Canada is a vast North American country, its landmass spanning from the Atlantic in the East to the Pacific in the West and also North into the Arctic Ocean. Although it is the second-largest country in the world by landmass (after Russia), its population is small, with only 40 million people calling the country home.
Canada is one of many bilingual countries, English and French being its official languages. Québec is the cultural centre of French-speaking Canada. The federal capital is Ottawa, where both French and English are spoken. The main centres for face-to-face market research in English are Toronto and Vancouver, while Montréal is the main centre for research in French.
Canada’s multifaceted services industries contribute to 70% of the nation’s overall GDP. Major sectors include real estate, rental, and leasing, finance and insurance and healthcare and social assistance, and various specialised professional and scientific services. Manufacturing and the mining of natural resources such as oil remain crucial contributors to Canada’s industry exports (23%).
The USA is Canada’s top trading partner, with almost half a trillion dollars worth of goods and services exported annually between the two nations, although the introduction of high tariffs on US exports in 2025 is causing economic tension between the two nations.
Pacific Standard Time UTC -8
Mountain Standard Time UTC -7
Central Standard Time UTC -6
Eastern Standard Time UTC -5
Atlantic Standard Time UTC -4
Newfoundland Standard Time UTC -3:30
Most provinces operate daylight saving time from the second weekend in March to the first weekend in November
Focus groups allow participants to combine experiences and perspectives to explore ideas in depth. Commonly used during creative and conceptual development, they help you understand your customers’ needs, perceptions, and beliefs.
In-depth interviews (IDIs), where a moderator interviews a single respondent, can be conducted face-to-face, online, or over the phone. They are ideal for B2B research and for exploring delicate subjects with consumers and hard-to-reach groups.
Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method in which the researchers observe participants using a product or service, or carrying out other activities, in their own environment, typically at work or at home.
An online bulletin board (OBB) is an online forum for qualitative market research that enables participants to log into to carry out research tasks or reply to questions asked by a moderator at their own pace, typically over a period of a few days.
A market research online community (MROC) is similar to an online bulletin board (OBB). However, unlike an OBB, on online community may be used to serve multiple purposes, and the community may remain active for weeks, months or even years.
User experience (UX) testing is a qualitative research methodology which involves directly observing and interviewing a participant using a product or service. It is widely used for testing new versions of apps and websites before they are launched.
Customer experience (CX) testing evaluates how customers interact with a product, service, or digital platform. It helps identify usability issues and overall satisfaction to improve the customer journey and ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience.
A video survey is a type of unmoderated qualitative research in which survey takers respond to a series of instructions or questions by making short videos using their smartphone, either in ‘selfie’ mode or to record an activity.
Vox pop research involves making recordings of people, usually members of the public, responding to questions. These clips are often used in research to illustrate public opinion on widely known topics, brands, or products.
Online surveys are a cost-effective research method with great flexibility in design. Automated data handling allows the results to be available quickly and many online surveys can be completed on smartphones, helping to improve the response rate.
CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) leverages technology to reach those who aren’t online. CATI interviews follow an electronic script with built in routing and type in the respondent’s answers to each question as the interview proceeds.
CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviewing) is a form of face-to-face interviewing where the interviewer reads the survey questions from a tablet device and inputs the respondent’s answers directly to the device.
We recruited teens and young adults in Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the Philippines and Japan to take part in online IDIs about their use of avatar-based stickers on Facebook. The respondents had to be smartphone users who used avatar stickers as part of social interaction within messenger platforms.
A technology company that operates an online content and advertising platform was proposing to make some changes to the way it interacts with key accounts. We recruited senior brand managers working for major online advertisers and senior advertising agency executives working for brands that advertise online.
A well-known international online retailer was interested in identifying customer perceptions and behavioural trends about their existing gift card products and third-party gift card products available on their website. FieldworkHub was brought in to recruit eight respondents in each of Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and the UK.
FieldworkHub found female respondents aged 50-70 with at least $250,000 or equivalent in investable assets who were either currently using, or considering using, a financial advisor or money manager. Via a combination of free-find recruitment and our in-house panel, we successfully engaged 6 women in Canada and the UK to take part in the study.
For a management consulting client, we recruited Canadian cardiologists who were based outside of hospital settings and had experience in prescribing New Oral Anticoagulant drugs to patients with heart conditions.
A US agency specialising in qualitative market research amongst Millennials and Gen Z asked FieldworkHub to recruit young people aged 13-17 and 18-22 who used Snapchat. We recruited 24 suitable respondents in the UK, France and Canada for the online video part of the project and almost 50 respondents for the OBB.
