Annual Estimates for Census Families and Individuals (T1 Family File)

content

Statistics Canada
13C0016

Income Statistics Division
Statistics Canada
income@statcan.gc.ca

October 2013

Aussi disponible en français

Table of contents

Introduction

Urban planning, social policy, and local marketing strategies require a comprehensive understanding of regional socio-economic characteristics. The T1 Family File (T1FF) data available for low levels of geography can contribute significantly to this knowledge.

The databank on census families is one of these T1FF data sources. This databank which currently includes 17 data tables is compiled from information obtained through annual personal income tax returns and is updated annually.

Starting with the 1994 tax year, two tables were added to the family series, bringing the total number of standard tables to 16.

Beginning with the 1995 data, a 17th table was added to the series; this table looks at low income among families, according to the Low Income Measure (LIM). Starting with the 1997 tax year, the databank featured a new (18th) table showing after-tax low income families, based onthe After-Tax Low Income Measure.

As of 2007, table 16 on family units and persons by language of tax form was terminated.

During the course of the years since 1990, minor changes have also been brought to various tables, depending on customer demands and on details available from the tax file. See total income in the Glossary section. Further changes to the standard tables are listed in the section “Statistical Tables - Footnotes and Historical Availability”.

Starting with 2010, the T1FF standard tables are available at no cost on CANSIM for the following geographies:  Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas (CMA) and census agglomerations (CA starting with 2008). Data for other levels of geography can be obtained by contacting the Client Services Section of the Income Statistics Division, Statistics Canada (613-951-7355, toll free 1-888-297-7355, e-mail:income@statcan.gc.ca).

Note: For additional information on senior families, please refer to the T1FF Statistics Canada product 89C0022 – Seniors.

Section 1 - The data

Data Source

Development of Small Area and Administrative Data T1 Family File (T1FF) is based on the census family concept. This concept, specific to Statistics Canada, is similar to the traditional family concept. The census family data include parent(s) and children (i.e., children who do not live with their spouse or partner and do not have children of their own) living in the same dwelling.

Starting with the 1992 tax year, common-law couples were recognized as a separate category on the T1 General Tax form. As a result, the coverage of couple families (in which common-law families are included) is very high. Beginning with the 2000 data, same-sex couples reporting as a couple are included as common-law couples, and therefore counted in the couple category.

The initial population used to develop the family units comprises all taxfilers for the reference year and represents approximately two‑thirds of the Canadian population. The family units are formed from information obtained on the tax returns of the taxfiling family members.

First, taxfilers from the same family, including children, are matched using common links (e.g., spousal social insurance number, same name, and same address). Prior to 1993, non-filing children were identified from information on their parents’ tax form. Information from the Federal Family Allowance Program was used to assist in the identification of children. Since 1993, children are added to the family by using the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) file, the provincial births files and previous years of the T1FF.

The remaining taxfilers who have not been matched in the family formation process become persons not in census families (formerly non-family persons). They may be living with a family to whom they are related (e.g., brother-in-law, cousin, grandparent) or unrelated (e.g., lodger, roommate). They may be living with other persons not in census families or living alone.

The T1FF approximates the total Canadian population. It contains information on sources of income (from the taxfilers) and some demographic indicators (derived from both the taxfilers and the non‑filers).

For the most part, tax returns were filed in the spring of the year following the reference year. The mailing address at the time of filing is the basis for the geographic information in the tables.

Data Currency

Because the data are taken from tax records, they are current data from tax returns filed for the year noted on the tables.  For example, 2011 income records are taken from 2011 tax returns filed in the spring of 2012, with data released during the summer of 2013.  Data are released on an annual basis.

Data Quality

The data that appear in the tables are taken directly from the T1FF, built from the personal income tax and the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) records. Information on income is obtained from taxfilers and includes incomes of their non-filing spouses and children. Demographic information is derived from taxfilers and non-filing spouses and/or children, such as the estimates of "total taxfilers and dependents".

Most children do not file because they have low or no income. Improvements have been made to the process of identifying children. For example, the introduction of the Universal Child Care Benefit program in 2006 has allowed the identification of more children under the age of six. These changes have resulted in improved coverage of children in the T1FF data compared to the official Statistics Canada population estimates. The impact of these changes is most notable in the counts and median total income of lone-parent families although it is not possible to distinguish the precise impact of the improvements separately from normal year-to-year change.

Some elderly Canadians receiving only Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) do not file because they have low or no taxable income. However, with the introduction of the federal sales tax (FST) credit in 1986 and the goods and services tax (GST) credit in 1989, the percentage of the elderly population filing tax returns has increased. In 2011, 94.2% filed tax returns, up from 75% in 1989 (when comparing taxfilers aged 65 years or more with the 65 years or more population estimate counts to July 1, 2012, available from Statistics Canada’s CANSIM database, table 051-0001).The introduction of the FST and GST credits has also resulted in more low-income families filing tax returns.

