Canadian Economic Accounts re-referencing

Effective with the first quarter 2007 Income and Expenditure Accounts release on May 31, 2007, the expenditure-based gross domestic product (GDP) and associated components will be converted from a 1997 reference year to a 2002 reference year for its volume and price estimates. This change will affect data from 1961 to date. Adopting a new reference year will not affect chained GDP growth rates over the period, as it represents a scaling of the 1997-based data. However, levels and growth rates for the period of 2003 to 2006 will be affected by the regular GDP annual revision process, also released at the time of the first quarter. More information on methodology is available at Chain Fisher volume index - Methodology.

We will retain the existing CANSIM vector identifiers for the re-referenced chained dollar data. For the Laspeyres volume data (constant dollars), however, new CANSIM identifiers have been created for the new 2002 base year (see the list in the tables below).

All chained and constant dollar values as well as associated price indexes will be expressed in terms of 2002 prices. These replace the 1997-based estimates which were put into place at the time of the release of the first quarter 2001 estimates.

The provincial and territorial counterpart to the Income and Expenditure Accounts, the Provincial Economic Accounts, will be re-referenced to 2002 with its fall 2007 release.

The monthly industry-based GDP estimates will continue using a 1997 reference period until the regular annual revision of these data in September 2007.

For more information please contact an Information Officer in the Income and Expenditure Accounts Division at 613-951-3640 or iead-info-dcrd@statcan.ca.

CANSIM series numbers for expenditure-based gross domestic product:

• Quarterly estimates: CANSIM Table 380-0002
• Annual estimates: CANSIM Table 380-0017