Supplement no. 3

Date: December 15, 2003

Supplement no. 3 is issued by Standards Division to inform users on (1) a change of the name of one geographic area and (2) how to report data for statistical areas that cross provincial boundaries.

1. Change of name - Census Agglomeration (CA)

On December 15, 2003 the Methods and Standards Committee approved the name change of one CA:

• Port Hope (formerly known as Port Hope and Hope).

Divisions releasing data for that CA are expected to implement the new name at the earliest opportunity. Users should be aware that its code and geographic boundary have not changed ( i.e. , it is the same boundary set up as of January 1, 2001).

2. Guidelines for reporting data for statistical areas that cross provincial boundaries

In the 2001 Standard Geographical Classification(SGC), there are some geographic areas that straddle provincial boundaries: the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) of Ottawa – Gatineau at the CMA level, the Census Agglomerations (CAs) of Campbellton, Hawkesbury, Pembroke, and Lloydminster at the CA level, and the municipalities of Flin Flon and Lloydminster at the Census Subdivision (CSD) level. These guidelines only consider the statistical areas, namely CMA s and CA s. The Ottawa – Gatineau CMA will be used to illustrate the guideline.

The following applies to data released in print, through CANSIM or electronically.

For the statistical areas ( CMA s and CA s) that straddle provincial boundaries, data should be presented for the total and the two provincial parts. Using the Ottawa – Gatineau CMA as example, we would have:

• Ottawa – Gatineau
• Ottawa – Gatineau, Ontario part
• Ottawa – Gatineau, Quebec part

Divisions releasing data for such geographic areas are expected to implement this at the earliest opportunity, subject to usual confidentiality and data quality requirements.

The relationship between the 1980 SIC and NAICS Canada is shown using two concordance tables. The first table shows the relationship of NAICS Canada to the 1980 SIC . The second table shows the relationship in the other sequence, that is, the 1980 SIC to NAICS Canada. The two tables, taken together, provide a cross-reference of the relationships between the two classifications. (Note that statistically insignificant links have been omitted from these concordance tables).

These concordances are shown first at a high level of aggregation, relating Sectors in NAICS to Divisions in the 1980 SIC (Tables 1 and 2). The information provided allows users to see which activities have moved into and out of the categories of each classification, when compared to the other classification at a broad level of aggregation. For example, the explanatory notes for the Division to Sector concordance shows that Veterinary Services, which are part of Division A, Agriculture and Related Service Industries in the 1980 SIC , have moved to NAICS Sector 54, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services. Similarly, Logging, which was part of Division C, Logging and Forestry Industries in the 1980 SIC has moved to NAICS Sector 11, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting. Users will find these tables useful in comparing aggregate data compiled on the basis of the old and new classifications.

The concordance tables are also shown at the lowest level of both classifications, namely at the 4 digit level in the 1980 SIC and the 6 digit level in NAICS Canada (Tables 3 and 4). These tables highlight the differences and similarities between the most detailed industry classes of the two classifications, information that is useful when converting data from one classification to the other.

NAICS Canada is substantially different from the 1980 SIC . Only 220 classes at the lowest level of detail remain the same in the two classifications. Though some 1980 SIC classes were simply split or combined, very often particular activities from different 1980 SIC industries were removed and recombined into new NAICS Canada industries. A case in point is that of Repair Services, which were taken out of the many 1980 SIC industries in which they were to be found and brought together to create a group of NAICS Canada industries called Repair and Maintenance.

In the Tables, two NAICS Canada classes are related to a code of --- in the column for the 1980 SIC . The code --- is used to indicate that the NAICS Canada class is related to a very small part of a large number of 1980 SIC classes, too many to show in the concordance.

In the 1980 SIC , the convention with respect to ancillary units (producing units that manage or provide services to other establishments of the same enterprise), was to code them to the predominant industry of the establishments managed or served. In NAICS Canada, an industry code is provided for the service provided by administrative Head Offices but it is related to code --- in the column for the 1980 SIC , because of the large number of 1980 SIC industries to which the activity would have been coded.