Beginning in 1992, family total income was changed to include income of non-filing spouses reported on the taxfiler's income tax return. This caused an increase in family total income as well as an increase in median income for 1992. Starting with the 2001 data, wage and salary income of non-filing spouses can be identified, in some cases, from T4 earnings statements.

Comparing the tax-based family median income figures (T1FF) to the Statistics Canada Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) shows the following results (Table A). The SCF was replaced by the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), and the definition of a family was changed for SLID.

Table A - Comparison of Census Family Incomes
Table summary
This table displays the results of - comparison of census family incomes. The information is grouped by year (appearing as row headers), median income, all census families and % ratio, calculated using t1ff and scf/slid units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Year Median Income, All Census families % ratio
T1FF SCF/SLID
1990 42,700 44,783 95.3%
1991 42,900 45,368 94.6%
1992 43,500 46,175 94.2%
1993 43,000 45,583 94.3%
1994 43,000 46,908 92.3%
1995 44,200 47,124 93.8%
1996 44,800 48,023 93.3%
1997 45,900 48,862 93.9%
1998 47,300 48,600 97.3%
1999 48,600 50,900 95.5%
2000 50,800 55,016 92.3%
2001 53,500 55,100 97.1%
2002 55,000 56,000 98.2%
2003 56,000 57,800 96.9%
2004 58,100 59,900 97.0%
2005 60,600 63,866 97.4%
2006 63,600 64,200 99.1%
2007 66,550 67,100 99.2%
2008 68,860 69,600 98.9%
2009 68,410 69,200 98.9%
2010 69,860 71,400 97.8%
2011 72,240 74,700 96.7%
Note: The above T1FF medians are taken from the T1FF family databank being discussed here; the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) medians for 1990 to 1997 are from Statistics Canada's annual publication 13-208: Family Incomes, Census Families. The 2000 T1FF median is compared to the 2001 Census data (2000 income) and the 2005 T1FF median is compared to the 2006 Census data (2005 income).Starting from 1998 the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) median is taken from CANSIM table 202-0408. Because data in CANSIM for 202-0408 are presented in 2011 constant dollars, the series has been adjusted in current dollars using Consumer Price Indexes. The SCF and SLID estimates do not include the Territories.

 

Confidentiality and Rounding

 

All data are subject to the confidentiality procedures of rounding and suppression.

To protect the confidentiality of Canadians, counts are rounded. Rounding may increase, decrease, or cause no change to counts. Rounding can affect the results obtained from calculations. For example, when calculating percentages from rounded data, results may be distorted as both the numerator and denominator have been rounded. The distortion can be greatest with small numbers.

All reported amounts are rounded to the nearest five thousand dollars.

Since 1990, data cells represent counts of 15 or greater, and are rounded to a base of 10. For example, a cell count of 15 would be rounded to 20 and a cell count of 24 would be rounded to 20.

For 1988 and 1989 data, all counts are 25 or greater and are rounded to the nearest 25. Reported amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand dollars.

For data up to and including 1987, all counts are randomly rounded to a base of 5, and reported amounts are unrounded, but are adjusted according to the rounding of the counts.

Note: Counts represent the number of persons. Reported amounts are aggregate dollar amounts reported.

Suppressed Data

To maintain confidentiality, data cells have been suppressed whenever:

  • areas comprise less than 100 taxfilers;
     
  • cells represent less than 15 taxfilers;
  • cells were dominated by a single taxfiler;
  • cells for median income were based on a rounded count of less than 20 taxfilers.

Suppressed data may occur:

1. Within one area:

  • when one of the income categories is suppressed, a second category must also be suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential data by subtraction (called residual disclosure) (Table B);
  • when one of the gender categories is suppressed, the other gender category must also be suppressed to avoid residual disclosure (Table B);
  • when one age group category is suppressed, another age group must also be suppressed to avoid residual disclosure.

2. Between areas:

  • when a variable amount in one area is suppressed, that variable amount is also suppressed in another area to prevent disclosure by subtraction.
Table B - Suppression of Income Data, an Illustration
Table summary
This table displays the results of suppression of income data amount (millions of dollars), calculated using males, females and total units of measure (appearing as column headers).
  Amount (Millions of Dollars)
Males Females Total
Wages/Salaries/Commissions 6.7 3.4 10.2
Self-Employment 0.3 0.2 0.5
Dividends and Interest 1.2 1.1 2.3
Employment Insurance 0.7 0.3 1
Old Age Security/Net Federal Supplements 0.7 0.5 1.1
Canada/Quebec Pension Plan 1.1 0.5 1.6
Private Pensions 1.9 0.4 2.3
Canada Child Tax Benefits Note x: Confidential when reported by fewer than 15 taxfilers. (In the data supplied to clients, the suppressed cell will contain a "0".) Note x*: For the same income variable, the value for the opposite gender was suppressed in the table to avoid disclosure by subtraction. 0.1
Goods and Services Tax Credit/Harmonized Sales Tax Credit Note x**: For the same income variable, the value for the opposite gender was suppressed in the table to avoid disclosure by subtraction. Note x**: For the same income variable, the value for the opposite gender was suppressed in the table to avoid disclosure by subtraction. 0.2
Workers' Compensation 0.1 0.1 0.2
Social Assistance 0.2 0.2 0.5
Provincial Refundable Tax Credits 0.1 0.1 0.2
Registered Retirement Savings Plan Income 0.1 0.1 0.2
Other Income 0.6 0.6 1.2
Total Income 14.5 7.8 22.3
x Confidential when reported by fewer than 15 taxfilers. (In the data supplied to clients, the suppressed cell will contain a "0".)
x* For the same income variable, the value for the opposite gender was suppressed in the table to avoid disclosure by subtraction.               
x** The value for a second income variable was suppressed elsewhere in the table to avoid disclosure by subtraction.

