The census geographic units of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
are the
census subdivisions
The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of sta ...
defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...
to conduct
the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own. They exist on four levels: the top-level (first-level) divisions are Canada's
provinces and territories; these are divided into second-level census divisions, which in turn are divided into third-level census subdivisions (often corresponding to
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
) and fourth-level dissemination areas.
In some provinces, census divisions correspond to the province's second-level administrative divisions such as a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
or another similar unit of political organization. In the
prairie provinces, census divisions do not correspond to the province's administrative divisions, but rather group multiple administrative divisions together. In
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, the boundaries are chosen arbitrarily as no such level of government exists. Two of Canada's three territories are also divided into census divisions.
Census divisions
In most cases, a census division corresponds to a single unit of the appropriate type listed above. However, in a few cases, Statistics Canada groups two or more units into a single statistical division:
* In Ontario,
Haldimand County and
Norfolk County are grouped as a single census division, as are
Brant and
Brantford
Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...
.
* In Quebec, 93 of 98 census divisions correspond precisely to the territory of one
regional county municipality
The term regional county municipality or RCM (''french: municipalité régionale de comté, MRC'') is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county r ...
(with the addition of Indian reserves, which do not legally belong to RCMs) or a "territory equivalent to an RCM" (which usually corresponds to a single
independent city). However, there are five census divisions consisting of two or three RCMs or equivalent territories each. See
List of census divisions of Quebec.
** These are the five census divisions:
**** The CD of
Francheville (37) consists of the TE of
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...
(371) and the RCM of
Les Chenaux (372). These two divisions formerly constituted the single
RCM of Francheville, which was dissolved in 2002.
**** The CD of
Le Saguenay-et-son-Fjord
Le Saguenay-et-son-Fjord (Saguenay and its Fjord) is a census division (CD) of Quebec, with geographical code 94.
It consists of the Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality and the territory equivalent to a regional county municipalit ...
(94) consists of the TE of
Saguenay (941) and the RCM of
Le Fjord-du-Saguenay (942). Le Fjord-du-Saguenay formerly included the smaller cities which were amalgamated to create the new city of Saguenay in 2002.
**** The CD of
Sept-Rivières—Caniapiscau (97) consists of the RCMs of
Sept-Rivières (971) and
Caniapiscau (972).
**** The CD of
Minganie–Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent (98) consists of the RCMs of
Minganie (981) and
Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent (982). The latter superseded Basse-Côte-Nord in 2010; Basse-Côte-Nord itself was part of Minganie until 2002.
**** The CD of
Nord-du-Québec (99) is coextensive with the
administrative region
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
Nord-du-Québec and consists of the TEs of
Jamésie
Jamésie is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Nord-du-Québec, Canada.
Its geographical code is 991 and together with Kativik TE and Eeyou Istchee TE it forms the administrative région and census division (CD) ...
(991),
Kativik (992) and
Eeyou Istchee (993).
In almost all such cases, the division in question was formerly a single unit of the standard type, which was divided into multiple units by its province after the
2001 Canadian census.
Census consolidated subdivisions
A census consolidated subdivision is a geographic unit between census division and census subdivision. It is a combination of adjacent census subdivisions typically consisting of larger, more rural census subdivisions and smaller, more densely populated census subdivisions.
Census subdivisions
Census subdivisions generally correspond to the
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
of Canada, as determined by provincial and territorial legislation.
They can also correspond to area which are deemed to be equivalents to municipalities for statistical reporting purposes, such as
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty,
that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band."
In ...
s,
Indian settlement An Indian settlement is a census subdivision outlined by the Canadian government Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada for census purposes. These areas have at least 10 status Indian or non-status Indian people who li ...
s, and
unorganized territories where municipal level government may not exist.
[ Statistics Canada has created census subdivisions in cooperation with the provinces of British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia as equivalents for municipalities.] The Indian reserve and Indian settlement census subdivisions are determined according to criteria established by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
* Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
* Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehor ...
.
Dissemination areas
Dissemination areas are the smallest standard geographic unit in Canada and cover the entire country. As small areas, they comprise one or more dissemination blocks and have a population between 400 and 700 people.[
]
Specially-defined geographic units
Census metropolitan areas
: ''See template below for links to census metropolitan areas by size.''
A "census metropolitan area" (CMA) is a grouping of census subdivisions comprising a large urban area (the "urban core") and those surrounding "urban fringes" with which it is closely integrated. To become a CMA, an area must register an urban core population of at least 100,000 at the previous census. CMA status is retained even if this core population later drops below 100,000.
CMAs may cross census division and provincial boundaries, although the Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...
-Gatineau
Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's Na ...
metropolitan area in Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
is the only one that currently crosses a provincial border.
The methodology used by Statistics Canada does not allow for CMA-CMA mergers into larger statistical areas; consequently, there is no Canadian equivalent to the combined statistical areas
Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...
of the United States. Statistics Canada has stated that Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Oshawa
Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the ...
and Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilto ...
could be merged into a single CSA were such an approach utilized. Statistics Canada has described the Greater Golden Horseshoe
The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The ...
as the country's largest urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
.
Census agglomerations
A "census agglomeration" (CA) is a smaller version of a CMA in which the urban core population at the previous census was greater than 10,000 but less than 100,000. If the population of an urban core is less than 50,000, it is the starting point for the construction of a 'census agglomeration'.
Census tracts
CMAs and CAs with a population greater than 50,000 are subdivided into census tracts which have populations ranging from 2,500 to 8,000.
Population centres
A population centre (PC), formerly known as an urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
(UA), is any grouping of contiguous dissemination areas that has a minimum population of 1,000 and an average population density of 400 persons per square kilometre or greater. For the 2011 census, urban area was renamed "population centre". In 2011, Statistics Canada identified 942 population centres in Canada. Some population centres cross municipal boundaries and not all municipalities contain a population centre while others have more than one.
The population centre level of geography is further divided into the following three groupings based on population:[
*"small population centre" – 1,000 to 29,999
*"medium population centre" – 30,000 to 99,999
*"large urban population centre" – 100,000 and greater
]
Designated places
A "designated place" (DPL) is usually a small community that does not meet the criteria used to define incorporated municipalities or urban areas (areas with a population of at least 1,000 and no fewer than 400 persons per square kilometre), but for which Statistics Canada or a provincial government has requested that similar demographic data be compiled.
Localities
A "locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...
" (LOC) is a historical named location or place. The named location may be a former census subdivision, a former urban area, or a former designated place. It may also refer to neighbourhoods, post offices, communities and unincorporated places among other entities.
See also
* Census division statistics of Canada
* Census divisions of Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
, Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
* Counties of New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
* Regions of Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
, Nunavut
Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...
* Regional county municipalities of Quebec
This is a list of the regional county municipalities (RCM or MRC) and equivalent territories (TE) in the province of Quebec, Canada. They are given along with their geographical codes as specified by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Region ...
* Regional districts of British Columbia
The Canadian province of British Columbia is divided into regional districts as a means to better enable municipalities and rural areas to work together at a regional level.
History
Regional districts came into being via an order of government ...
* Standard Geographical Classification code
* County (United States)
In the United States, a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic region with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 states, w ...
* Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities ('' municipios'' in Spanish) are the second-level administrative divisions of Mexico, where the first-level administrative division is the '' state'' (Spanish: estado). They should not be confused with cities or towns that may sh ...
Notes
References
External links
''Reference maps''
for census divisions at Statistics Canada.
Hierarchy of census geography
Table of geographic areas by province and territory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Census Geographic Units Of Canada
Subdivisions of Canada
Canada 2
Census geographic units, Canada
*