Status
This standard was approved as a departmental standard on May 16, 2016.
2016 version of the SGC
The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) provides a systematic classification structure that categorizes all of the geographic area of Canada.
The SGC was developed to enable the production of integrated statistics by geographic area. It provides a range of geographic units that are convenient for data collection and compilation, and useful for spatial analysis of economic and social statistics. It is intended primarily for the classification of statistical units, such as establishments or households, whose activities are normally associated with a specific location.
The classification is organized in two volumes: volume I and volume II. Volume I describes the classification and related standard geographic areas and place names. It provides names and codes for the geographical regions of Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions (counties, regional municipalities) and census subdivisions (municipalities). The names and codes for census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census metropolitan influenced zones, economic regions, census agricultural regions and census consolidated subdivisions are shown in the classification variants of the SGC. Volume I explains the changes between the 2016 version of the SGC and the 2011 version that impact upon the classification, such as changes in name, type or code, and indicates how the new and old codes relate to one another. Volume II contains reference maps showing boundaries, names, codes and locations of the geographic areas in the classification.
Reference maps
Volume II consists of four maps of Canada that illustrate locations of individual census divisions, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census metropolitan influenced zones and economic regions. These are referred to as the National maps. Also included are 23 maps that show the boundaries of census divisions and census subdivisions. These are referred to as the Census divisions - Census subdivisions (CD-CSD) maps.