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Statistics Canada MCP Server

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<a href="https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT" target="_blank"></a>
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<a href="https://github.com/Aryan-Jhaveri" target="_blank"></a>

<!-- mcp-name: io.github.Aryan-Jhaveri/mcp-statcan -->

MCP server and CLI for Statistics Canada's Web Data Service (WDS) and SDMX REST API. Gives any MCP client — Claude, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, Gemini — structured access to Canadian statistical data. Includes a standalone statcan CLI for direct downloads without an LLM.

> Hosted on Render — no install required for most users. See Quick Start.

⚠️ LLMs may fabricate data. Always verify important figures against official Statistics Canada sources.

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Table of Contents

- Quick Start
- Examples
- Setup by Client
- How Claude.ai Uses This Server
- MCP Prompts
- statcan CLI
- Features & Tools
- Project Structure
- Known Issues

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Quick Start

Pick the option that fits you. You don't need to install anything for Option 1.

Option 1 — Use the hosted server (recommended)

Connect directly to the public server on Render. No uv, no terminal, no local setup.

Claude Desktop / Claude.ai
1. Open Settings → Connectors → Add Custom Connector
2. Name: mcp-statcan
3. URL: https://mcp-statcan.onrender.com/mcp
4. Save and restart

Claude Code

claude mcp add statcan --transport http https://mcp-statcan.onrender.com/mcp --scope global

> The hosted server provides all WDS + SDMX tools. Database tools (SQLite) require local setup (Option 3) — they are intentionally excluded from the shared server.

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Option 2 — Self-host HTTP (WDS + SDMX, no DB)

Run a local server with the same tools as the hosted version.

Step 1 — Install uv:

# macOS / Linux

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Step 2 — Start the server:

uvx statcan-mcp-server --transport http

Listening at http://localhost:8000

Step 3 — Connect your client to http://localhost:8000/mcp.

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Option 3 — Full local setup (WDS + SDMX + SQLite)

Everything from Option 2, plus database tools for storing and querying data with SQL. Runs via stdio.

Step 1 — Install uv (same as above).

Step 2 — Configure your client with the stdio snippets in Setup by Client below.

uvx downloads and runs the server automatically on first use.

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Option 4 — statcan CLI (no LLM needed)

Download StatCan data directly from the terminal. See statcan CLI.

uvx statcan-mcp-server        # installs the package
statcan search "labour force"
statcan download 14-10-0287-01 --last 12 --output lfs.csv

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Examples

Chat examples

| Dataset | Query | Demo | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada's Greenhouse Gas Emissions | "Create a simple visualization for greenhouse emissions for Canada as a whole over the last 4 years" | <a href="https://claude.ai/share/7de892a1-e1d9-410f-96f7-90cd140e5dd9" target="_blank">Chat</a> | <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3810009701" target="_blank">Table 38-10-0097-01</a> |
| Canada's International Trade in Services | "Create a quick analysis for international trade in services for the last 6 months with a visualization" | <a href="https://claude.ai/share/c00eba2d-4e86-4405-878a-7ea4110cb7d3" target="_blank">Chat</a> | <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1210014401" target="_blank">Table 12-10-0144-01</a> |
| Ontario Building Construction Price Index | "Generate a visualization for Ontario's Building Price index from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024" | <a href="https://claude.ai/share/12ce906f-5a26-4e74-86d9-10451ab5bc4b" target="_blank">Chat</a> | <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1810028901" target="_blank">Table 18-10-0289-01</a> |
| Canadian Unemployment Dashboard | "Create a Canadian Unemployment Dashboard using statcan mcp" | <a href="https://claude.ai/share/50d72d90-ec98-463e-88ec-85032edc9c29" target="_blank">Chat</a> | <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410028701&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.1&pickMembers%5B1%5D=3.1&pickMembers%5B2%5D=4.1&pickMembers%5B3%5D=5.1&cubeTimeFrame.startMonth=04&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2023&cubeTimeFrame.endMonth=03&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2026&referencePeriods=20230401%2C20260301" target="_blank">Table 14-10-0287-01</a> |

Dashboard examples

| Title | Link | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Canada's Critical Minerals Economy | <a href="https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/15d289c7-f324-4ced-bcc0-53d6ac3218c9" target="_blank">Dashboard</a> | <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=3610070801" target="_blank">Table 36-10-0708-01</a> |
| Price of Everything: CPI Dashboard 2015–2026 | <a href="https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/61e99645-934c-4fe2-9693-88dca714a634" target="_blank">Dashboard</a> | <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1810000401" target="_blank">Table 18-10-0004-01</a> |
| Canada's Biomedical & Biotech Industries | <a href="https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/749ab9ef-c7a2-4186-8a75-d94a6eb8772e" target="_blank">Dashboard</a> | <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2710029701" target="_blank">Table 27-10-0297-01</a> |

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Setup by Client

Hosted server (Option 1)

Claude Desktop — Settings → Connectors → Add Custom Connector
- Name: mcp-statcan
- URL: https://mcp-statcan.onrender.com/mcp

Claude Code

claude mcp add statcan --transport http https://mcp-statcan.onrender.com/mcp --scope global

Cursor — .cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global):

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "statcan": {

      "url": "https://mcp-statcan.onrender.com/mcp"

    }

  }

}

VS Code (GitHub Copilot) — .vscode/mcp.json:

{

  "servers": {

    "statcan": {

      "type": "http",

      "url": "https://mcp-statcan.onrender.com/mcp"

    }

  }

}

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Self-hosted HTTP (Option 2)

> Start uvx statcan-mcp-server --transport http first, then configure your client.

Most clients need mcp-proxy to bridge stdio ↔ HTTP. Claude Code connects natively.

Claude Desktop — Settings → Developer → Edit Config:

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "statcan": {

      "command": "uvx",

      "args": ["mcp-proxy", "--transport", "streamablehttp", "http://localhost:8000/mcp"]

    }

  }

}

Claude Code

claude mcp add statcan --transport http http://localhost:8000/mcp --scope global

Cursor / VS Code / Gemini — same mcp-proxy wrapper, pointing to http://localhost:8000/mcp.

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Full local / stdio (Option 3)

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