"Established in 1985, Canada’s General Social Survey (GSS) program was designed as a series of independent, annual, cross-sectional surveys, each covering one topic in-depth. The overall objectives of the program were, and continue to be, to gather data on social trends in order to monitor changes in the living conditions and well being of Canadians, and to provide information on specific social policy issues." (The General Social Survey: An Overview)
Each survey cycle covers a specific core content and focus, along with the usual classification data; the cycles are repeated periodically, usually every five years. The "Survey details" tab shows the surveys completed so far; each survey title is linked to a more detailed description.
Last updated 2023.04.27
covered two week and long-term disability measures, smoking, alcohol use, sleep, physical activity, health problems, health care utilization measures satisfaction and happiness and potential support networks for persons 15 years of age and older; persons 55 years of age and older provided additional data on support given and received and social activities.
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Data for persons 15 years of age and older which covered: activities of Canadians over a 24 hour period (identifying each activity done, where, when and with whom), education, occupation and other demographic characteristics of parents and respondent, satisfaction and happiness; language knowledge, current language practices including use in home, at work and at school, change in language use in last five years.
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Data from persons 15 years and older which covered: accidents and crimes experienced during 1987, services used by victims of crime, attitudes to crime, factors which relate to personal risk, and a set of socio-economic items.
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Data from persons 15 years and older which covered: work and education in the service economy, new technologies and human resources, emerging trends in education and work and knowledge and attitudes to science and technology.
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Data from persons 15 years and older and concentrated on the respondent's family and friends and interactions with them. Topics covered include marital history, common law unions, natural, adopted and step children, potential support networks, division of household work and support given and received. The content drew heavily on the 1984 Family History Survey for birth and marriage/cohabitation history questions and on the social support sections of GSS Cycle 1 (1985 Survey). Some comparisons are possible with both of these earlier surveys.
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Data from persons 15 years of age and older. Most of the core content of Cycle 6 repeats that of Cycle 1 (1985) and included such content areas as: self-perceived health status, long and short-term disability measurements, consultations with health professionals, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, sleep patterns, height and weight satisfaction with health, occupational and emotional health measures, job benefits, and old age and disability income. As well, much of the core content was included in the Canada Health Survey (1978/79). The three surveys can be used to measure changes in health status over time. Focus content was diffuse: flu vaccinations, and emotional health measures sponsored by various divisions of Health and Welfare Canada and a health state classification system sponsored internally by the Analytical Studies Branch of Statistics Canada.
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Data from persons 15 years of age and older. The core content of time use repeats that of Cycle 2 and provides data on the daily activities of Canadians. A particular objective of the cycle was the measurement of unpaid work including domestic work, childcare, volunteer work, etc. Also included were questions to measure participation in sport and cultural activities. These questions were sponsored by Sports Canada, and various government departments and cultural organizations.
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Data from persons 15 years of age and older. The eighth cycle of the GSS marks the first repeat of the GSS core subject on Personal Risk (see GSS 1988 - Cycle 3) related to accidents and criminal victimizations. The following subjects are common to both: perceptions of crime, police and courts; crime prevention precautions; accident and crime screening sections; and accident and crime incident reports. As well, measures of fear of crime and childhood injuries were identified as appropriate additions to the core content. Focus content for Cycle 8 covers alcohol and drug use, sponsored by the Health Promotion Directorate of Health and Welfare Canada.
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The ninth cycle of the General Social Survey marks the first repeat of the GSS core subject on Education, Work and Retirement, originally covered in Cycle 4 (1989). Although the core content is the same in both cycles, there are differences between the two surveys. For example, Cycle 9 focuses more on quality of life after retirement and post-retirement activities than Cycle 4. In addition, the Cycle 9 questionnaire has two new sections: social origin and work interruptions.
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Cycle 10 focused on Canadian families. This theme, in conjunction with the theme relating to social support and social networks was also covered in Cycle 5. More specifically, Cycle 10 collected data on family and marital history (marriage and common-law relationships), joint custody arrangements, child leaving, family origins, fertility intentions, values and attitudes towards certain areas of family life, and work interruptions. In addition to the core content, Cycle 10 included two focus themes : the effects of environmental tobacco smoke, and wartime service, which targets persons aged 55 and over.
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The objectives and scope of Cycle 11 were: to understand the dynamic between an individual's social network and help received and provided, and to determine the nature of the help received and provided. A "social network" is comprised of the individual's spouse, family, close friends, neighbours, co-worker or any organizations (composed of either volunteers or paid employees) that revolve around an individual. The 1996 GSS focused on help given or received during either temporarily difficult times or out of necessity due to long-term health or physical limitations in daily activities either inside or outside the household.
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The core content of time use repeats that of Cycle 7 (1992) and Cycle 2(1986), and provides data on the daily activities of Canadians. Question modules were also included on unpaid work activities, cultural activities and participation in sports.
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Cycle 13 is the third cycle (following cycle 3 and cycle 8) that collected information in 1999 on the nature and extent of criminal victimisation in Canada. Focus content for cycle 13 addressed two areas of emerging interest: public perception toward alternatives to imprisonment; and spousal violence and senior abuse. Other subjects common to all three cycles include perceptions of crime, police and courts; crime prevention precautions; accident and crime screening sections; and accident and crime incident reports.
GSS Cycle 14 surveyed individual Canadians about their use of computers and the Internet, the impact of technology on privacy, access to information, and the social cohesion of families and communities. Topics include general use of technology and computers, technology in the workplace, development of computer skills, frequency of Internet and E-mail use, non-users and security and information on the Internet. This is the first time that Statistics Canada has collected detailed information on individual use of technology. Data from this cycle complement other Statistics Canada surveys on this topic, particularly the annual Household Internet Use Survey.
