feels like never-ending phishing emails, scam text messages and fraudulent phone calls. It’s rare to talk to someone who hasn’t experienced some form of a cyber attack. The situation is no different for Canadian businesses. Identity theft, scams, fraud, and ransomware are only some of the ways cyber attackers are...
Nov 28, 2024•13 min
AI is here and it’s here to stay. Apps like ChatGPT are now allowing us to perform complex tasks with the click of a button. As we begin to use these new versions of AI, our jobs are destined to change. So, what will an average day of work look like a decade from now? Which jobs will AI impact the most? And is AI coming to replace our jobs altogether? In this episode, we sat down with AI expert Tahsin Mehdi, an economist in the social analysis and modeling division of Statistics Canada, to answe...
Oct 03, 2024•27 min
Canada’s workforce is among the most educated in the world. But when it comes to worker productivity, we’ve seen a real slump over the past few years. The quarterly data published by StatCan in June 2024 confirms Canadian workers are continuing to underperform compared to our neighbours to the south. This comes as no surprise to this episode’s guest, Guy Gellatly, Chief Economic Advisor at StatCan. The latest quarterly numbers are a continuation of an on-going decline in Canada’s productivity th...
Jul 29, 2024•9 min
We can try our best, but its not always easy knowing what's best for the environment. The world is complicated, and it isn't as simple as reduce, reuse, recycle—though that's a great place to start! In the immortal words of Kermit the Frog, "It's not easy bein' green." We have two stories exploring that theme. The first is one we made in-house asking just how green our digital world really is, and the second comes from the Simply Science podcast exploring the world of urban forests....
Jun 06, 2024•49 min
Are you feeling like it's a little bit harder to bring home the bacon... from the grocery store? The latest data indicate that food prices have mostly stabilized... but why does it feel like the cost of feeding your family is still going up? Today we're talking food inflation with StatCan's resident smart cookie Taylor Mitchell.
May 08, 2024•10 min
StatCan released new analysis into the online culture our kids are growing up in, and it’s far from the best of all possible worlds: misinformation, bullying, violence… and worse. Analyst Rachel Tsitomeneas joins us to dive into the findings.
Apr 09, 2024•10 min
More than 70 distinct Indigenous languages are spoken by First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in Canada, but these languages are under threat. In this episode, we speak with Randy Morin and Belinda kakiyosēw Daniels, who share their knowledge of the Cree language with learners at the Nêhiyawak Language Experience, about the wisdom encoded in Indigenous languages, as well as the opportunities for these languages and the barriers they face.
Mar 19, 2024•30 min
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the studio Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the audio mixer with care, In hopes that a special guest soon would be there.
Dec 21, 2023•4 min
In the age of social media, AI, and deepfakes, discerning fact from fiction is a crucial skill. Nowadays, we’re not just getting our information from the six o’clock news. Friends, family, researchers, influencers, entertainers, news anchors, advertisers… Who can you trust? Timothy Caulfield, misinformation/disinformation expert, author, University of Alberta professor, and member of the Order of Canada, and Eric Rancourt, Assistant Chief Statistician at StatCan, join us to explore the challenge...
Dec 13, 2023•38 min
Ladies, Gentlemen, and Gentlethem! While every census is special, the 2021 Census was historic. It was the first to include a question about gender, making Canada the first country to collect and publish data on gender diversity from a national census. In this episode, we explore gender with drag king Cyril Cinder and we talk Census 2021 with StatCan’s Anne Milan. Join us for a new kind of gender reveal. The Daily - Canada is the first country to provide census data on transgender and non-binary...
Aug 21, 2023•34 min
Canada reached an important milestone June 16, 2023. For the first time, there were 40 million people living in Canada. That means that someone out there is the 40 millionth Canadian. But who is it? Laurent Martel, director of the Centre for Demography at Statistics Canada, joins us to explore what demographic data can tell us about this person, as well as the implications of Canada’s changing demographics and its rapid population growth.
Jun 19, 2023•18 min
StatCan’s Consumer Price Index tells us a lot about the economy… if you know what to look for. Guy Gellatly, Chief Economic Advisor at StatCan, joins us at the mic to break down the CPI and answer our questions about the economy. What’s the ideal inflation rate? Is no inflation the best kind of inflation? And what is a deflationary spiral?
Apr 18, 2023•13 min
Canada is facing both a climate crisis and a housing crisis, and they are interconnected. Choices we make about our homes impact the environment: their location and how much we need to use a car to get around, the heat source that they use, the materials used in their construction. At the same time, the climate impacts our homes: when severe weather strikes and causes damage to our homes, we have no choice but to rebuild, and even if we escape unscathed, we still have to decide how much to chang...
Nov 22, 2022•25 min
It used to be that Statistics Canada didn’t measure poverty. Not exactly. Poverty is complex, and there wasn't a single definition that everyone agreed on. So while StatCan did measure low income and other income inequality indicators, it didn't measure poverty per se. That is, until 2018, when the government chose to use the Market Basket Measure, or MBM, as Canada's Official Poverty Line. That means that the government now uses the MBM to track its poverty reduction targets. But something stra...
Oct 17, 2022•34 min
If this is the first time you’re hearing about Sylvia Ostry, buckle up. Sylvia was appointed Canada’s first and only female Chief Statistician in 1972, but she didn’t get there by playing by the rules. She was ambitious but grew up in a world where many thought that it was shameful to be female and have a career. Sylvia was a Jewish woman in economics, and even after she earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, she was denied a job with the United Nations because of her gender. Neverthel...
Oct 07, 2022•32 min
As the effects of the pandemic continue into its second year, we have all had to make adjustments with the way we go about our daily lives. We have seen plenty of service disruptions, closures of services and delays due to semiconductor scarcities, inclement weather or shifts in supply and demand. But what is the real cause of these disruptions and what is the supply chain that everyone is talking about it? Our guest, Andrew Barclay, an economist at Statistics Canada discusses the supply chain, ...
Apr 28, 2022•23 min
Healthcare is a privilege that Canadians value greatly. However, virtual healthcare was a rarity before COVID-19. Immediately after the pandemic hit in March 2020, Canadians were forced to rethink how they access healthcare. Appointments that would usually have happened in an office were suddenly taking place by phone or video chat. Now, two years later, most health care is conducted virtually. The question is whether access to virtual healthcare will disappear when the pandemic ends. Our guest,...
Apr 07, 2022•36 min
Canada’s diversity and rich cultural heritage have been shaped by the people who have come from all over the world to call it home. But even in our multicultural society, eliminating all forms of discrimination remains a challenge. In this episode, we turn a critical eye to the ways that cognitive bias risks perpetuating systemic racism. Statistics are supposed to accurately reflect the world around us, but are all data created equal? Join us as we explore the role data can play to make Canada a...
Mar 16, 2022•27 min
Check out what's coming up in Season 2 of Eh Sayers and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss a thing.
Mar 09, 2022•3 min
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an undeniable impact on the way that we spend money. Documenting these shifts in spending patterns is crucial to decision making and providing Canadians with timely and accurate information on consumer price changes. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the most widely used indicator of consumer price change and inflation in Canada. Our guest, Taylor Mitchell, an economist at Statistics Canada, explains why the CPI is an important tool for setting economic policy and m...
Jan 27, 2022•23 min
