Free Tools

CensusAggregator makes census data more accessible to the social sector and the broader public. Using an interactive, map-based interface, visitors can combine standard census geographic areas to build a custom region. CensusAggregator returs aggregate statistics and charts for the selected region. CensusAggregator uses data from the 2021 Canadian census.

Community service providers will find this tool useful for summarizing the population and household characteristics for their service areas without having to retrieve, filter, aggregate, and visualize the raw data themselves.

Developed in collaboration with Sharla Gelfand and Mountain Math, the creator of CensusMapper.

The Low-end of Market Housing Rental Monitor presents critical information on the affordable “low-end” of the private rental housing stock in six urban regions across Canada: Calgary, Halifax, Greater Montreal Area, Greater Toronto Area, Metro Vancouver Area, and Winnipeg.

Current policy responses are focused on addressing affordability issues by increasing rental housing supply, primarily through new construction. However, much less attention has been paid to the extent to which existing affordable units are being lost, something that new construction does not directly address. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of affordable units is diminishing and that these units are increasingly unavailable in central urban areas. The LEMR Housing Monitor helps to translate anecdote into evidence by articulating the magnitude of this issue and identifying where it is most acute.

Developed in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association, and R and Shiny Developer Sharla Gelfand.