Driving decisions with data

The Bank of Canada relies on data to fulfill its mandate. In 2024, it used information from a broad, diverse and growing set of sources to inform how it:

  • sets monetary policy and fosters a stable and efficient financial system
  • deploys core operations essential to the economy
  • manages risk
  • ensures the effective and responsible use of its resources

The Bank also continued to evolve its operations in response to rapid changes in the data landscape. These efforts have enabled the Bank to:

  • make more effective use of available data
  • reduce potential risks related to data and technology
  • prepare for future priorities that use data, analytics and models

Using diverse data to deliver on the Bank’s mandate

Historically, the Bank relied on standard macroeconomic statistics and data to inform monetary policy. Today, it leverages a much wider variety of information in its analysis.

Embracing new forms of data to generate rich insights

Rapid growth in the volume and variety of available information has enabled the Bank to inform its decisions with data that are more diverse, granular and timely. For example, the Bank has increasingly used:

  • job posting data and labour market microdata to better understand labour market dynamics, including wage growth—an important consideration for inflation
  • microdata on the distribution and characteristics of household and business debt to enhance its assessment of financial stability risks
  • granular data on financial markets to gain a deeper understanding of how these markets function and the potential risks they face

These data fuel research and analysis that help Bank staff to generate rich, detailed insights. These insights are valuable for setting monetary policy and monitoring financial system stability during periods of crisis and complex change.

Surveying Canadians to develop a more complete picture

The Bank supplements data from other sources by conducting surveys of participants in the Canadian economy and financial system. These surveys include the:

Surveys enable the Bank to collect a variety of information relevant to monetary policy and financial stability. At the same time, they support the Bank’s ongoing dialogue with Canadians.

Building strong foundations to do more with data

To ensure it can fully realize the benefits of new and non-traditional forms of data, the Bank has been investing in expanding its data holdings. It continually introduces new tools and technologies to support data analysis. This includes the renewal of the Bank’s technical infrastructure to:

  • improve data accessibility and ease of analysis
  • support economic models that are more computationally intensive
  • enable collaboration with external partners

Managing the risks that come with the benefits

Although novel datasets and advanced analytics offer significant benefits and opportunities, they also come with risks that must be managed proactively. In 2024, the Bank updated its risk management and governance processes for using data and adopting advanced tools such as artificial intelligence.

The Bank’s risk management in this area includes ongoing investment in cyber security and resilience to protect its data and technology from threats and outages.

Working with partners on the collection and management of data

The Bank is a major user of data and statistics from both public and private providers. It works closely with those providers to ensure it continues to receive high-quality data in a timely manner. Ongoing work with Statistics Canada allows the Bank to:

  • stay up to date on the evolution of major statistical programs
  • develop a detailed understanding of these statistics
  • provide input on priorities for major Canadian statistical programs

The Bank works closely with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation on the collection and management of regulatory data. This collaboration ensures the consistency of the data that the Bank and its partners rely on to meet their respective mandates.

The Bank also collaborates with global partners on large-scale statistical programs that:

  • harmonize measurement to make statistics easy to compare across countries
  • integrate data from across jurisdictions to create a coherent global picture

Providing Canadians with access to the Bank’s data

The Bank shares the essential data it uses in its analysis, including through its website, flagship publications, staff analytical notes and other research.

In 2024, the Bank began publishing its Monetary Policy Report in a digital format. The interactive report allows Canadians to explore the data and statistics that support monetary policy decisions.

The Bank promotes operational transparency by publishing a range of data and statistics, including its weekly balance sheet, auction outcomes and counterfeit statistics. As well, the Bank supports the functioning of financial markets by compiling and publishing data such as the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average as well as exchange and interest rates.

Central to the Bank’s commitment to data transparency are its web services. These make it possible for Canadians to download a range of economic and financial data and statistics. The Bank’s Valet API receives over 500,000 public requests for data daily. It provides access to approximately 12,500 series and 4.5 million data observations.

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