About the Portal

Content

The Data Portal on English-Speaking Quebec (DESQ) is a growing online database created by the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN) at Concordia University. DESQ stores custom statistical datasets related to English-speaking Quebec created for individual researchers or organizations. Most are drawn from Canadian census data but are unavailable on the Statistics Canada website.

Dataset Formats

Datasets are available in three formats:

  • Ivation tables (IVT). These can be opened using the freely available Beyond 20/20 Professional Browser, which works only on Windows operating systems (not Mac). For a quick primer on using this browser, click here.
  • Comma-separated values files (CSV). These raw datasets can be imported into a variety of programs, but typically require field formatting and some prior experience in working with big data.
  • Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files (XLSX). These are the most user-friendly datasets for those familiar with spreadsheets but unfamiliar with other data treatment software. However, they allow for the cross-referencing of only two variables at a time. Files can be opened using Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or other programs compatible with Excel.

The website is currently under development and all dataset formats listed here may not yet be available.

Use of Material

All datasets on this site were created by Statistics Canada for third-party organizations. They are freely available via an open license from Statistics Canada and open-use licensing agreements with the third-party organizations. You are free to use, share, publish and freely distribute these tables as long as you provide an acknowledgement of source (e.g.: Statistics Canada, “name of product,” “reference date,” custom dataset created for “name of partner organization” by Statistics Canada. Reproduced and distributed on an as-is basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.)

Credits

Producer of DESQ: Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN)

Project Management

IT Consultant

Project Consultant

Funders and partners

The Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d’expression anglaise, Gouvernement du Quebec, funded this project.

QUESCREN partner organizations originally obtained the datasets from Statistics Canada. We acknowledge their generosity in agreeing to make the data available to the public via DESQ, and the work of project consultant Jan Warnke in facilitating their availability.

QUESCREN also receives funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities, and Concordia University.