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Marine sectors in Canada methodology

Acknowledgements

The methodology and data sources sections are based in part on a report prepared for Fisheries and Oceans Canada by Gardner Pinfold, "Economic Impact of Marine Related Activities in Canada (2009)".

Methodology

Statistics Canada's Inter-provincial Input-Output Model (IO model) Footnote 1 was used to estimate the economic contribution of marine industries to the Canadian economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. This enables a meaningful comparison across industries and geographies.

The list and scope of industries considered to be marine industries was first identified by Gardner Pinfold and continues to be updated as new information and data becomes available. Starting in 2018 and continuing to today, commodity level expenditures for each marine industry were provided to Statistics Canada for a customized run of the IO model to obtain the related economic impact.

For estimates prior to 2018, GDP, labour income, and employment estimates for most industries were derived by applying the corresponding industry multiplier Footnote 2 to estimates of gross output. The exceptions to this process were Marine Tourism and Recreation, National Defence, and Fisheries and Oceans, where commodity level expenditures were provided to Statistics Canada for a customized run of the IO model to obtain the related economic impact. This change in approach also entails a difference in the way that provincial level impact estimates are aggregated, making them not strictly comparable under the two different methodologies.

The GDP a marine industry generates quantifies the value it adds to production by applying labour and capital to purchased inputs. It is calculated by subtracting from total revenues (or output) of a given industry, the costs of intermediate goods and services used in the production process (e.g. energy, building costs, transportation, financial and professional services). Employment is measured in terms of number of jobs, which includes both full-time and part-time employment, and is based on labour costs which are unique to each individual industry.Footnote 3

Economic impacts are driven by direct, indirect and induced demand, expressed in terms of industry and consumer purchases of goods and services. The sum of impacts flowing from each level of demand gives the overall economic impact of marine sectors in Canada, where:

When two marine industries are linked by a supply chain, such as commercial fishing and fish and seafood processing or marine transportation and support activities for marine transportation, there is a risk of double counting economic impacts, as one industry generates demand for the outputs of the linked industry. For example, fish and seafood processing generates demand for the outputs of the commercial fishing industry, causing the indirect impacts of the fish and seafood processing industry to double count at least a portion of the direct and indirect impacts corresponding to the commercial fishing industry.

The existence of double counting between marine industries was assessed using the IO Supply and Use Tables.Footnote 4 Double counting of economic impacts between commercial fishing and fish and seafood processing in the seafood sector, and between marine transportation and support activities for marine transportation in the transportation sector were removed in proportion to their respective IO linkages.

Data sources

Fishing and seafood

Commercial fishing:

Atlantic and Pacific Regions: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), commercial sea fisheries landings, Canada Provincial - Values

Arctic Region: Pacific Region Integrated Fisheries Management Plans and DFO Central & Arctic region internal catch data.

Aquaculture: Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0488-01, Output, by sector and industry, provincial and territorial, Aquaculture [BS112500]. 2020 extrapolated from 2019 using Statistics Canada Table 32 10 0108 01, Aquaculture economic statistics, value added account, gross output.

Fish processing: Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0488-01, Output, by sector and industry, provincial and territorial, [BS311700], seafood preparation and packaging, 2020 extrapolated from 2019 using Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0402-01 (Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by industry, provinces and territories) adjusted using Statistics Canada Table 18-10-0265-01 (Industrial product price index), by product, product 171 from the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS).

Offshore oil & gas

Oil & gas exploration/extraction: Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0488-01, Output, by sector and industry, provincial and territorial, [BS21100], oil and gas extraction, 2020 extrapolated from 2019 using Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0402-01 (Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by industry, provinces and territories) adjusted using Statistics Canada Table 18-10-0268-01 (Raw materials price index), NAPCS14111 for crude oil and NAPCS 142 for natural gas.