There are a number of classes, the content of which has not changed. However, when one 1980 SIC class relates to parts of one or more NAICS Canada classes, and vice versa, an asterisk is used to indicate that only a part of the industry relates to the one against which it is shown. As illustrated below, an asterisk is used to indicate this partial relationship between the two classifications, and the explanatory note explains, in terms of activities, which part relates to the industry in question. This information is needed by users who wish to convert data collected on the basis of one classification, to the other classification.

The concordance is presented in the form of tables arranged in the sequence of each classification. Tables 1 and 3 present the concordance in the order of NAICS Canada, with the NAICS Canada code shown on the left side of the table; Tables 2 and 4 present the concordance in the order of the 1980 Canadian SIC , with the 1980 SIC code shown on the left side of the table. The illustrative examples below were taken from Tables 3 and 4, respectively.

The 1980 SIC and NAICS Canada classes are identical, only the title has changed.

Example 1a:
the 1980 SIC and NAICS Canada classes are identical, only the title has changed.

NAICS		SIC		Explanatory Notes
Code	Title	Code	Title
112120	Dairy Cattle and Milk Production	0111	Dairy Farms

Example 1b:
the 1980 SIC and NAICS Canada classes are identical, only the title has changed.

SIC		NAICS		Explanatory Notes
Code	Title	Code	Title
0111	Dairy Farms	112120	Dairy Cattle and Milk Production

A class in one classification is exactly equivalent to two classes in the other classification.

Example 2a:
A class in one classification is exactly equivalent to two classes in the other classification.

NAICS		SIC		Explanatory Notes
Code	Title	Code	Title
114210	Hunting and Trapping	0331	Furs and Skins, Wild
		0339	Other Trapping

Example 2b:
A class in one classification is exactly equivalent to two classes in the other classification.

SIC		NAICS		Explanatory Notes
Code	Title	Code	Title
0115	Sheep and Goat Farming	112410	Sheep Farming
		112420	Goat Farming

Example 3:
A class in one classification is equivalent to part of a class in the other classification.

When the concordance relates one class on the left to only part of a class on the right, this partial relationship is denoted by an asterisk against the code on the right. (Note that the asterisk marked class will reappear, against all the classes, to which it partially relates.).

Example 3a: A class in one classification is equivalent to part of a class in the other classification.

NAICS		SIC		Explanatory Notes
Code	Title	Code	Title
111419	Other Food Crops grown under cover	0162 *	Greenhouse Products	Greenhouse-grown food crops

Example 3b: A class in one classification is equivalent to part of a class in the other classification.

SIC		NAICS		Explanatory Notes
Code	Title	Code	Title
0223	Harvesting, Baling and Threshing Services	115110 *	Support Activities For Crop Production	Crop harvesting services

Example 4:
A class in one classification is linked to more than one class in the other classification.

The most common instance is where the activities of a class in one classification correspond to more than one class in the other classification. It should be noted that, in the example, the contents of the 1980 SIC class 0135 corresponds to a full NAICS Canada class, and to parts of several other NAICS Canada classes (shown with asterisks).

Example 4a: A class in one classification is linked to more than one class in the other classification.

NAICS		SIC		Explanatory Notes
Code	Title	Code	Title
112510	Animal Aquaculture	0311 *	Salt Water Fishing Industry	Saltwater aquaculture
		0312 *	Inland Fishing Ind.	Inland aquaculture
		0321 *	Services Incidental to Fishing	Fish hatchery, operating

Example 4a: A class in one classification is linked to more than one class in the other classification.

SIC		NAICS		Explanatory Notes
Code	Title	Code	Title
0135	Forage, Seed and Hay Farms	111130 *	Dry Peas and Bean farming	Faba beans, growing for fodder
		111150 *	Corn Farming	Fodder, Corn farming
		111190 *	Other Grain Farming	Oats, growing for fodder
		111940	Hay Farming
		111999 *	All Other Miscellaneous Crop Farming	Grass seed, growing

How to find partial relationships in the concordances

The various components of a given class in one classification are sometimes found in classes that are quite distant from one another in the order and format of the other classification. In example three above, NAICS Canada 115110 * is partially related to 1980 SIC 0223. To find the remaining 1980 SIC classes, to which NAICS Canada 115110 relates, the user should turn to the other concordance table, where the classes are arranged in NAICS Canada order. The user will find that the 1980 SIC classes 0221,0222, 0229 *, 0231 *, and 4513 *, are also related to NAICS Canada 115110.

