Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing (BSSBF)

Summary of changes

Activity on this program started: 2000

Reference period of change - January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011

In 2011, the frequency of this survey changed from annual to biannual.

A redesigned version of this survey was piloted in 2011. This redesign changed content and was administered to a significantly reduced (but representative) number of respondents. As a result, the comparability of 2011 data to earlier data is limited.

Reference period of change - 2009

As the development of a new program continues, a shorter version of the survey was administered to a smaller number of units for the collection of 2009 and 2010 data. As such, reference year 2008 data previously published in December 2009 have been restated to provide comparability with 2009 and 2010 data. It is important to note that these data do not represent the same population of lenders as they did prior to 2008.

Reference period of change - 2001

The coverage of federal and provincial government business enterprises was more extensive in 2001 than in 2000. This has resulted in somewhat higher estimates for 2001 for some supplier types, particularly other banks.

Reference period of change - 2000

The first survey (2000) was developed both to meet the immediate information needs of Industry Canada and the Department of Finance and as a test of the survey vehicle itself. An evaluation of the first survey resulted in recommendations for changes to the target population, the questionnaire content, the sample design and the dimensions of the output tables. These recommendations were made with the goal of moving the survey closer to a steady-state form.