Canada’s census provides the most detailed and accurate information on the makeup of Canada’s labour force. Conducted once every five years, this nationwide survey captures one moment in time at an incredibly fine level of detail and regional representation. Comparisons between successive censuses provides interesting large-scale trends over time.
Of course, 2021 was not a typical year.Â
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism sector was beginning its trajectory of regrowth following waves of successive public health actions aimed at mitigating viral transmission through limiting movement and social gathering. This means that comparing 2021 with the previous census year (2016) can be a bit misleading. The aggregate numbers are much lower—fewer people worked in tourism in 2021 than five years previously—but in fact, the 2021 data marks an incredible growth trajectory out of the 2020 shutdown. The missing context complicates what we can do with this data.
Nevertheless, documenting and understanding where the sector was in 2021 remains an important part of labour market analysis. To understand where we are now, we must understand where we have been, and how we got from there to here.
Tourism HR Canada has prepared a series of short reports that present the 2021 census data through several lenses, both social (demographic) and by industry. These reports are free of charge to download.
National Summary
Demographic Summaries of the Tourism Workforce
Industry Summaries of the Tourism Workforce
Provincial/Territorial Demographic Profiles of Tourism Sector Employees
While the preceding reports are national in scope, we’ve captured provincial and territorial data in two interactive charts.
For any enquiries, please email research@TourismHR.ca.
This project is funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Initiatives Program.
The opinions and interpretations in these publications are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulations: Census 2021. This does not constitute an endorsement of this product by Statistics Canada.