Similarly, in the second part of example three, above, NAICS Canada 111419 is partially related to 1980 SIC 0162 *. The other concordance shows that NAICS Canada 111219 * and 111422 * are also partially related to 1980 SIC 0162.

Users are cautioned that data coded to one classification cannot automatically be converted to the other with the help of these concordance tables.

Data can be automatically converted from the codes of one classification to the codes of the other for those 220 classes, at the most detailed level of the 1980 SIC and NAICS Canada, that are identical. For the rest, in order to convert records relating to businesses or establishments from one classification to the other, it is necessary to know the principal activity of the business or establishment and to recode each one to the other classification with the help of the explanatory notes of the concordance or with the help of a detailed alphabetical index of activity descriptions coded to both classifications.

Supplement no. 2

Date: March 21, 2003

Supplement no. 2 is issued by Standards Division to inform users of the official abbreviations in English and French for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Official abbreviations - Newfoundland and Labrador

When the SGC 2001 was released in March 2002, there were no official abbreviations for Newfoundland and Labrador. The abbreviations suggested at that time, Nfld.Lab. in English and T.-N.-L. in French, were provisional. Since then, the provincial government has given its approval for the new official abbreviations: N.L. in English and T.-N.-L. in French. For a complete list see provincial abbreviations.

Divisions, when using provincial/territorial abbreviations for releasing data, are expected to implement the new abbreviations at the earliest opportunity.

Supplement no. 1

Date: October 17, 2002

Supplement no. 1 is issued by Standards Division to inform users on:

1. a change of name of two geographic areas and
2. one change of the alpha code for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

1. Change of name - Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)

On September 16, 2002 the Methods and Standards Committee approved the name changes of two CMA s:

• Ottawa - Gatineau (formerly known as Ottawa - Hull),
• Saguenay (formerly known as Chicoutimi - Jonquière),

Divisions releasing data at the CMA level, are expected to implement the new names at the earliest opportunity. Users should be aware that the codes and geographic boundaries of these two CMA s have not changed ( i.e. , they are the same boundaries set up as of January 1, 2001).

2. Change of alpha code for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador

Effective October 21, 2002, Newfoundland and Labrador is recognized by the alpha code NL (formerly the alpha code NF). Users should be aware that there is no change to the numeric code and abbreviations for Newfoundland and Labrador. The numeric code is still 10 and abbreviations are: Nfld.Lab. in English and T.-N.-L. in French.

Background information

• Introduction
• Province or Territory
• Census Division
• Census Subdivision
• Structure of the SGC
• SGC Coding
• Naming Geographical Units
• SGC Update
• Census Division Changes
• Census Subdivision Changes
• Metropolitan Area
• Metropolitan Area Changes
• Economic Region
• Economic Region Changes
• Abbreviations

Introduction

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is a classification of geographical areas used to collect and disseminate statistics. The SGC was developed to enable the production of integrated statistics by geographical area. It provides a range of geographical 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 SGC is based on a classification system originally developed for the dissemination of statistics from the Census of Population.

The SGC conforms to the basic principles of classification, that is, it consists of a set of discrete units which are mutually exclusive and in total, cover the entire universe. Usually, a classification appears as a hierarchy, each level of which satisfies the above-mentioned principles and is defined by the uniform application of a single criterion. Applied to geography, these principles result in a classification consisting of geographical areas whose boundaries are specifically delimited in accordance with well-defined concepts and which, in total, cover the entire landmass of Canada. The classification appears as a three-level hierarchy of geographical units identified by a seven-digit numerical coding system.

Two criteria were used in the selection of geographical units for the SGC . The first was that they be easily recognized by the respondents who are asked to report geographical detail. Administrative units were chosen because respondents routinely conduct business with administrative units such as a municipality, county or province.

The second criterion was the usefulness of the geographical units for general statistical purposes. Once again, administrative units are suitable because they are significant users of statistics in establishing and implementing programs involving the expenditure of public funds and also because the general public can readily associate statistics on this basis with the names and boundaries of administrative units.