 

Low-Income Measures : Before-Tax and After-Tax

 

Low-Income Measures (LIMs) included in the T1FF family tables 17 and 18 (CANSIM 111-0015) are a relative measure of low income. LIMs are a fixed percentage (50%) of adjusted median family income where adjusted indicates a consideration of family needs. The family size adjustment used in calculating the LIMs reflects the precept that family needs increase with family size. A census family is considered to be low-income when their income is below the Low-Income Measure (LIM) for their family type and size.

The following steps outline the method to calculate the LIMs and to establish the low-income population for census families and persons not in census families. The procedure for the Before-Tax LIM and the After-Tax LIM is the same but a different income variable is incorporated into each of the calculations. Total Income is used for the Before-Tax LIM while Income After Tax is used for the After-Tax LIM.  (See Section III Glossary for the definition of these variables.)  For both of these measures, an adjustment is made for capital gains.

Here are the key components behind the calculation of the Low-Income Measure (LIM). This measure is calculated for the census family.

  1. Determine for each census family the adjusted family size whereby the first adult is counted as 1.0, each additional adult and each child 16 years of age and over as 0.4 and each child less that 16 years of age as 0.3 (except in a lone-parent family where the first child is counted as 0.4). Each person not in a census family is counted as 1.0.
  2. For each census family calculate an adjusted family income “by dividing their family income by their adjusted family size”. For persons not in census families, for whom the adjusted family size is 1.0, the adjusted family income is the individual’s income.
  3. Determine the median adjusted family income which is the adjusted family income where 50% of the families, including persons not in census families, have a smaller adjusted family income and 50% have a higher one.
  4. The LIM for a family of size one is 50% of the median adjusted family income and the LIMs for the other family types are equal to this value multiplied by their adjusted family size.
  5. Low-income census families and low-income persons not in census families are those whose incomes are below the LIM for their family types. Census families and persons not in census families whose incomes are equal to or above the LIM for their family type are not considered low income.
  6. This process is repeated for each year. Thus, the LIMs for each year are derived from the reported incomes of that year.

Low-Income Measures by Census Family Type

Tables C and D outline the before-tax and after-tax Low Income Measures (LIMs) for 2010. Both figures have the same format. Various census family types are outlined: lone-parent families (one adult with one, two and ten children), couple families (two adults with zero, one, two, and ten children), lone-parent or couple families with older children and younger children (one to four adults with zero, one, two and ten children) and persons not in census families (one adult, no children). Low-income census families and low-income persons not in census families are those whose (family) incomes are below the LIM for their family type.

Table C - 2011 Before-Tax Low-Income Measure
Table summary
This table displays the results of - 2011 before-tax low-income measure. The information is grouped by number of adults(add *) (appearing as row headers), number of children less than 16 years of age, calculated using 0, 1, 2, ..... and 10 units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Number of AdultsNote * Number of Children Less Than 16 Years of Age
0 1 2 ..... 10
1 18,566 25,992 31,562 ..... 76,121
2 25,992 31,562 37,132 ..... 81,690
3 33,419 38,989 44,558 ..... 89,117
4 40,845 46,415 51,985 ..... 96,543
Note *

Includes parents/spouses, children 16 years of age and over and the first child in lone-parent families regardless of age.

Example: The 2011 before-tax LIM for a person not in a census family is $18,566 and the 2011 before-tax LIM for a lone-parent family with two children 15 years of age and under is $31,562.

The before-tax LIM for any family size can be calculated by multiplying $18,566 by the appropriate adjusted family factor for a specific family size. For example, the before-tax LIM for a couple family with two children over the age of 15 is $40,845. This is calculated by multiplying $18,566 by 2.2.

Table D - 2011 After-Tax Low-Income Measure
Table summary
This table displays the results of 2011 after-tax low-income measure. The information is grouped by number of adults (appearing as row headers), number of children less than 16 years of age, calculated using 0, 1, 2, ..... and 10 units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Number of Adults Note * Number of Children Less Than 16 Years of Age
0 1 2 ..... 10
1 16,456 23,038 27,975 ..... 67,470
2 23,038 27,975 32,912 ..... 72,406
3 29,621 34,558 39,494 ..... 78,989
4 36,203 41,140 46,077 ..... 85,571
Note *

Includes parents/spouses, children 16 years of age and over and the first child in lone-parent families regardless of age.

