Introduction

CLOVIS is a concept, an idea, on visual intelligence systems. The concept is to bring together what we know on local labour markets and what we do in terms of our programs to assist decision-makers and program areas to better respond to actual needs based on more pragmatic and precise information. Developing visual information systems for ourselves is the future of consuming data for policy and decision-making. It is an important objective to develop tools at no additional cost in terms of software in leveraging open source data technology while offering an opportunity to analysts to develop capacity for better open data science. As such, this application is based on open source technology.

The data shown in CLOVIS is from the Center for Special Business Projects at Statistics Canada. All data are public from CENSUS 2011 and NHS 2011 or public administrative data from ESDC's wesbsite.

Working definitions

For the purpose of the information contained in this application, Official Language Minorities (OLM) refers to Francophones residing outside the province of Quebec and Anglophones residing within the province of Quebec.

Estimates for the OLM population, and other variables are derived from the first official language spoken (FOLS) variable in Statistics Canada’s Census and national household survey 2011. FOLS is used in the application of the Official languages Act (OLA). As such, it is also a standard in estimating OLM populations.

FOLS is derived from responses to Census questions on knowledge of the two official languages, the language spoken at home and the mother tongue. The derivation method and the use of FOLS are described in the OLA’s regulations.

When we refer to “communities”, we are referring to population estimates in relation to a given geography.


Local labour market areas

This work is driven by the development a new geography: the self-contained labour marketr areas (SLA) or local labour market areas. These areas are a grouping of census subdivisions (CSD) based on commuting flows of the employed labour force. In other words it represents the movement of people from their place of residence to their place of work. People who work from home are included because, while they don’t travel to work, they are part of the local workforce.

Commuting data comes from the National Household Survey. The flows comprise the place of residence, the place of work and the number of commuters who travel from origin to destination.

For information on the methodology: Munro, Anne, Alessandro Alasia and Ray D. Bollman. Self-contained labour areas: A proposed delineation and classification by degree of rurality. Statistics Canada. Catalogue no. 21-006-X, Vol. 8, No. 8 (December 2011)




Using an algorithm, the commuting flows are processed to create groups of CSDs with people living and working in one area. A labour market area is therefore a functional area, because it represents a geographically contained space where workers with jobs are residing and jobs are filled (Munro, Alasia and Bollman, 2011).

Skills equilibrium

Skills have a critical role in the development of an area and in the well-being of its residents. They are associated with higher employment rates and better jobs, which in turn fosters higher living standards and growth all of which contributing to what has been called the “virtuous cycle.” For communities, skills development is an important part of any development strategy.

On the other hand, a focus on supplying skills alone may lead to skills surplus, tight competition among workers and outmigration of skilled workers, adding little to local sustainability and development. Work undertaken by the OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) led to the development of a methodology and framework which allows for the assessment of the match or equilibrium between the supply and demand for skills.

The Skills for Competitiveness Study (Giguere and Froy - 2009) included the development of the Skills Equilibrium methodology. To summarize skill demand is estimated using income and percentage of the people employed in medium- to high-skilled jobs. Skill supply is estimated by the percentage of the population with post-secondary education. This methodology has been adapted for the purposes of this work.

The Skills for Competiveness Study recommended that investment in skills upgrading be accompanied by stimulation of local demand for these skills, by encouraging local enterprises to increase their productivity and raise competitiveness. This can take the shape of investments in technology, optimization of forms of work organization and more management training to increase firms’ competitiveness and thus local demand for skilled labour. Such a comprehensive approach opens up the possibility for a region to move towards a situation with high demand for skilled labour balanced by an adequate labour supply, i.e. the so-called high skills equilibrium.

For more information on the Skills for Competitiveness Study or on the Skills Equilibrium Methodology: OECD's skills for competitiveness project


Economic Health Index (under development by ESDC and StatCan)

This is the old prototype version of the index and is not the final version. It is used here as an example. The index is designed to give an overview of the economic health of an area. It incorporates six timely dimensions of economic wellbeing into a single Economic Performance Index (EPI) calculated at the municipal and labour market area. Each dimension of the EPI reflects a separate concept of performance and is captured either as a single indicator or as a combination of multiple indicators. These six dimensions are:

  • Jobs
  • Educational attainment
  • Earnings
  • Industry sector
  • Housing
  • Access to services

Each of these dimensions takes the range of 0-1, with 0 indicating that the area has the least favourable outcome in terms of economic progress and 1 indicating that the area had the most favorable outcome. The final result is an index that provides a single performance measure and which can be decomposed into its various dimensions for the purposes of more detailed analysis and comparison of areas.

While information based on the index is included in the application, it remains a work in progress. It will be refined and updated information will be provided as it becomes available.


Cross-provincial areas

Some “self-contained labour areas” transcend provincial boundaries where there is cross border commuting to and from work. In the context of the information contained in this application, the most comlex issue is in those areas neighbouring the province of Quebec (Ontario and New Brunswick).In the “self-contained labour areas” that straddle the borders of Quebec and Ontario or New Brunswick, the OLM population is a mix of the English-speaking OLM of Quebec and the Francophone OLM of the other provinces. Depending on the area, the proportions can be representative of one or the other province’s official language minority. As an example, the Petawawa area is more representative of the Francophones in Ontario, not of the Anglophones in Quebec.

The “self-contained labour areas” where this phenomenon occurs are:

  • Petawawa
  • Temiskaming shores
  • North Bay
  • Cornwall
  • Ottawa / Gatineau
  • Campbelton

When exploring these areas, caution is advised in interpreting the information found.