The SGC identifies three types of geographical unit:

1. province or territory (13),
2. census division (288),
3. census subdivision (5,600).

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Province or Territory (PR)

Reflecting the primary political subdivision of Canada, this most permanent level of the SGC was affected on April 1, 1999 by the creation of a new territory called Nunavut. Nunavut includes the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories.

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Census Division (CD)

This is a general term applying to areas established by provincial law, which are intermediate geographical areas between the municipality (census subdivision) and the province. Usually they are created to facilitate regional planning and the provision of services which can be more effectively delivered on a scale larger than a municipality.

In Newfoundland, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, provincial law does not provide for such administrative geographical areas. Therefore, equivalent census divisions have been created by Statistics Canada in co-operation with these provinces for the dissemination of statistical data. In the Yukon Territory, the census division is equivalent to the entire territory.

Census division boundaries tend to be relatively stable over many years. For this reason the census division has been found useful for analysing historical data on small areas.

Census divisions are classified into various types. The type indicates the legal status of the census division according to official designations adopted by provincial authorities. The exception is the CD type "census division" which describes those units created as equivalents by Statistics Canada in co-operation with the provinces and territories. In 2001, the CD type "Metropolitan Municipality" (MM) is discontinued.

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Census Subdivision (CSD)

This is a general term applying to municipalities (as determined by provincial legislation) or their equivalents, e.g. , Indian reserves, Indian settlements and unorganized territories. Municipalities are units of local government.

Beginning with the 1981 Census, each Indian reserve and Indian settlement recognized by the Census is treated as a separate CSD and reported separately. Prior to the 1981 Census, all Indian reserves in a census division were grouped together and reported as one census subdivision.

For 2001, there is a total of 1,052 Indian reserves and 28 Indian settlements classified as CSD s. These are populated (or potentially populated) Indian reserves, which represent a subset of the approximately 2,800 Indian reserves across Canada. Statistics Canada works closely with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to identify the reserves and the settlements to be included as CSD s. Furthermore, the inclusion of an Indian settlement is dependent upon the agreement of the provincial or territorial authorities.

There are two municipalities in Canada which straddle provincial boundaries, Flin Flon (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) and Lloydminster (Saskatchewan and Alberta). Each of their provincial parts is treated as a separate CSD .

Census subdivisions are classified into 46 types according to official designations adopted by provincial or federal authorities. Two exceptions are CSD type "Subdivision of Unorganized" in Newfoundland and Labrador, and CSD type "Subdivision of County Municipality" in Nova Scotia which are geographic areas created as equivalents of municipalities by Statistics Canada in co-operation with those provinces for the purpose of disseminating statistical data.

The census subdivision type accompanies the census subdivision name in order to distinguish CSD s from each other, for example, Granby, V (for the "ville" of Granby) and Granby, CT (for the "municipalité de canton" of Granby).

Changes to CSD types for 2001 include:

CSD types added

• island municipality (IM) in British Columbia;
• Nisga'a Land (NL) in British Columbia;
• Nisga'a Village (NVL) in British Columbia;
• regional district electoral area (RDA) in British Columbia;
• region (RG) in Newfoundland and Labrador;
• Teslin Land (TL) in Yukon Territory.

CSD types deleted

• borough (BOR) in Ontario;
• northern town (NT) in Saskatchewan;
• subdivision of regional district (SRD) in British Columbia.

Other changes

• in Newfoundland and Labrador, the CSD type "community" (COM) was changed to the CSD type "town" (T);
• in Ontario, the CSD type "improvement district" (ID) was changed to the CSD type "township" (TP).

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Structure of the SGC

Each of the three sets of areas covers all of Canada. They are hierarchically related: census subdivisions aggregate to census divisions, which in turn aggregate to a province or a territory.

The structure is implicit in the seven-digit SGC code, as shown in the following illustration, which uses the code for the city of Oshawa.

Structure of the classification of the city of Oshawa

PR	CD	CSD
35	Empty cell	Empty cell	Ontario
35	18	Empty cell	Durham Regional Municipality
35	18	013	Oshawa

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SGC Coding

At the outset, numerical codes were adopted for ease of use and clarity. Furthermore, numbers were universally applicable to all of the data processing machines in use at that time.