Example: The 2011 after-tax LIM for a person not in a census family is $16,456 and the 2011 after-tax LIM for a lone-parent family with two children 15 years of age and under is $27,975.

The after-tax LIM for any family size can be calculated by multiplying $16,456 by the appropriate adjusted family factor for a specific family size. For example, the after-tax LIM for a couple family with two children over the age of 15 is $36,203. This is calculated by multiplying $16,456 by 2.2.

Other Low-Income Statistics

In addition to the census family information produced from administrative files which is described in this user's guide, low-income statistics are also available for economic and census families from the Survey of Consumer Finances (up to 1997) and from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (from 1993 onwards). These include Low Income Cut-Offs (LICOs), Market Basket Measures (MBMs) and Low-Income Measures (LIMs). For further information contact Client Services Section of the Income Statistics Division, Statistics Canada (613-951-7355, toll free 1-888-297-7355, e-mail:income@statcan.gc.ca).

Section 2 - The data tables

Data Table Contents

The following sections lists the T1FF standard family tables available for Canada, provinces and territories, federal electoral districts, economic regions, census divisions, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, and census tracts. In some cases tables retrieved in an Excel have been divided in parts for display purposes. The T1FF standard tables are available at no cost on CANSIM for the following geographies:  Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (CA starting as of 2008).

Table 1: Summary table

CANSIM Table 111-0009 Family characteristics, summary

  • Count of taxfilers
  • Count of taxfilers and dependents by age group: under 15, 15-64, 65 and over, total
  • Count of all census families (couple families + lone-parent families) and the number of persons in census families; similar counts are also given for couple families, lone-parent families and persons not in census families
  • Median family total income and median individual total income for all census families, for couple families, for lone-parent families and for persons not in census families
  • Count of all census families with employment income, of persons not in census families with employment income, and their median employment income
  • Count of dual-earner couple  families, of single-earner-male families, of single-earner-female families, and the median employment income of these families
  • Count of all census families and of persons not in census families receiving transfer payments, and the median amount of transfer payments
  • Count of census families with at least one member with labour income; the number of census families receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits and the median amount received; count of persons not in census families with labour income, the number receiving EI benefits and the median amount received

Table 2: Persons by age group and by census family type

CANSIM Table 111-0010 Family characteristics, by family type and age group

  • Count of parents and children in couple families, by age group
  • Count of parents and children in lone-parent families, by age group
  • Count of persons not in census families by age group
  • Count and percentage of taxfilers and dependents by age group
  • Average age of taxfilers and dependents

Table 3: Census families by age of older partner/parent and by number of children

CANSIM Table 111-0011 Families by type, composition and parent characteristics
The non CANSIM version of this table is in 3 parts.

Table 3a:

  • Count of couple families by age of older partner/parent and by number of children
  • Average family size for all couple families and for couple families with children
  • Median total income of couple families by number of children, of all couple families and of couple families with children

Table 3b:

  • Count of lone-parent families by age of parent and by number of children
  • Count of male and of female (and total) lone-parent families by age of parent
  • Average family size of lone-parent families by age of parent
  • Median total income of lone-parent families by number of children and by gender of parent

Table 3c:

  • Count of all census families by number of children and by age of (older) partner/parent
  • Average family size of all census families and of census families with children, by age of (older) partner/parent
  • Median total income of all census families by number of children, of all census families and of census families with children

Table 4: Distribution of total income by census family type and age

CANSIM Table 111-0012 Family characteristics, by income group and age of older adult
The non CANSIM version of this table is in 3 parts.

Table 4a:

  • Count of couple families by age of older partner and by cumulative total family income group; median family total income by age group of older partner

Table 4b:

  • Count of lone-parent families by age of parent and by cumulative total family income group; median family total income by age group of parent

Table 4c:

  • Count of persons not in census families by age and by cumulative total income group; median total income by age group

Table 5: Census families by total income and by number of children

CANSIM Table 111-0013 Families by family type, composition and total income
The non CANSIM version of this table is in 2 parts.

