Survey of Service Industries: Surveying and Mapping (SMAP)
Detailed information for 2024
Status:
Active
Frequency:
Annual
Record number:
4715
This survey collects the financial and operating data needed to develop national and regional economic policies and programs.
Description
This survey uses administrative data to produce economic statistics for the Surveying and Mapping Services industry in Canada.
Administrative data from businesses are aggregated with information from other sources to produce official estimates of national and provincial economic production for this industry.
Survey estimates are made available to businesses, governments, investors, associations, and the public. The data are used to monitor industry growth, measure performance, and make comparisons to other data sources to better understand this industry.
Statistical activity
The survey is administered as part of the Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP). The IBSP has been designed to integrate approximately 200 separate business surveys into a single master survey program. The IBSP aims at collecting industry and product detail at the provincial level while minimizing overlap between different survey questionnaires. The redesigned business survey questionnaires have a consistent look, structure, and content.
The integrated approach makes reporting easier for firms operating in different industries because they can provide similar information for each branch operation. This way they avoid having to respond to questionnaires that differ for each industry in terms of format, wording and even concepts. The combined results produce more coherent and accurate statistics on the economy.
This survey is part of the Service Industries Program. The survey data gathered are used to compile aggregate statistics for over thirty service industry groupings. Financial data, including revenue, expense and profit statistics are available for all of the surveys in the program. In addition, many compile and disseminate industry-specific information.
Reference period: The calendar year, or the 12-month fiscal period for which the final day occurs on or between April 1st of the reference year and March 31st of the following year.
Subjects
- Business, consumer and property services
- Business performance and ownership
- Financial statements and performance
- Professional, scientific and technical services
Data sources and methodology
Target population
The target population consists of all establishments classified to the Surveying and Mapping Services industry according to the following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2022 codes during the reference year: 541360 - Geophysical surveying and mapping services; 541370 - Surveying and mapping (except geophysical) services. This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in gathering, interpreting and mapping geophysical data. These establishments often specialize in locating and measuring the extent of subsurface resources such as oil, gas and minerals. These establishments are also engaged in providing surveying and mapping services of the surface of the earth, including sea floor.
The observed population consists of all establishments classified to the Surveying and Mapping Services industry according to the NAICS 2022 codes 541360 - Geophysical surveying and mapping services, and 541370 - Surveying and mapping (except geophysical) services, found on the Statistics Canada Business Register as of the last day of the reference year (including establishments active for a part of the reference year).
Instrument design
This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.
Sampling
The Business Register is a repository of information reflecting the Canadian business population and exists primarily for the purpose of supplying frames for all economic surveys in Statistics Canada. It is designed to provide a means of coordinating the coverage of business surveys and of achieving consistent classification of statistical reporting units. It also serves as a data source for the compilation of business demographic information.
The major sources of information for the Business Register are updates from the Statistics Canada survey program and from Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) Business Number account files. This CRA administrative data source allows for the creation of a universe of all business entities.
This survey is a pseudo-census, and all financial variable values are primarily sourced from tax data (specifically, the T1 and T2 files from the CRA). For all other survey variables, imputation techniques are used.
SAMPLING AND SUB-SAMPLING
In a census, all sampling units are selected and are self-represented in the subsequent processing steps.
Data sources
Data collection for this reference period: 2025-03-14 to 2025-07-17
Data are extracted from administrative files.
Administrative data
A strategy to replace survey data with tax data has been introduced to reduce the response burden and survey costs. The strategy involves using tax data instead of survey data for all of the units.
As part of the Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP), T1 tax data are used for unincorporated businesses and T2 tax data for incorporated businesses. Data replacement may be used to correct outliers or to replace partially or completely missing data.
Data integration combines data from multiple data sources, including administrative data from the CRA and other forms of auxiliary data, when applicable. During the data integration process, data are imported, transformed, validated, aggregated and linked from the different data source providers into the formats, structures and levels required for IBSP processing. Administrative data are used with a data replacement strategy for financial variables for all small, medium and large enterprises to avoid collecting these variables.
View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .
- Date modified: