ParseForge
Statistics Canada Data Tables Scraper
parseforge/statcan-canada-scraper
Developer toolsEducationAutomation
Scrapes Statistics Canada data catalogue by keyword and returns dataset metadata as flat rows. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
- Total users
- 2
- Monthly active
- 1
- Total runs
- 44
- Bookmarked
- 0
- Rating
- Not rated yet
- Last modified
- 12 days ago
Overview
Statistics Canada Data Tables Scraper
Scrape Statistics Canada data tables by keyword, up to a million datasets per run. Every dataset comes with its title, catalogue number, and metadata. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
Statistics Canada's official API needs a key and rate-limits you. This reads the public data catalogue directly, filtered by keyword, and returns each matching dataset in one fixed schema. Search for population, health, employment, trade, or any other topic.
| Who uses it | What they scrape Statistics Canada for |
|---|---|
| Market researchers | Which datasets Statistics Canada publishes for a given topic |
| Data journalists | Finding official Canadian statistics for a story |
| Policy analysts | Monitoring new data releases in their policy area |
| Academic researchers | Building a bibliography of Canadian data sources |
What it does
This Actor collects Statistics Canada datasets by keyword and returns each one as a flat row.
- 🔎 Keyword search: case-insensitive substring match against the English table title.
- 📚 Full catalogue: leave the keyword empty to return every dataset up to your max items limit.
- ⚙️ Max items control: set how many datasets to collect per run, from 1 to 1,000,000.
Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.
What you can do with Statistics Canada data
📈 Track new data releases.
A policy analyst runs the scraper weekly with the keyword 'labour' to see which new labour force datasets Statistics Canada has published.
📊 Build a research dataset list.
An academic researcher searches for 'health' to compile a list of all health-related datasets available from Statistics Canada.
🗞️ Find data for a story.
A data journalist searches for 'trade' to locate official Canadian trade statistics for an article.
🧪 Audit data coverage.
A market researcher runs the full catalogue to understand what topics Statistics Canada covers before designing a survey.
Why choose this scraper
| What you get | |
|---|---|
| Official Canadian data | Direct from Statistics Canada's public catalogue |
| No API key | No registration or OAuth required |
| Flexible export | CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML |
How it compares
No other Store actor targets Statistics Canada the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.
| Statistics Canada Data Tables Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When Statistics Canada changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |
Configure the run
Drive the Actor from a search keyword, and the filter runs as each dataset is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.
A first run with the defaults:
{
"searchQuery": "population",
"maxItems": 10
}
A larger pull:
{
"searchQuery": "population",
"maxItems": 200
}
Pricing
Pay-per-result: $0.005 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.
| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.50 |
| 1,000 results | $5.00 |
| 10,000 results | $50.00 |
New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.
Free users
Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.
Run it
- Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
- Open the Statistics Canada Data Tables Scraper.
- Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
- Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.
Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.
Use with AI agents (MCP)
Give an AI agent live access to Statistics Canada through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/statcan-canada-scraper"
Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.
Troubleshooting
Why am I getting no results?
Check your search keyword. It must be a substring of the English table title. Try a broader keyword or leave it empty to return the full catalogue.
Why did the run stop before reaching maxItems?
The Actor stops when it has collected all matching datasets. If there are fewer matches than maxItems, it returns what it found.
Can I get French dataset titles?
The current version matches only English titles. If you need French titles, consider scraping the full catalogue and filtering locally.
Why is the run slow?
The Actor reads the catalogue page by page. A high maxItems with a broad keyword can take longer. Try narrowing your keyword or reducing maxItems.
FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need an API key? | No. This Actor reads the public Statistics Canada data catalogue directly, so no API key or registration is required. |
| What does the search keyword match against? | The keyword is matched case-insensitively against the English table title. For example, 'population' matches 'Population estimates, quarterly'. |
| Can I get the full catalogue? | Yes. Leave the search keyword empty and set maxItems to a high number to return the full catalogue up to that limit. |
| What output formats are supported? | You can export the results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify dataset. |
| How many datasets can I scrape in one run? | You can set maxItems from 1 to 1,000,000. The actual number returned depends on how many datasets match your search. |
| Does this scraper get the actual data values? | No. This Actor collects the dataset metadata, such as title and catalogue number. To get the actual data values, you would need to download the dataset files separately. |
| Is the search case-sensitive? | No, the search is case-insensitive. Searching for 'POPULATION' and 'population' returns the same results. |
| Can I search in French? | The search matches against the English table title only. For French titles, you may need to use the English keyword or search the full catalogue. |
| How often is the catalogue updated? | The Actor reads the live Statistics Canada catalogue, so it reflects the latest published datasets at the time of the run. |
| Can I schedule this scraper? | Yes. You can schedule the Actor to run daily, weekly, or at any interval using Apify's scheduler. |
Related actors
Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.
🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.
⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Statistics Canada. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.
Input
| Field | Type | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| searchQuery | string | Optional. Case-insensitive substring matched against the English table title (for example population, health, employment, trade). Leave empty to return the full catalogue up to the max items limit. | population |
| maxItems | integer | How many datasets to collect per run. | 10 |
Pricing
from $4.52 per 1,000 results
| Charged for | What it is | Price each |
|---|---|---|
| result | Single result in the default dataset. | $0.00452 to $0.005 |
Tiered: the lower figure is the price on a higher Apify plan. Billing and the free credit live on Apify.
API
One POST returns the dataset directly. Same shape for every scraper in the library, so swapping the slug is the only change.
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/parseforge~statcan-canada-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"helloWorld": 123
}' Examples
Input that runs as-is.
{
"helloWorld": 123
} Reviews
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Issues
We build and maintain this scraper, so a problem with it comes to us. Report it on the Apify listing and the thread stays attached to the scraper where the next person can find it: open an issue.
Broken and urgent, or you would rather not post in public? Write to parseforge@protonmail.com and it reaches the people who wrote it.
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