Table 5a:

  • Count of couple families by number of children and by cumulative total family income group, showing the median total family income by number of children

Table 5b:

  • Count of lone-parent families by number of children and by cumulative total family income group, showing the median total family income by number of children

Table 6: Sources of income by census family type

CANSIM Table 111-0014 Sources of income by family type

  • Sources of income (number reporting and amount reported) for couple families, lone-parent families, persons not in census families and total for all census families and persons not in census families. The income sources are:
  • Employment income (total)
    • Wages, salaries and commissions
    • Self-employment income
      • Farm + fish self-employment income
      • Other self-employment income
  • Investment income
  • Government transfers
    • Employment Insurance (EI)
    • Old Age Security (OAS) pension benefits/net federal supplements
    • Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) benefits
    • Canada Child Tax Benefits (CCTB)
    • Goods and services tax (GST) credit/harmonized sales tax (HST) credit
    • Workers' Compensation
    • Social Assistance
    • Provincial refundable tax credits/family benefits
    • Other Government Transfers
  • Private pensions
  • RRSP income
  • Other income
  • Total income

Table 7: Economic dependency profile of couple families

CANSIM Table 111-0016 Economic dependency profile, by family type and source of income

  • For all couple families, for male partners, for female partners, for children and for the entire population: the number reporting employment income and the value reported, the number reporting transfer payments and the median value reported. These transfer payments include:
  • All government transfers
    • Employment Insurance (EI)
    • Goods and services tax (GST) credit/harmonized sales tax (HST) credit
    • Canada Child Tax Benefits (CCTB)
    • Old Age Security (OAS) pension benefits/net federal supplements
    • Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) benefits
    • Workers' Compensation
    • Social Assistance
    • Provincial refundable tax credits/family benefits
    • Other Government Transfers
  • Private pensions (up to the year 2006)

Table 8: Economic dependency profile of lone-parent families and persons not in census families

CANSIM Table 111-0016 Economic dependency profile, by family type and source of income

  • For all lone-parent families, for parents, for children, for persons not in census families and for the entire population: the number reporting employment income and the value reported, the number reporting transfer payments and the median value reported. These transfer payments include:
  • All government transfers
    • Employment Insurance (EI)
    • Goods and services tax (GST) credit/harmonized sales tax (HST) credit
    • Canada Child Tax Benefits (CCTB)
    • Old Age Security (OAS) pension benefits/net federal supplements
    • Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) benefits
    • Workers' Compensation
    • Social Assistance
    • Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits
    • Other Government Transfers
  • Private pensions (up to the year 2006)

Table 9: Labour income profile of couple families

CANSIM Table 111-0017 Family characteristics, labour income profile by family type

  • Count of couple families, of males partners, of female partners and of children in couple families, and of the entire population
  • For couple families, for male partners, for female partners and for children in couple families and for the entire population: counts of numbers reporting labour income and the value reported. The different incomes shown are:
  • Total income
  • Labour income
    • Employment income
      • Wages/salaries/commissions
      • Self-employment income
    • Employment Insurance (EI)

Table 10: Labour income profile of lone-parent families and persons not in census families

CANSIM Table 111-0017 Family characteristics, labour income profile by family type

  • Count of lone-parent families, of parents and of children, of persons not in census families and of the entire population
  • For lone-parent families, for parents and for children in lone-parent families, for persons not in a census family and for the entire population: counts of numbers reporting labour income and the value reported. The different incomes shown are:
  • Total income
  • Labour income
    • Employment income
      • Wages/salaries/commissions
      • Self-employment income
    • Employment Insurance

Table 11: Labour income by age group and gender

CANSIM Table 111-0018 Labour characteristics, by sex and age group

  • Count of taxfilers and dependents by age group and by gender
  • Count of taxfilers and dependents with labour income by age group and by gender
  • Participation rates by age group and by gender

Table 12: Employment insurance by age group and gender

CANSIM Table 111-0019 Persons receiving Employment Insurance by sex and age group

  • Count of taxfilers and dependents with labour income by age group and by gender
  • Count of Employment Insurance recipients by age group and by gender

Table 13: Single-earner and dual-earner census families by number of children (Includes only partners/parents reporting non-negative employment income)

CANSIM Table 111-0020 Single-earner and dual-earner families, by number of children

  • Number reporting, total employment income of parent/partners reported and the median employment income of parent/partners for:
    • Male single-earner couple families by number of children
    • Female single-earner couple families by number of children
    • Dual-earner couple families by number of children
    • Lone-parent families by number of children

Note: Excluded from this table are census families where a spouse (either one in couple families, or the sole parent in lone-parent families) reported negative employment income, and census families where both spouses (in couple families, or the sole parent in lone-parent families) reported no employment income.

Table 14: Husband-wife families by percentage of wife's contribution to husband-wife employment income (Includes only spouses reporting non-negative employment income)

CANSIM Table 111-0021 Husband-wife families, by wife’s contribution to husband-wife employment
The non CANSIM version of this table is in 3 parts.

Table 14a:

  • Counts of husband-wife families by number of children and by percentage of wife's contribution to the husband-wife employment income

Table 14b:

  • Counts of husband-wife families by age of wife and by percentage of wife's contribution to the husband-wife employment income

Table 14c:

  • Counts of husband-wife families by family employment income range and by percentage of wife's contribution to the husband-wife employment income

Note: Excluded from this table are:

  • same-sex couples,
  • families where a spouse (either one) reported negative employment income, and
  • families where both spouses reported no employment income.

