Statistics Canada MCP Server — Claude Code MCP server for StatCan data
Gives your agent structured access to Canadian statistics through the Web Data Service and SDMX REST API. Useful when you need real tables instead of made-up numbers.
claude mcp add mcp-statcan -- uvx statcan-mcp-serverWhat Statistics Canada MCP Server does
This server wraps Statistics Canada's Web Data Service (WDS) and SDMX REST API, handing the data to any MCP client in a structured form. A standalone statcan CLI ships alongside it, so you can pull tables from a terminal without a model in the loop.
The fastest route is the public server on Render. In Claude that is claude mcp add statcan --transport http https://mcp-statcan.onrender.com/mcp --scope global. Running it locally needs uv: uvx statcan-mcp-server --transport http starts the server at http://localhost:8000. SQLite tools are left out of the shared instance on purpose — they only come with the full local setup over stdio.
The README warns that models tend to invent figures, so check anything important against official Statistics Canada sources. With the CLI you go in two steps: run statcan metadata <pid> first to find the real dimension IDs, then statcan download with your key.
What it helps with
- pull a StatCan table by PID into a CSV file
- chart Canadian statistics for a chosen period
- look up dimension IDs before downloading a dataset
- build a dashboard from official unemployment or inflation figures
- load statistics into SQLite and query them with SQL
Example prompts for the agent
- Find a StatCan table on the labour force and show the last 12 months
- Download table
14-10-0287-01with statcan and plot it - Build a dashboard for Canada's consumer price index
How to install Statistics Canada MCP Server
Platform CLI
claude mcp add mcp-statcan -- uvx statcan-mcp-serveruvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from statcan-mcp-server <command>
Platform CLI
codex mcp add statistics-canada-mcp-server -- uvx statcan-mcp-serveruvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from statcan-mcp-server <command>
Config file
{
"mcpServers": {
"statistics-canada-mcp-server": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"statcan-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from statcan-mcp-server <command>
Config file
{
"servers": {
"statistics-canada-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"statcan-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from statcan-mcp-server <command>
Platform CLI
gemini mcp add statistics-canada-mcp-server uvx statcan-mcp-serveruvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from statcan-mcp-server <command>
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about Statistics Canada MCP Server
How do I install Statistics Canada MCP Server in Claude Code?
For a local install: claude mcp add mcp-statcan -- uvx statcan-mcp-server. There is also a hosted server on Render — connect with claude mcp add statcan --transport http https://mcp-statcan.onrender.com/mcp --scope global.
What does Statistics Canada MCP Server do?
It gives an agent access to Statistics Canada data through the Web Data Service and SDMX REST API. It also ships a statcan CLI for downloading tables straight from the terminal.
Why are the SQLite tools missing from the hosted server?
They were deliberately kept off the shared Render instance. Storing and querying data with SQL only works in the full local setup, which runs over stdio.