The use of numerical codes continues but the number of digits in the code changed from six to seven in 1976, when a three-digit code was adopted for census subdivisions because the number of census subdivisions in one census division exceeded 99.

Provinces are numbered from east to west. Because the number of provinces and territories exceeded nine, a two-digit code was adopted. The first digit represents a group of provinces or territories. The following groups result:

1. Atlantic
2. Quebec
3. Ontario
4. Prairies
5. British Columbia
6. Territories

The following conventions were used to create the coding system and continue to be used in its maintenance.

1. The codes usually follow a serpentine pattern beginning in the southeast corner of each province/territory or CD . In this way, adjacent code numbers usually represent geographical units that share a common boundary. Exceptions are found in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where census divisions are numbered in a straight line from east to west, returning to the eastern border when the western border is reached. Also, in Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, Indian reserve codes are included in the 800 series of numbers, whereas in the other provinces they are accommodated within the serpentine numbering pattern for census subdivisions.
2. In order to provide the flexibility required to maintain the coding system over the years, the numbering is not sequential (except for CD s, which are more stable). Gaps in the numbering sequence leave opportunities to incorporate new geographical units within the numbering sequence.
3. Codes should not be used more than once. However, a code could be reused if at least two editions of SGC have appeared. For example, a code deleted in 1986 would not become eligible for use again until 2001.
4. Component parts of codes are preserved as much as possible. For example, when a new CD is created, the original CSD codes are retained where possible.

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Naming Geographical Units

The following procedure is applied in selecting names for geographical units:

1. Official names are used where they are available. The names of incorporated local and regional municipalities are taken from provincial gazettes, where official notification of acts of incorporation for new municipalities and changes to existing municipalities are published.
2. Most official names are accepted as published, but some are edited by Statistics Canada for the sake of consistency and clarity. For example, the official name "City of Ottawa" was edited and appears in the SGC as "Ottawa".
3. The remaining names are created by Statistics Canada in co-operation with provincial and other federal officials.

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SGC Update

The 2001 SGC presents standard geographical areas as of January 1, 2001. It includes any changes to municipalities, effective on that date or earlier, received by Statistics Canada before March 1, 2001.

Information received after March 1, 2001, has not been included, therefore provincial or territorial authorities may notice some small discrepancies compared to their official records. The only exception is the name change of the province of Newfoundland to Newfoundland and Labrador which became effective on December 6, 2001.

Several hundred changes are made to census subdivisions every year. These changes may affect boundaries, codes, names, or types. Changes to the census division level also occur periodically. Most changes originate from provincial legislation (revised statutes and special acts), changes to Indian reserves originate with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and other changes come from Statistics Canada.

Legislated changes are effective as of the date proclaimed in the legislation. Other changes are effective January 1, usually of the reference year for the SGC .

The Standard Geographical Classification is released every five years, coincident with the Census of Population. For most statistical applications, holding the geography in a statistical series constant for this length of time is an acceptable compromise between stability and existing reality. Observations at five-year intervals are suitable for historical trend analysis, yet for current series, a tolerable degree of distortion occurs.

An annual summary of changes is available from the Geography Division, upon request. This may be of interest to data collectors wishing to compile data that reflect the actual boundaries of census subdivisions.

The 2001 Concordance tables present for the period between January 2, 1996 and January 1, 2001 the changes that impact directly upon the SGC , such as changes of code, name, or type, and indicate how the new and old codes relate to one another.

The other changes such as partial annexations, and boundary and population revisions, which do not affect the SGC codes and usually involve very small areas and populations, are not shown in the Concordance tables. They are available however in the "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status and Names" prepared by Geography Division.

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Census Division Changes

When Nunavut came into being on April 1, 1999, three census divisions were taken from the Northwest Territories and assigned to Nunavut. It was necessary to adjust the boundaries of these census divisions because the Nunavut boundary did not conform to the existing geography. This adjustment did not have an impact on the original census division codes; however, the territory code changed from 61 to 62.