Table 15: Census family units and children by age of children

CANSIM Table 111-0022 Family characteristics, families with children by age of child

  • Counts of census families (couple, lone-parent and total for all census families) by age of children
  • Counts of children in census families (couple, lone-parent and total for all census families) by age of children
  • The age groups used are:
    • All children under 6 years
    • All 6-14
    • All 15-17
    • Some under 6 and some 6-14
    • Some under 6 and some 15-17
    • Some 6-14 and some 15-17
    • Some under 6, some 6-4 and some 15-17
    • All under 18
    • Some under 18 and some 18 and over
    • All 18 and over

Table 17: Before-tax low income (based on before-tax low-income measures, LIMs)

CANSIM Table 111-0015 Low Income Measures, by family type (combines table 17 and 18)

For all couple families, all lone-parent families, all persons not in census families and a total of these three groups, the table contains the following information:

  • Count of census families or persons not in census families by number of children and total
  • Median before-tax family income by number of children and a total
  • Number of persons within a census family by number of children and a total
  • Number of children 0 to 17 years of age by number of children within a census family and total
  • Number of persons 65 years of age and over by number of children within a census family and total

For low-income couple families, low-income lone-parent families, low-income persons not in census families and a total of these three groups, the same information as outlined above is available:

  • Count of census families or persons not in census families by number of children and total
  • Median before-tax family income by number of children and a total
  • Number of persons within a census family by number of children and a total
  • Number of children 0 to 17 years of age by number of children within a census family and total
  • Number of persons 65 years of age and over by number of children within a census family and total

Table 18: After-tax low income (based on after-tax low-income measures, LIMs)

CANSIM Table 111-0015 Low Income Measures, by family type (combines table 17 and 18)

For all couple families, all lone-parent families, all persons not in census families and a total of these three groups, the table contains the following information:

  • Count of census families or persons not in census families by number of children and total
  • Median after-tax family income by number of children and a total
  • Number of persons within a census family by number of children and a total
  • Number of children 0 to 17 years of age by number of children within a census family and total
  • Number of persons 65 years of age and over by number of children within a census family and total

For low-income couple families, low-income lone-parent families, low-income persons not in census families and a total of these three groups, the same information as outlined above is available:

  • Count of census families or persons not in census families by number of children and total
  • Median after-tax family income by number of children and a total
  • Number of persons within a census family by number of children and a total
  • Number of children 0 to 17 years of age by number of children within a census family and total
  • Number of persons 65 years of age and over by number of children within a census family and total

Statistical tables – Footnotes and historical availability

Note: for changes to variable definitions, please see Glossary of Terms.

All tables:

  • Because they are based on a different methodology, estimates of the number of Census families presented in these tables differ from estimates produced by Demography Division.
  • The income shown here could be reported by any member of the census family.
  • Income ranges are cumulative and not discrete (since 1993). This means that a person with an income of $100,000 will be included in the $10,000+ category, in the $15,000+ category, in the $20,000+ category, in the $25,000+ category, etc.
  • Starting with 2000 data, same-sex couples are counted as couple families (formerly “husband-wife families”).
  • Available for Canada, the provinces and the territories and for census divisions and for census metropolitan areas.
  • Available for census tracts, economic regions and federal electoral districts starting with 1999 data.
  • Available for census agglomerations starting with 2001 data.
  • Working Income Tax Benefit is included in Government Transfers and Total Income starting with 2010 data.

Table 1:

  • Available since 1990.
  • Number of taxfilers added in 1993.
  • For All Families, Couple Families, Lone-Parent Families and Non-Family Persons, Per Capita Income was replaced by Person Median Income starting with 2007 data.
  • For All Families (Couple and Lone-Parent) and Non-Family Persons, Government Transfers Average Amount was replaced by Government Transfers Median Amount starting with 2007 data.
  • For Number of Families (Couple and Lone-Parent) and Non-Family Persons, Employment Insurance Benefits Average Amount was replaced by Employment Insurance Benefits Median Amount starting with 2007 data.

Table 2:

  • Available since 1990.
  • Average age was added to this table starting with 1994.

Table 3:

  • Available in its current format since 1990.

Table 4:

  • Available since 1990.
  • Income groups were changed from discrete to cumulative groups starting with 1993.
  • Income groups were added in 1993 (up to $250,000 for couple families and $100,000 for lone-parent families and persons not in census families).
  • In 1995, group $55,000+ was removed from couple families table and $75,000 was added.

Table 5:

  • Available since 1990.
  • Income groups were changed from discrete to cumulative groups starting with 1993.
  • Income groups were added in 1993 (up to $250,000 for couple families and $100,000 for lone-parent families and persons not in census families).
  • In 1995, group $55,000+ was removed from couple families table and $75,000 was added.

