Thecensus geographic units of Canada are thecensus subdivisions defined and used byCanada's federal government statistics bureauStatistics Canada[1] to conductthe 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'sprovinces and territories; these are divided into second-levelcensus divisions, which in turn are divided into third-levelcensus subdivisions (often corresponding tomunicipalities) and fourth-leveldissemination areas.
In some provinces, census divisions correspond to the province'ssecond-level administrative divisions such as acounty or another similar unit of political organization. In theprairie provinces, census divisions do not correspond to the province's administrative divisions, but rather group multiple administrative divisions together. InNewfoundland and Labrador, the boundaries are set by Statistics Canada as no such level of government exists. Two of Canada's three territories are also divided into census divisions.
According to Statistics Canada, Census divisions "are intermediate geographic areas between the province/territory level and the municipality (census subdivision)."[2] In six provinces, they are legislated groupings of adjacent census subdivisions (municipalities or municipal equivalents) that share in regional planning and management of certain services such as emergency response.[2] In four provinces and all three territories, legislation for equivalent intermediate geographic areas do not exist.[2] Statistics Canada therefore collaborates with the four provinces and three territories in the creation of statistical equivalents.[2] Classifications of census divisions includes county, district, district municipality, region, regional county municipality, regional district, regional municipality, territory, territory equivalent, united counties, and simply census divisions.[3]
| Province/territory[3] | Census division types[3] | Quantity[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Census divisions | 19 |
| British Columbia | Region | 1 |
| Regional districts | 28 | |
| Manitoba | Census divisions | 23 |
| New Brunswick | Counties | 15 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Census divisions | 11 |
| Northwest Territories | Regions | 6 |
| Nova Scotia | Counties | 18 |
| Nunavut | Regions | 3 |
| Ontario | Census divisions | 9 |
| Counties | 20 | |
| Districts | 10 | |
| District municipality | 1 | |
| Regional municipalities | 6 | |
| United counties | 3 | |
| Prince Edward Island | Counties | 3 |
| Quebec | Census divisions | 5 |
| Regional county municipalities | 81 | |
| Territory equivalents | 12 | |
| Saskatchewan | Census divisions | 18 |
| Yukon | Territory | 1 |
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.[4]
Census subdivisions generally correspond to themunicipalities of Canada, as determined by provincial and territorial legislation.[5] They can also correspond to area which are deemed to be equivalents to municipalities for statistical reporting purposes, such asIndian reserves,Indian settlements, andunorganized territories where municipal level government may not exist.[5] Statistics Canada has created census subdivisions in cooperation with the provinces of British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia as equivalents for municipalities.[6] The Indian reserve and Indian settlement census subdivisions are determined according to criteria established byIndigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.[7]
Dissemination areas are the smallest standard geographic unit in Canada and cover the entire country.[8] As small areas, they comprise one or more dissemination blocks and have a population between 400 and 700 people.[8]
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 therefore provincial boundaries, although theOttawa-Gatineau metropolitan area inOntario andQuebec 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 thecombined statistical areas of the United States. Statistics Canada has stated thatToronto,Oshawa andHamilton could be merged into a single CSA were such an approach utilized.[9] Statistics Canada has described theGreater Golden Horseshoe as the country's largesturban area.[10]
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'.[11]
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.
A population centre (PC), formerly known as anurban area (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.[12] For the 2011 census, urban area was renamed "population centre".[12][13] 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.[14]
The population centre level of geography is further divided into the following three groupings based on population:[12]
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.[15]
A "locality" (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.[16]
Statistics Canada also aggregates data by federalelectoral districts, one purpose for which is theredrawing of district boundaries every ten years. Federal electoral districts are numerically indexed; each district receives a unique five-digit code, with the first two digits being theStandard Geographical Classification code for the province or territory in which the district is located.
...application of the American combination criteria could result in the consolidation (combining) of the CMAs of Oshawa and Hamilton with the Toronto CMA.
In 2006, nearly half of all Canadians, 13.9 million people, were living in the country's three largest urban areas: the Montréal census metropolitan area, the Vancouver census metropolitan area, and the Greater Golden Horseshoe in southern Ontario.
