When downloading census data from Statistics Canada's website, ".ivt" or Beyond 20/20 files are a better alternative to ".csv" or Excel files because you can easily format your table before exporting data back to Excel-compatible formats. Windows only.
Interactive data tables available on Statistics Canada's website can be used to quickly view numbers online. Make sure to click on "Add/Remove" data to see all the options.
The Canadian Census Analyser allows you to quickly extract data from census profiles, from 1961 to 2016, as well as access microdata from the census not available on Statistic Canada's website. Find the census profile section or the "data to map" series of slides and screen recordings on this page for information about accessing and downloading 2021 census data.
Dalhousie does not subscribe to Odesi, but you can use it to do a variable search for Statistics Canada microdata available in the DLI collection. One important exception: microdata from many CORA opinion polls are available for download in Odesi.
SDA allows you to download microdata from Statistics Canada's surveys, and also to create online cross-tabs.
Many datasets are publicly discoverable on Google. Try one of the following exercises to practice special search techniques such as using the site: and filetype:operators to do very effective searches.
The Halifax Open Data Catalogue contains many downloadable datasets of interest to the HRM community. The interface also allows you to filter and visualize data online.
The Nova Scotia Open Data Portal contains many datasets. I recommend downloading these datasets, but it's also possible to do some data visualization online.
More recent census profiles are also available through the Census Analyser through to 2016.
For help with using ArcGIS, please see the tutorials shared by the GIS Centre.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information shares statistics about hospitals and the Canadian health system.
By using the right search techniques, data about all sorts of topics can be found in articles or other health database content.
Use Statistics Canada's Health Indicators to view health and population data about provinces or health regions.
Reports, books, and other data publications can be found in Novanet.