Table 6:

  • Available since 1990.
  • The sources of income have changed over the years, depending on the information available from the T1.
  • For 1990-1995, transfer payments included government transfers and private (other) pensions; starting with 1996, private pensions are shown separately from government transfers.  In 2010, Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB) is shown as Other Government Transfers and included in government transfers.
  • Information on workers’ compensation and social assistance available as separate income sources since 1994 (previously included in "non-taxable income").
  • Information on RRSP income available since 1994 (previously included in "other income"). 
  • Total = couple families + lone-parent families + persons not in census families.

Tables 7 and 8:

  • Available since 1990.
  • For 1990-1995, transfer payments included government transfers and other (private) pensions; starting with 1996, private pensions are shown separately from government transfers.  In 2010, Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB) is shown as Other Government Transfers and included in government transfers.
  • Information on workers’ compensation and social assistance available as separate income sources since 1994 (previously included in "non-taxable income").
  • For Couple Families, Male Partners, Female Partners, Children, and Taxfilers and dependents, Government Transfers Average Amount was replaced by Government Transfers Median Amount starting with 2007 data.
  • Private Pensions (Number, Amount and Economic Dependency) have been removed in 2007.

Tables 9 and 10:

  • Available since 1990.
  • Since 1992, total population count includes taxfilers and dependents
  • Employment Insurance (previously unemployment insurance) rate shown only for 1990 and 1991.
  • Information on wages, salaries and commissions added in 1993 (counts and amounts).
  • Change to table layout in 1999 (“self-employment” category now follows “wages, salaries and commissions”).

Table 11:

  • Available in its current format since 1990.
  • The gender of the non-filing children is, in many cases, not known to us; for this reason, the number of all persons or taxfilers and dependents in the male and female columns does not add to the figure in the total column for the 15-19 age group.
  • The participation rate is calculated by dividing the number of persons with labour income by the total number of persons and multiplying by 100. Rate is not shown for the 15-19 age group since 1997.

Table 12:

  • Available since 1990.
  • "Total population" replaced with "Labour Income" with the 1992 data
  • Employment Insurance (previously Unemployment Insurance) rate shown only for 1990 and 1991

Table 13:

  • Available since 1990.
  • Not included in this table are 1) census families where either partner or lone-parent reported negative employment income, and 2) census families where neither partner or lone-parent reported employment income.
  • “Average contribution of wife” removed starting with 2001 data.

Table 14:

  • Available since 1990.
  • Not included in this table are 1) same-sex couples, 2) husband-wife families where either spouse reported negative employment income, and 3) husband-wife families where neither spouse reported employment income.
  • Only husband-wife families with an employment income greater than zero are considered here.
  • 0% represents contributions equal to or less than 0.5% and 100% represents contributions equal to or greater than 99.5%.
  • Since 1991, family totals are shown in each table section.
  • Average contribution of wife added starting with 2001 data.
  • Average contribution of wife was replaced by Median contribution of wife starting with 2007 data.

Table 15:

  • Available in its current format since 1993.

Table 16:

  • Available in its current format since 1993.
  • The total column on the far right of the printed page represents couple families + lone-parent families + persons not in census families.
  • Terminated in 2007.

Table 17:

  • Available in its current format since 1995.
  • Available for census tracts, federal electoral districts and economic regions starting with 2000 data.

Table 18:

  • Available in its current format since 1997.
  • Available for census tracts, federal electoral districts and economic regions starting with 2000 data.

Section 3 — Glossary of terms

Age
Is calculated as of December 31 of the reference year (i.e., tax year minus year of birth). Starting in 2007, all the counts are rounded to the nearest 10.

Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit
Beginning in 1997, the Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit is a non-taxable amount paid to families with working income that have children under the age of 18. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Alberta Resource Rebate
Is a one-time payment of $400 made in 2006 to residents of Alberta who filed an income tax return and who were 18 years and over. Rebate for children who are under 18 will be paid to their primary caregiver. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables for 2006 only.

Alimony
Includes payments from one former spouse to the other, for couples that are separated or divorced. Child support is also included in this variable, as reported on line 128 of the T1 tax form, where both alimony and child support are reported together, without distinction. Starting with 1998, this information is taken from line 156 of the T1 (support payments received). Included in “Other income” in the statistical tables.

All (Census) Families
Include couple families and lone-parent families.

Average Family Size
Is the average count of persons in the census family.

British Columbia Climate Action Dividend
It is a one-time payment of $100 made in 2008 to all residents of British Columbia. The British Columbia Climate Action Dividend (BCCAD) is a payment intended to help British Columbians make changes to reduce their use of fossil fuels. The Canada Revenue Agency is administering this program on behalf of British Columbia. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables for 2008 only.

British Columbia Family Bonus
Commencing in July 1996, the BC Family Bonus program provides non-taxable amounts paid monthly to help low- and modest-income families with the cost of raising children under the age of 18. This program includes the basic Family Bonus and the BC Earned Income Benefit. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

British Columbia Low Income Climate Action Tax Credit
Beginning in its 2009 budget, the province of British Columbia introduced the British Columbia Low Income Climate Action Tax Credit. This credit is intended to help low income individuals and families with the carbon taxes they pay and is part of the province’s commitment that the carbon tax be revenue neutral. The Canada Revenue Agency will administer this program on behalf of British Columbia. This credit is an ongoing non-taxable quarterly payment. Included in Goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit in the statistical tables.

