Editorial Standards

Readers should be able to trust that when we publish a number, they can verify it themselves. These are the rules we work by.

Evidence first

• Every factual article has at least one identifiable source, and important claims are checked against the original document or dataset.
• We prefer primary and official sources: Statistics Canada, the Bank of Canada, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, auditors general, government departments, CMHC, court decisions and official datasets.
• We do not publish invented statistics, quotations, studies or links, and we do not present predictions or assumptions as facts.
• AI tools may help us research and draft, but AI is never a source. A claim appears only because the evidence supports it.

Numbers in context

• We state the reference period, geography and units for every statistic, and say whether figures are seasonally adjusted, estimated or preliminary.
• We distinguish percent from percentage points and average from median, and we do not treat correlation as proof of cause.
• We use the newest available data and never make an old number look current.

Fact, analysis and opinion

We label what you are reading. Data and news report what the evidence shows. Analysis and explainers interpret it and say where the evidence is uncertain. Opinion is marked as opinion and kept separate from reporting.

Fairness and responsibility

We apply the same standard to every party, government and organization. Before crediting or blaming anyone, we check which level of government — federal, provincial, municipal — or which institution is actually responsible.

The Corner Table

The Corner Table reflects public views, reader tips and claims that are still being checked. Each item carries a label — unverified, being checked, reader tip or confirmed — and is never presented as verified reporting. We do not publish allegations against private individuals.

Corrections

When we make a material error, we correct the article and add a dated correction note explaining what changed. Minor fixes such as typos and broken links are corrected without a note. All corrections are listed on our Corrections page.