The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is a system maintained by
Statistics Canada for categorizing and enumerating the
census geographic units of Canada
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 stat ...
. Each geographic area receives a unique numeric code ranging from one to seven digits, which extend telescopically to refer to increasingly small areas. This
geocode is roughly analogous to the
ONS coding system in use in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Regions
The SGC code format for
regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
is , where ''X'' is a unique identifier incrementing from east to west, then north.
:
Atlantic Canada
: Quebec
: Ontario
:
Prairies
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
: British Columbia
:
Northern Canada
Provinces and Territories
The SGC code format for
provinces and territories is , where
''X'' is the above regional prefix, and ''Y'' is a further identifier incrementing from east to west. Taken as a single digit, each value of ''Y'' is unique within the province group, or unique within the territory group.
:
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
:
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", ...
:
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 ...
:
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 ...
:
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 thirtee ...
:
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 C ...
:
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
:
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
:
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 Ter ...
:
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
:
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
:
Northwest Territories
:
Nunavut
Census divisions
The SGC code format for
census divisions
Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic unit ...
is , where ''XX'' is the above province/territory code, and ''YY'' is the census division's code, unique within its own province. Census divisions are generally numbered from east to west. In some locations, a similar policy to American
FIPS county code
The Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4 (FIPS 6-4) is a five-digit Federal Information Processing Standards code which uniquely identified counties and county equivalents in the United States, certain U.S. possessions, and certa ...
s has been adopted, with even-numbered slots being left vacant for future expansion.
Examples:
:
Division No. 4, Newfoundland and Labrador
Census Division No. 4 is a Statistics Canada statistical division that comprises the areas of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador called St. George's. It covers a land area of 7087.65 km² and had a population of 20,387 at the 2016 ce ...
:
Division No. 5, Newfoundland and Labrador
:
Kent County, New Brunswick
Kent County (2016 population 30,475) is located in east-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county features a unique blend of cultures including Mi'kmaq, Acadian, and English. Some larger tourist attractions include the dune de Bouctouche, Kou ...
:
Northumberland County, New Brunswick
Northumberland County is located in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada.
Geography
Northumberland County is covered by thick forests, whose products stimulate the economy. The highest peaks in the province, including Mount Carleton lie in the n ...
:
York County, New Brunswick
:
Les Moulins Regional County Municipality, Quebec
: ''Territoire équivalent'' of
Laval, Quebec
: ''Territoire équivalent'' of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Quebec
:
Roussillon Regional County Municipality, Quebec
:
:
Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario
The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, commonly known as Leeds and Grenville, is a county in Ontario, Canada, in the Eastern Ontario subregion of Southern Ontario. It fronts on the Saint Lawrence River and the Canada–United States border, ...
: ''
acant slot'
:
Lanark County, Ontario
Lanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, which was first settled in 1816.Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth Century Glimpses of on Ontario County. Corporation of the Cou ...
:
Frontenac Census Division, Ontario
:
Division No. 4, Saskatchewan
:
Division No. 5, Alberta
:
Regional District of East Kootenay
The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada. In the 2016 census, the population was 60,439. Its area is . The regional district offices are in Cranbrook, the larges ...
, British Columbia
: ''
acant slot'
:
Regional District of Central Kootenay
The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) is a regional district in the province of British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2016 census, the population was 59,517. The area is 22,130.72 square kilometres. The administrative centre is locate ...
, British Columbia
: ''
acant slot'
:
Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) is one of 28 regional districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2016 Canadian census, the population was 31,447. The area is 8,095.62 km2 (3,125.74 sq mi). The RDKB ...
, British Columbia
Census subdivisions
The SGC code format for census subdivisions is , where ''XX'' is the province/territory code, ''YY'' is the census division code, and ''ZZZ'' is the census subdivision's code, unique within its own census division. Census subdivisions are again generally numbered from east to west, and the practice has been to leave even-numbered slots vacant for future expansion.
Examples:
:
Tyendinaga, Ontario
Tyendinaga is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Hastings County. The community takes its name from a variant spelling of Mohawk leader Joseph Brant's traditional Mohawk name, ''Thayendanegea.''
Communities
The township c ...
:
Deseronto, Ontario
Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located at the mouth of the Napanee River on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, on the northern side of Lake Ontario.
The town was named for Captain John Deseronto, a nat ...
: ''
acant slot'
:
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory is the main First Nation reserve of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation. The territory is located in Ontario east of Belleville on the Bay of Quinte. Tyendinaga is located near the site of the former Mohaw ...
:
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Belleville is between Ottawa and Toronto, along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Its populat ...
: ''
acant slot'
:
Sanikiluaq, Nunavut
Sanikiluaq ( iu, ᓴᓂᑭᓗᐊᖅ ) is a municipality and Inuit community located on the north coast of Flaherty Island in Hudson Bay, on the Belcher Islands. Despite being geographically much closer to the shores of Ontario and Quebec, the c ...
: ''
acant slot'
:
Iqaluit, Nunavut
: ''
acant slot'
:
Kimmirut, Nunavut
{{mono, 62 04 006: ''
acant slot'
External links
Statistics Canada 2006 Census Dictionary - Geographic code
Statistics Canada
Geocodes