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Cycle 15 of the General Social Survey (GSS) is the third cycle to collect detailed information on family life in Canada. The previous GSS cycles that collected family data were Cycles 5 and 10. Topics include demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and marital status; family origin of parents; brothers and sisters; marriages of respondent; common-law unions of respondent; fertility and family intentions; values and attitudes; education history; work history; main activity and other characteristics.
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Cycle 16 of the 2002 General Social Survey (GSS) was on 'Aging and Social Support.' Data were collected over an 11-month period from February to December 2002 with a sample of approximately 25,000 respondents representing the non-institutionalized population in the 10 provinces. These tables contain data on the prevalence of care received by seniors because of long-term health problems, the prevalence of informal care given to seniors because of long-term health problems and consequences of providing care to seniors. All tables are available by sex and age groups, and for Canada and the provinces.
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This survey collected information on a wide range of activities, such as social contacts with family, friends and neighbours; involvement in formal organizations, political activities and volunteer work; values and attitudes; the level of trust in people and in public institutions; and the care provided or received on an informal basis.
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This survey examined the extent and nature of criminal victimization. The rate of violent victimization in Canada, based on information provided by Canadians themselves, was no higher in 2004 than it was five years earlier.
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The core content of time use repeats that of cycle 12 (1998), cycle 7 (1992) and cycle 2 (1986), and provides data on the daily activities of Canadians. Question modules were also included on unpaid work activities, cultural activities, social networks and participation in sports. The target population of the General Social Survey consisted of all individuals aged 15 and over living in a private household in one of the ten provinces.
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Cycle 20 of the General Social Survey (GSS) is the fourth cycle to collect detailed information on family life in Canada. The previous GSS cycles that collected family data were Cycles 5, 10 and 15. Topics include demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and marital status; family origin of parents; departure from the parental home; marriages of respondent; common-law unions of respondent; fertility and family intentions; birth and adoption; child custody; financial support agreement or arrangement for children and ex-spouse/partner; social networks; work-family balance and family functioning; work history and maternity and paternity leave. The GSS also gathered data on the respondent's main activity and other socio-demographic characteristics.
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The purpose of Cycle 21 is to better understand the experiences of Canadians 45 years of age and over by examining key transitions related to their families, care giving and receiving, work and retirement. The survey collected information on topics such as well-being, family composition, retirement decisions and plans, care giving and care receiving experiences, social networks and housing. Collecting similar data over time allows us to examine the changes that have occurred in specific areas in the lives of Canadians. New questions in Cycle 21 looked at the consequences of giving care, returning to work after retirement, and residential changes resulting from retirement. Results from this survey will have an impact in the areas of health, income security, employment and lifelong learning, marriage and family, housing, care-receiving and care-giving and retirement.
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The purpose of Cycle 22 is to collect data on social networks, and social and civic participation. Information is also collected on major changes in respondents' lives and the resources they used and needed during these transitions.
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This survey collects information on the nature and extent of criminal victimization in Canada.
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This survey monitors changes in time use, including time-stress and well-being.
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Cycle 25 is the fifth cycle of the GSS to collect data on Families. Previous cycles were conducted in 1990, 1995, 2001 and 2006. This survey monitors changes in Canadian families. It collects information on: conjugal and parental history (chronology of marriages, common-law unions and children), family origins, children's home leaving, fertility intentions as well as work history and other socioeconomic characteristics.
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This survey collects data on the situation of Canadians who receive help or care because of a long-term health condition, a disability or problems related to aging, and of those who provide help or care to family members or friends with those conditions.
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Statistics Canada collected data on the topic of giving, volunteering and participating for the sixth time in 2013. Data were previously collected by the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) in 1997 and 2000, and by the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP) 2004, 2007 and 2010.
The 2013 GSS GVP continues the method of measuring giving, volunteering and participating established by the 2004, 2007 and 2010 CSGVP. Between 2004 and 2013, core content of the survey was revised in a number of ways, based on experience gained from earlier iterations.
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The 2013 GSS was the third cycle to collect information on social networks and social engagement in Canada. The previous iteration of the survey was Social Networks in 2008 and the first, Social Engagement in 2003. In addition to content previously covered, the 2013 GSS included new questions on pride, appreciation of national symbols and shared values. Data were also collected on the respondents' main activity, as well as education, religion, income and other socio demographic characteristics.
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The main objective of the GSS on Canadians' Safety (Victimization) is to better understand how Canadians perceive crime and the justice system. It also allows collection of information on their experiences of victimization. The 2014 GSS was a survey of individuals and contains two analytical files (main analytical file and incident analytical file). The microdata files from the main survey in the provinces contain questionnaire responses and associated information from 33,127 respondents. Analytical files for the survey in the territories contain responses and information from 2,040 respondents. Cycle 28 is the sixth cycle of the GSS to collect data on victimization. Previous cycles were conducted in 1988, 1993, 1999, 2004, and 2009.
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The main objective of the 2015 GSS on Time Use was to collect information on day-to-day activities performed by people in order to estimate the unpaid work and to measure gender equality or inequality in diverse spheres of society. The survey covered individuals aged 15 years and older living in private households in the 10 provinces.
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The objective of the 2016 General Social Survey on Canadians at Work and Home was to collect information on the lifestyle behaviour of Canadians that impacts their health and well being both in the workplace and at home. The survey covered individuals aged 15 and older living in private households in the 10 provinces.
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Last updated 2022.03.31