Other changes have affected the boundaries of some CD s to a greater or lesser extent. Among those are revisions of SGC codes that have modified the boundaries of seven "municipalités régionales de comté" in Quebec: Le Haut-Saint-François (24 41), Le Val-Saint-François (24 42), la Région-Sherbrookoise (24 43), Coaticook (24 44), Drummond (24 49), Rouville (24 55) and La Vallée-du-Richelieu (24 57); the boundaries of four counties in Ontario: Hastings County (35 12), Northumberland County (35 14), Sudbury District (35 52) and Greater Sudbury Division (35 53); and a transfer of the northwest tip of Kitikmeot Region (61 08) to Inuvik Region (61 07) led to the revision of the SGC code of Holman, HAM in the Northwest Territories. These revisions of SGC codes are listed in the Concordance tables.

In addition, as a result of the amalgamation of municipalities (census subdivisions) in Ontario, there are five cases where the census division (CD) is now composed of only one census subdivision (CSD), and two cases where the CD is composed of only two CSD s. For these seven cases, the CD type and names of Ottawa-Carleton Regional Municipality (35 06), Prince Edward County (35 13), Victoria County (35 16), Toronto Metropolitan Municipality (35 20), Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Municipality (35 25), Kent County (35 36), and Sudbury Regional Municipality (35 53) were respectively changed to Ottawa Division, Prince Edward Division, Kawartha Lakes Division, Toronto Division, Hamilton Division, Chatham-Kent Division, and Greater Sudbury Division.

Finally, in Quebec, three new CD names were adopted: Pabok, Denis-Riverin and Sherbrooke were respectively changed to Le Rocher-Percé (24 02), La Haute-Gaspésie (24 04) and La Région-Sherbrookoise (24 43) while, in British Columbia, the CD name Fort Nelson-Liard Regional District was replaced by Northern Rockies Regional District (59 59).

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Census Subdivision Changes

The changes affecting CSD s have been grouped into eighteen types for the manual, each represented by a particular code. (For the Internet version, see also How to Read a Concordance Table).

New SGC codes (code 1) are assigned to newly created CSD s. Such CSD s are:

1. created out of another census subdivision, typically a municipality created from a populated area located in a rural or unorganized census subdivision; or
2. created when two or more census subdivisions amalgamate.

In the latter case the entries, including SGC codes, for all of the census subdivisions contributing to the newly created census subdivision are deleted (code 4).

Also affecting the SGC code are revisions arising from structural changes, such as the reorganization of CD s. This type of change (codes 7 and 7C) simply indicates a revised code number, with no other change having affected the CSD .

Changes in CSD name (codes 2 and 2C), CSD type (codes 3 and 3C), or CSD name and type (code 23) do not affect the SGC code, but the Classification file is updated.

The most numerous changes are partial annexations (codes 5 and 6), boundary revisions (codes 8, 8C, 9 and 9C) and population revisions (codes 10 and 11), which do not affect the SGC codes, and usually involve very small areas and populations. These changes are not listed in the Concordance tables, but they can be found in the publication entitled "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status and Names" prepared by Geography Division.

Since January 2, 1996, a total of 4,434  CSD changes have been recorded. These changes affected 2,282 of the 5,984  CSD s that existed in 1996, and resulted in a net reduction of 384  CSD s over the period. Of the total number of changes, 1,476 affected the CSD code mainly due to municipal restructuring in many provinces (910 dissolutions, 526 incorporations and 40 revisions of code), 226 affected the name, 224 affected the status and 27 affected both the name and status. Boundary changes and revisions (2,451), and population revisions (30) accounted for the remaining 2,481 changes. Since 1996, CSD boundary changes affected 59 census divisions.

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Metropolitan Area (MA)

Metropolitan areas are part of the standard statistical areas and include the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) and the Census Agglomerations (CA). Metropolitan areas represent a small portion of the Canadian territory. Each CMA and CA is assigned a three-digit code that identifies it uniquely in Canada. As a rule, the first digit is the same as the second digit of the province code in which the CMA or CA is located (except in the Territories).

The general concept of these standard units is one of an urban core, and the adjacent urban and rural areas that have a high degree of social and economic integration with that urban core.

A CMA is delineated around an urban core with a population of at least 100,000, based on the previous census. Once an area becomes a CMA , it is retained as a CMA even if the population of its urban core declines below 100,000. Census agglomerations (CAs) are centred on urban cores with populations of at least 10,000.

