Rural Canada Trade Profiles (RCTP)

Detailed information for 2012 to 2024

The Rural Canada Trade Profiles (RCTP) database provides statistical information on the characteristics of goods-exporting and goods-importing establishments in rural and small town Canada.

Data release - September 19, 2025

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The RCTP database contains establishment-level information on the number of businesses engaged in goods exports and imports, and their corresponding trade values. Data are available by geography and location type (rural and small town area or functional urban area).

The RCTP database is derived from two statistical programs:
• Trade by Exporter Characteristics (TEC) - Goods
https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5124
• Trade by Importer Characteristics (TIC) - Goods
https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5237

The TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs identify exporters and importers, respectively, based on merchandise trade data that are linked to business characteristics in the Statistics Canada Business Register (BR), including location, revenue, tax data and industry classification.

The Statistics Canada BR is a central repository of information on businesses operating in Canada. It is used as the principal frame for many of Statistics Canada's economic statistical programs. The BR provides consistent and standardized data at the enterprise and establishment levels for each reference year.

The TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs provide the establishment-level data used to calculate the core trade aggregates of the RCTP database. The RCTP database captures 99% of all exporting and importing establishments identified in the TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs and accounts for over 98% of the total value of goods traded.

Reference period: Annual. A reference year in the RCTP database begins on January 1 and ends on December 31 of the same calendar year.

Subjects

• International trade
• Merchandise exports
• Merchandise imports
• Rural Canada
• Society and community

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The RCTP database is derived from the TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs. The target population for these programs includes all businesses engaged in merchandise trade, as identified through customs and administrative data.

The TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs provide establishment-level information that forms the basis of the RCTP database. These data include business characteristics that allow for classification by geography, industry and location type.

Instrument design

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Sampling

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Data sources

Information on the collection of source data supporting the RCTP database is available through the Integrated Metadatabase entries of the TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs.

Error detection

The RCTP database reflects source data from the TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs, focusing on establishments identified as goods exporters or importers, respectively, within Canada.

The RCTP database is subject to systematic validation to assess data completeness, format integrity and classification accuracy. Location indicators categorize establishments into rural and small town areas or functional urban areas based on standardized geographic references and are verified against defined classification categories.

Imputation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

The RCTP database is assessed for completeness, consistency and alignment with conceptual frameworks. Quality benchmarks from the source programs, TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods, support the evaluation of the reliability and accuracy of the RCTP database.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

The RCTP database uses the following disclosure control method:

Random rounding: Adjusts count values by randomly rounding either up or down to the nearest multiple of 5.
• A zero count ("0") indicates a rounded value between 1 and 5 (inclusive) that has been rounded down.
• This disclosure control method may introduce discrepancies of ±5 when comparing the RCTP database with the reference data source of the TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs.
• Due to the random nature of rounding, the sum of individual values may not equal aggregate totals.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Data accuracy

The RCTP database is derived from the TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs, which are compiled through a record linkage process. For detailed information on data accuracy and quality assurance measures, refer to the Integrated Metadatabase entries of each statistical program.

Efforts are made to ensure the data align conceptually with their intended use. Any anomalies or inconsistencies identified during processing are verified against source records and, when necessary, adjusted to maintain consistency with the framework of the TEC - Goods and TIC - Goods programs. These programs are considered the most reliable sources available. The resulting data in the RCTP database are assessed to be of high quality, even in cases where adjustments have been applied.