Getting the calculator ready

Usage: Sets the live denominator for Canada and provincial starting populations.

Notes: Latest quarterly population estimate used as the live starting population.

Limitations: A current population total, not a full cross-tab by every demographic trait.

Usage: Powers age, sex category, and legal relationship-status proxy steps.

Notes: Population aged 15 years and over, 100% data. Used for age, sex/gender, and relationship-status proxy steps.

Limitations: Legal and household status are not the same thing as actively dating.

Usage: Provides education shares by geography, age group, and sex category.

Notes: Population aged 15 years and over in private households. Education shares come from 25% sample census data.

Limitations: 25% sample data and not jointly published with every downstream filter.

Usage: Provides income band shares by geography, age group, and sex category.

Notes: Income uses the Census income reference year 2020, which is older than the live 2026 population estimate.

Limitations: Income is tied to the 2020 reference year and may require estimation against newer population totals.

Usage: Provides official population-group counts by geography, age, and gender.

Notes: Population-group filter uses official 2021 Census visible minority categories for persons in private households. Multi-select combines selected categories using union logic.

Limitations: Categories follow the official source variable and not every downstream filter is jointly published with them.

Usage: Provides self-reported weekly alcohol-risk distributions by Canada, province, age group, and gender.

Notes: Drinking-habits shares use self-reported alcohol-use risk categories from the 2023 Canadian Community Health Survey. They are survey-based estimates, not census counts, and may underreport true consumption.

Limitations: Survey-based rather than census-based, self-reported, adults 18+ only, and not published as a full province-by-age-by-gender cross-tab.

Usage: Provides measured-height percentile anchors used to estimate surviving shares for acceptable height ranges.

Notes: Height uses measured standing-height percentiles from an official Canadian health survey. The calculator estimates surviving shares by interpolating across published percentiles.

Limitations: Height is estimated from published percentiles rather than observed inside the main census cross-tab pipeline.

Usage: Provides official-language knowledge distributions by geography and age.

Notes: Language filter uses official-language knowledge categories rather than app usage or preference.

Limitations: Not jointly published with sex, marital status, education, or income in this calculator.

Usage: Tracks user-entered probability modifiers applied after the official data steps.

Notes: Not census-backed. This is a deliberate assumption slider applied after the statistical filters.

Limitations: Not census-backed and intentionally treated as user assumptions rather than discovered facts.