A CMA / CA describes the zone of influence of an urban core according to the measure of commuting flows derived from census place of work data. It is delineated using adjacent municipalities (census subdivisions) as building blocks. These census subdivisions ( CSD s) are included in the CMA or CA if they meet at least one delineation rule. The three principal rules are:

1. The CSD falls completely or partly inside the urban core.
2. Given a minimum of 100 commuters, at least 50% of the employed labour force living in the CSD works in the delineation urban core as determined from commuting data based on the place of work question in the last decennial census (1991 Census).
3. Given a minimum of 100 commuters, at least 25% of the employed labour force working in the CSD lives in the delineation urban core as determined from commuting data based on the place of work question in the last decennial census (1991 Census).

Another rule concerns the merging of adjacent CMA s and CA s. A CA adjacent to a CMA can be merged with the CMA if the total percentage commuting interchange between the CA and CMA is equal to at least 35% of the employed labour force living in the CA , based on place of work data from the decennial census. The total percentage commuting interchange is the sum of the commuting flow in both directions between CMA and CA as a percentage of the labour force living (resident employed labour force) in the CA .

A CMA or CA represents an area that is economically and socially integrated. However, there are certain limitations to the manner in which this goal can be met. Since the CSD s that are used as building blocks in CMA and CA delineation are administrative units, their boundaries are not always the most suitable with respect to CMA and CA delineation. Especially in western Canada, CSD s may include large amounts of sparsely settled territory where only the population closest to the urban core is integrated with that core. Furthermore, since CMA / CA boundaries for the 2001 Census are based on 1991 place of work commuting flow data, they may not reflect the current boundaries or the current social and economic integration of the urban area.

CMA s and CA s, because they are delineated in the same way across Canada, are statistically comparable. They differ from other types of areas, such as trading, marketing, or regional planning areas designated by regional authorities for planning and other purposes, and should be used with caution for non-statistical purposes.

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Metropolitan Area Changes

There were 27 CMA s and 113 CA s in 2001. Two CA s from the previous census became CMA s: Kingston, Ont. and Abbotsford, B.C. Seven new CA s were created: Amos, Que., Amherstburg, Ont., Caledon, Ont., Petawawa, Ont., Brooks, Alta., Squamish, B.C. and Parksville, B.C. However, the Amherstburg CA was then merged with the Windsor CMA due to its high commuting interchange with that CMA and similarly the Caledon CA was merged with the Toronto CMA . Finally one CA was retired because the population of its urban core dropped below 10,000 in 1996: Smiths Falls, Ont. whereas the CA of Strathroy, Ont. was merged with the CMA of London.

Between 1996 and 2001, a number of municipalities underwent name changes, amalgamations, annexations, and dissolutions mainly due to municipal restructuring in many provinces. This situation has resulted in boundary and name changes for some CMA s and CA s: the CMA name of Sudbury was changed to Greater Sudbury, and the CA names of Dolbeau, Sorel, Port Hope, Lindsay, Simcoe, Chatham, and Grand Centre were respectively changed to Dolbeau-Mistassini, Sorel-Tracy, Port Hope and Hope, Kawartha Lakes, Norfolk, Chatham-Kent, and Cold Lake.

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Economic Region (ER)

This is a standard unit created in response to the requirement for a geographical unit suitable for the presentation and analysis of regional economic activity. Such a unit is small enough to permit regional analysis, yet large enough to include enough respondents that, after data are screened for confidentiality, a broad range of statistics can still be released.

The regions are based upon work by Camu, Weeks and Sametz in the 1950s. At the outset, boundaries of regions were drawn in such a way that similarities of socio-economic features within regions were maximized while those among regions were minimized. Later, the regions were modified to consist of counties which define the zone of influence of a major urban centre or metropolitan area. Finally, the regions were adjusted to accommodate changes in CD boundaries and to satisfy provincial needs.

An ER is a geographical unit, smaller than a province, except in the case of Prince Edward Island and the Territories. The ER is made up by grouping whole census divisions, except for one case in Ontario, where the city of Burlington, a component of the Halton Regional Municipality at the CD level, is excluded from the economic region of Toronto and is included in the Hamilton – Niagara Peninsula ER , which encompasses the entire CMA of Hamilton. ERs appear as a hierarchy covering all the country.

