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 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) and fourth-level dissemination areas.

In some provinces, census divisions correspond to the province's second-level administrative divisions such as a county 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, 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.

Census divisions

According to Statistics Canada, Census divisions "are intermediate geographic areas between the province/territory level and the municipality (census subdivision)." 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.

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Census subdivisions

Census subdivisions generally correspond to the municipalities 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 reserves, Indian settlements, and unorganized territories where municipal level government may not exist. The Indian reserve and Indian settlement census subdivisions are determined according to criteria established by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.

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. Statistics Canada has described the Greater Golden Horseshoe as the country's largest urban area.

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 (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:

=== Localities === <!--Locality links here-->

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.

Electoral districts

Statistics Canada also aggregates data by federal electoral districts, one purpose for which is the redrawing 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 the Standard Geographical Classification code for the province or territory in which the district is located.

See also

  • Census division statistics of Canada
  • Census divisions of Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Saskatchewan
  • Counties of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island
  • Regions of Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut
  • Regional county municipalities of Quebec
  • Regional districts of British Columbia

Notes

References

  • Reference maps for census divisions at Statistics Canada.
  • Hierarchy of census geography
  • Table of geographic areas by province and territory

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