User:David Kernow/Census geographic units of Canada

The census geographic units of Canada are the country subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada^[1] to conduct the country's five-yearly census. 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 (roughly corresponding to municipalities) and fourth-level dissemination areas.

Census divisions

Canada's second-level geographic units are called "census divisions". In terms of size, they generally lie between the top-level administrative divisions of the province and territory and third-level administrative divisions such as sections, townships and ranges. Census divisions are divided into census subdivisions (see section below).

Nature of Canada's census divisions by province or territory
Province/Territory	Nature of census divisions
Alberta Manitoba Saskatchewan	Census divisions consist of groups of municipalities such cities, counties, municipal districts and rural municipalities. Each census division is numbered.
British Columbia Quebec	Census divisions correspond with regional districts or municipalities.
New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island	Census divisions correspond with counties.
Newfoundland and Labrador	Census divisions are delineated without reference to administrative or other forms of division and are numbered.^[2]
Northwest Territories Nunavut	Territories that are divided into regions.
Ontario	Census divisions consist of "upper-tier" municipalities (counties, districts, regional municipalities, cities).
Yukon	A territory treated as a single census division.

Census subdivisions

Census subdivisions generally correspond to the municipalities of Canada. They include unorganized territories and the Indian reserves and settlements determined by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.

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" and "rural 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.

Consolidation

A CMA may be consolidated with adjacent census agglomerations (CAs; see below) if they are closely integrated, to produce a grouping known as a "consolidated census metropolitan area" (CCMA). The component CMA and CAs are then described as the "primary census metropolitan area" (PCMA) and "primary census agglomeration (or agglomerations)" (PCA or PCAs).

CMAs may not be consolidated with each other.^{[verification needed]}

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.

Census tracts

CMAs and CAs with a population greater than 50,000 are subdivided into census tracts which have populations ranging from 2,000 to 8,000.

Dissemination areas

Footnotes

^ Statistics Canada. "Illustrated Glossary: Census Geography". Retrieved 2006-10-11. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Sometimes used for municipal organization or as health regions.

External links

Reference maps for census divisions at Statistics Canada.

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[[:Category:Census divisions of Canada| ]]
[[:Category:Subdivisions of Canada]]
[[:Category:Metropolitan areas of Canada]]
[[:Category:Statistics Canada]]

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[[eo:Censa Metropolo]]
[[es:Unidades geográficas censales de Canadá]]

[1] Statistics Canada. "Illustrated Glossary: Census Geography". Retrieved 2006-10-11. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[2] Sometimes used for municipal organization or as health regions.

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