Why Beyond 20/20?
Most census data is now freely available to the public via the Statistics Canada website.
Some of the files, however, require Beyond 20/20, software that allows users to manipulate the data. The Topic-based tabulations are a typical example, and are available as HTML files or Beyond 20/20 files.
If you want to see all the variables and have control over how you view them, you will need the Beyond 20/20 version.
UBC students also have access via Abacus to more detailed census files that are not publicly available. Some of these files require Beyond 20/20.
Where to get it?
Beyond 20/20 is a free program, and can be downloaded here. It is already installed on all library computers.
Beyond 20/20 allows you to manipulate the data so that you can compare specific variables you are interested in. The data can then be exported into different formats, like an Excel spreadsheet or .csv file.