New Alberta shelter and Housing First data (2009 to 2018) linked to administrative tax files (T1FF, T4, T4E and T5007), 1999 to 2021, is now available in Research Data Centres across Canada.

The Government of Alberta and Statistics Canada collaborated to create a longitudinal administrative tax dataset for people that stayed in a shelter or participated in a Housing First program in Alberta between 2009 and 2018. The linkage between the Alberta data and tax data (T1FF, T4, T4E and T5007) enable the exploration of levels and sources of income of those included in the dataset. Distinctions can also be made based on length and frequency of shelter and Housing First program episodes.

The datasets available in the Research Data Centres (RDCs) consists of two types of files: Core Datasets and Supplementary Datasets.

• Core Datasets, the linked population file, identifies individuals that visited a shelter or occupied a Housing First program dwelling during the reference period from 2009 to 2018, including tax filers and non-tax filers, who were linked to a tax identifier. The file includes information on the start and end years of each individual’s residency.

• Supplementary Datasets are special extracts from annual tax datasets. They contain only tax records that linked to the population file. Supplementary Datasets include special extracts of selected variables on income earned through employment, employment status, benefits and social assistance, and on family composition from the T1 Family File (T1FF) and files from three slips: T4 – Statement of Earnings Paid, T4E – Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits and Other Benefits, and T5007 - Statement of Benefits between 1999 and 2021.