Statistics Canada estimates the underground economy in Canada reached $61.2 billion in 2018. That would be nearly three per cent of GDP. That was a decrease of less than one per cent from the year before. The underground economy is market-based economic activity, whether illegal or not, that escapes measurement because of their hidden, illegal or informal nature. From 2014 to 2018, the underground share of GDP varied between 2.7 and 2.9 per cent.

Residential construction remains the top contributor to underground activity at about 26 per cent. The other main contributors are retail trade at 12 per cent; finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing and holding companies at 10 per cent; and accommodation and food services at nine per cent. Stats Canada says these industries have been the main contributors to the underground economy in Canada since the study began in 1992.

Wages and tips account for the largest share of unreported income. Alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and cannabis products for non-medical use, is the largest category for underground household expenditures.

The biggest underground economy by province is in British Columbia at 3.7 per cent of GDP. The smallest is in Newfoundland and Labrador at 1.7 per cent. Saskatchewan comes in at 2.5 per cent.