Methodology and data quality
How official StatCan records become stable bilingual hierarchy pages, and where this independent reference adds context without changing source facts.
1. Source authority and scope
The classification layer is based on NAICS Canada 2022 Version 1.0. Statistics Canada remains the authority for titles, definitions, inclusions, exclusions and version history.
The local build reads the official English and French structure CSV files, matching element files, the NAICS-to-ISIC Rev. 4 correspondence tables and the US six-digit reference workbook.
When local explanatory text conflicts with an official classification record, the official source takes precedence.
2. Page generation
Each code is normalized into one hierarchy node with a level, parent, children, English and French titles, definitions and source elements.
The same node model generates entity pages, level hubs, breadcrumbs, search shards, related-code navigation, sitemap entries and structured data. This avoids maintaining competing copies of the hierarchy.
Public route patterns are protected by a build-time URL contract so an indexed sector, subsector, group, industry or six-digit code cannot disappear silently.
3. Language handling
English and French official fields are loaded from their respective StatCan files. Official titles are not machine-translated or rewritten for style.
Interface labels, explanatory guidance and Canada business context are localized separately. Every bilingual page pair uses hreflang links and preserves the same hierarchy position.
4. Crosswalks and contextual data
ISIC correspondence is shown only when the official table contains a relationship. Approximate or range-based matches are not presented as exact one-to-one equivalence.
Canada business, tax and authority notes come from separate local country-pack files. They provide orientation and never replace CRA, provincial registry or regulator guidance.
5. Confidence signal
The classification confidence score is deterministic. It checks source verification, international correspondence, previous-edition migration evidence, hierarchy completeness and documented contextual factors.
It measures the completeness of this reference page, not legal risk, tax exposure, audit probability or approval likelihood. The factor-level method is published on the dedicated confidence-score page.
6. Build-time quality controls
Every full build checks internal targets, minimum link budgets, canonical URLs, one H1 per indexable page, unique titles and descriptions, metadata length and bilingual year-range consistency.
The sitemap and search index are generated from the same route inventory. A broken internal link or missing protected URL fails the build instead of shipping as a warning.
7. Updates and corrections
The current local source bundle was verified on 2026-08-13. The metadata range 2022-2026 identifies the official edition year and current review year; it does not rename the official classification.
Corrections should include the code, page URL, disputed field and supporting StatCan link. Confirmed source changes are applied to the data layer and then regenerated across both languages.