Transportation

Marine transportation: Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0488-01, Output, by sector and industry, provincial and territorial, Water transportation [BS483000]. 2020 extrapolated from 2019 using Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0402-01, Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by industry, provinces and territories; adjusted using Statistics Canada Table 18-10-0005-01 Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted, Services

Support activities: Statistics Canada, Table 36-10-0478-01 Supply and use tables, detail level, provincial and territorial, Water transportation support, maintenance and repair services [MPS488004] products supplied by Support activities for transportation [BS488000] industry at basic prices. 2020 extrapolated from 2019 using Marine transportation growth rate.

Tourism & recreation

Recreational fishing: Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2015 Survey of Recreational Fishing data on expenditures, adjusted for saltwater expenditures only, and extrapolated forward using average growth rate.

Recreational boating: 2016 estimates on expenditures by type taking from 2020 National Marine Manufacturer Association (NMMA) Canadian Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract. Values backcasted and extrapolated using new boat sales and adjusted using Statistics Canada Table: 18-10-0005-01 (Consumer price index) for various products linked with recreational boating.

Cruise ships: 2012 and 2016 Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) reports: “The Economic Contribution of the International Cruise Industry in Canada” (interpolated for 2013-15), total annual expenditures. Values for 2020 extrapolated using number of cruise visitors sourced from Transport Canada annual reports and provincial government tourism ministries. Values adjusted using Statistics Canada Table: 18-10-0005-01 (Consumer price index) for various products linked with the cruise industry.

Other coastal tourism: 2006 coastal tourism spending (calculated by Gardner Pinfold) extrapolated using reallocated expenditures by province/territory from Statistics Canada Table 24-10-0013-01 (2006-2010) and Table 24-10-0027-01 (2011-2017) and Table 24-10-0045-01 (2018), and Table 36-10-0230-01 (2019 and 2020) and adjusted using Statistics Canada Table: 18-10-0005-01 (Consumer price index) for the complete basket in each province.

Manufacturing & construction

Shipbuilding and boat building: Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0488-01, Output, by sector and industry, provincial and territorial, Ship and boat building [BS336600]. 2020 extrapolated from 2019 using Statistics Canada Table 36-10-0402-01, Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by industry, provinces and territories, Ship and boat building [3366]; adjusted using Table 18-10-0265-01, Industrial product price index, by product, monthly, Ships [44111] and Boats and personal watercraft [44211].

Ports and harbours construction:

Atlantic and Pacific Regions:

Arctic Region: Statistics Canada Table 34-10-0063-01, Capital expenditures. The average ratio of marine engineering construction across all provinces is applied to total engineering construction in each of the territories.

Public sector universities and environmental non-governmental organizations

Department of National Defence (DND): Data on defence services operations and maintenance (O&M) and capital expenditures for coastal provinces and territories were obtained from DND. The data was derived from DND Estimated Expenditures by Electoral District and Province.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO): Expenditures were obtained by using DFO expenditures data sourced from the internally available Multi Year Financial Planning System.

Other federal departments: Total spending on marine-related activities from Departmental Performance Reports and Reports on Plans and Priorities for Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), Parks Canada (PCA), and Transport Canada (TC).

Provincial/territorial government departments: Provincial and territorial expenditures associated with the ocean economy were obtained from the Main Estimates and Public Accounts for each respective province and territory. An effort was made to exclude data otherwise counted in the National Accounts including ferry transportation, services to water transportation and marine-related construction.

Universities: Estimates of university ocean-related expenditures are based on a two-stage approach. The first stage is compiling all ocean-related grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the federal Council for Innovation (CFI). Funding for projects whose title relates to the Arctic region is allocated to the Territories even if the university that received the funding is located in a province. The second stage involved grossing up the estimated annual expenditures for coastal universities. The estimates are calculated by extending the 2006 Gardner Pinfold expenditure values with the growth rate of total university budgets as provided in the annual Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) reports.

Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs): 2008 expenditures (calculated by Acton White) grossed up using the growth rate of financial data of representative ENGOs (taken from the CRA Registered Charity Information Return).

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