ERs may be economic, administrative or development regions. Within the province of Quebec, economic regions are designated by law ("les régions administratives"). In all other provinces, economic regions are created by agreement between Statistics Canada and the provinces concerned.

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Economic Region Changes

There were 76 ERs in 2001, a gain of two ERs from 1996 as a result of the addition of one economic region with the introduction of the new territory: Nunavut in 1999 and, in Quebec, the replacement of the "région administrative" of Mauricie – Bois-Francs ( ER 24 70) by two new "régions administratives": Mauricie ( ER 24 70) and Centre-du-Québec ( ER 24 33).

Other changes concerned the names or boundaries of some ERs . In Quebec, the boundary between Centre-du-Québec ( ER 24 33) and Estrie ( ER 24 30) was affected when the "municipalité" of Ulverton ( CSD 24 49 010) was taken from the "municipalité régionale de comté" (MRC) of Drummond ( CD 24 49) and annexed to the MRC of Le Val Saint-François ( CD 24 42). Also, the name of the "région administrative" Québec ( ER 24 20) was changed to Capitale-Nationale ( ER 24 20).

In Ontario, the boundary between Muskoka – Kawarthas ( ER 35 20) and Kingston – Pembroke ( ER 35 15) was affected when Murray Township ( CSD 35 14 001) was taken from Northumberland County ( CD 35 14) and annexed to the newly incorporated City of Quinte West ( CSD 35 12 015) in Hastings County ( CD 35 12).

Finally in Alberta, five economic regions were affected by changes in the composition of census divisions making them up, as well as name changes. Boundary changes include moving CD 48 09 from ER 48 50 to ER 48 40, moving CD 48 10 from ER 48 80 to ER 48 20, and moving CD 48 13 from ER 48 40 to ER 48 70. The name changes include ER 48 20 Camrose – Drumheller, ER 48 40 Banff – Jasper – Rocky Mountain House, ER 48 50 Red Deer, ER 48 70 Athabasca – Grande Prairie – Peace River, and ER 48 80 Wood Buffalo – Cold Lake.

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Abbreviations

Supplement

• Nunavut data dissemination guidelines

Nunavut came into being officially as a Territory of Canada on April 1, 1999. The province/territory numeric code for Nunavut is 62 whereas the code for the Northwest Territories remains 61.

While as yet there is no official abbreviation for Nunavut, the standard abbreviation established for use within Statistics Canada is Nvt. in English and Nt in French.

Canada Post has introduced a new alpha code (NU) for Nunavut on December 18, 2000.

What was known as the Northwest Territories until April 1, 1999, is now divided into Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Users should be aware that although there is a significant boundary change for the Northwest Territories, the name and code remain the same.

The five census divisions (CDs) of Northwest Territories listed in the 1996 Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) are divided as follows: Baffin Region (04), Keewatin Region (05) and Kitikmeot Region (08) are part of Nunavut whereas Fort Smith Region (06) and Inuvik Region (07) remain within the Northwest Territories. At the lower level of the SGC (census subdivision - CSD), 37 of 68 CSD s remain within the Northwest Territories and 31 CSD s are included in Nunavut. These changes do not impact population counts at the CSD level.

The following convention was used for coding the geographic units (component parts of codes are preserved as much as possible). For the geographic units of Nunavut, the first two digits of the SGC code have been changed (from 61 to 62) whereas the original CD and CSD codes have been retained. However, the new boundary between Nunavut and Northwest Territories shows a part of Kitikmeot, unorganized, including the hamlet of Hollman, remaining within the Northwest Territories. Consequently, Hollman becomes part of Inuvik Region ( CD code changes from 08 to 07). Other changes that do not affect SGC codes are boundary adjustments for the unorganized territories along the new boundary.

Finally, there are two CSD name changes since the release of the 1996 SGC :

CSD name changes since the release of the 1996

Previous code	Previous name	New code	New name
6104010	Broughton Island, HAM	6204010	Qikiqtarjuaq, HAM
6106052	Snare Lake, SET	6106052	Wekweti, SET

For all changes to these two territories see: Northwest Territories and Nunavut