Needs Identified
With hundreds of thousands of calls, chats, and emails to 211 each year, the 211 service system provides a real-time window into the needs, challenges, and service gaps experienced by people across Canada. Beyond helping individuals navigate supports, 211 data plays a critical role in informing governments, service providers, and community partners about emerging trends, unmet needs, and where systems are under pressure.
The insights below reflect what people are actively seeking help for, from housing and food security to mental health and financial supports. They also help guide more responsive, equitable, and effective community and policy decisions. Explore the 211 Canada Needs Data Dashboard and the 211 Directory of Community Services below. You can also access our data request form and our data dictionary.
Data Dashboards
211 Directory of Community Services
Data Requests
You can submit a request to receive the raw data behind the 211 Canada dashboard. We have collaborated with many partners including government, academia, businesses and other non-profits to provide 211 data to support their work. 211 data can be provided through APIs, map-ready format and/or Excel files. Please submit a request through our Data Sharing Portal.
Click here to learn more about initiatives using 211 data.
Data Dictionary
To effectively work with 211 data it is important to understand the terminology. For example, “Resources”, “Needs” and “Unmet Needs” are just a few of the terms you will want to understand to get the most from our data dashboards and the underlying datasets.
