Government Finance Statistics (GFS)

Summary of changes

Activity on this program started: 2010

Reference period of change - 1991-2009

Statistics Canada has decided to move towards reporting government finance statistics on a Government Finance Statistics 2001 basis. The GFS 2001 is an international accepted accrual accounting framework for government finance statistics. The GFS 2001 is also fully integrated with the United Nation's System of National Accounts framework.

The present statistical program replaces the description in Consolidated Government Financial Assets and Liabilities (record no. 1709) and Consolidated Government Revenue and Expenditures (record no. 1735), which used, up to the publication of data for 2008, the Financial Management System (FMS) to produce uniform and comparable statistical series.

While it will take a number of years to be able to derive detailed GFS-based statistics directly from government financial information (Statistics Canada will begin publishing public sector statistics based on the GFS 2001 manual in calendar year 2012), Statistics Canada has decided to release quarterly GFS data using Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA) government sector data and a bridging model that maps these data to the GFS framework. The CSNA (consistent with the United Nations' System) already compiles some government data on an accrual basis and therefore offers the foundation to produce preliminary estimates of government data on a GFS basis.