British Columbia Seniors Supplement
Beginning in 2005, the province of British Columbia introduced a monthly payment to seniors receiving federal Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).

Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB)
Is a system that replaces (beginning with the 1993 data year) the previous federal Family Allowance program, the non-refundable child deduction and the refundable Child Tax Credit. It is an income supplement for individuals who have at least one qualified dependent child. The Canada Child Tax Benefit is also based on the individual's family income and the number of dependent children. The Universal Child Care Benefit is added to the CCTB beginning with the 2006 data in the statistical tables.

Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP)
Are compulsory contributory social insurance plans that protect workers and their families against loss of income due to retirement, disability or death. Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan benefits include all benefits reported for the reference year.

Census Family
This definition of the census family classifies people in the following manner: 1) couples (married or common-law) living in the same dwelling, with or without children; and 2) lone-parents (male or female) with one or more children. The residual population is called "persons not in census families" and is made up of persons living alone and of persons living in a household but who are not part of a couple family or lone-parent family. See also “Children”.

Children
Are taxfilers or imputed persons in couple and lone-parent families. Taxfiling children do not live with their spouse, have no children of their own and live with their parent or parents. Previous to the 1998 data, taxfiling children had to report “single” as their marital status. Most children are identified from the Canada Child Tax Benefit file, a provincial births file or a previous T1 family file.

CityID
Since names can be, in some cases, quite long and cumbersome for handling in electronic files, municipalities are given a city identification number. Starting in 2007, the CityID is a five digits alpha-numeric component. It is created with the first letter of postal code followed by “9” and a four digits number. Each first letter of postal code is allocated a range of number from 1 to 9999 (more explanation in geography section).

Couple Family
Consists of a couple living together (whether married or common-law) at the same address, and any children living at the same address; taxfiling children do not live with their spouse, have no child of their own and live with their parent or parents. Previous to the 1998 data, taxfiling children had to report “single” as their marital status. Beginning in 2000, same-sex couples reporting as couples are counted as couple families. See also Census families.

Dependents
For the purpose of these databanks, dependents are the non-filing members of a family. We do not attempt to measure dependency in any way, but are able to identify certain non-filing family members, and include these in the total counts of people in a given area.

Dividend Income
Includes dividend income from taxable Canadian corporations (such as stocks or mutual funds) as reported on line 120 of the personal income tax return, and then grossed down
to the actual amounts received; dividend income does not include dividends received from foreign investments (which are included in interest income and reported on line 121).

Dual-Earner Families
Are couple families where both spouses have an employment income greater than zero.

Economic Dependency Ratio (EDR)
Is the sum of transfer payment dollars received as benefits in a given area, compared to every $100 of employment income for that same area. For example, where a table shows an Employment Insurance (EI) dependency ratio of 4.69, it means that $4.69 in EI benefits were received for every $100 of employment income for the area.

Employment Income
Includes wages and salaries, commissions from employment, training allowances, tips and gratuities, self-employment income (net income from business, profession, farming, fishing and commissions) and Indian Employment Income (since 1999).

Employment Insurance (EI) Previously Unemployment Insurance (UI)
Comprises all types of benefits paid to individuals under this program, regardless of reason, including regular benefits for unemployment, fishing, job creation, maternity, parental/adoption, retirement, self-employment, sickness, training and work sharing.

Families Reporting Income
Are counted for a given source of income when that income is received by at least one family member. Families and individuals may report more than one source of income.

Family Benefits
See Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit; British Columbia Family Bonus; Canada Child Tax Benefit; New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit Supplement; Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit; Northwest Territories Child Benefit; Nova Scotia Child Tax Benefit; Nunavut Child Benefit; Ontario Child Care Supplement for Working Families; Manitoba Child Tax Benefit; Quebec Child Assistance Payment; Yukon Child Benefit.

Family Total Income
Is the sum of the total incomes of all members of the family (see "Total income”). New to the 1992 definition of total income is income for non-filing spouses. The information is derived from the taxfiling spouse.

Family with labour income
Includes all families where at least one of its members has reported employment income (wages, salaries, commissions or self-employment) or employment insurance benefits in the reference year.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) Credit
Includes all amounts received through this program. In 1990, the goods and services tax credit began replacing the federal sales tax (FST) credit. By 1991, the FST credit no longer existed. Beginning in 1997, the GST was harmonized with the provincial sales taxes for certain provinces.

Government Transfer Payments
For the purpose of these data, transfer payments denote the following payments made to individuals by the federal or provincial governments:  Employment Insurance, Family Allowance (to 1992), FST credit (in 1989 and 1990), GST credit (which began replacing the FST credit in 1990 and completely replaced it by 1991, and became the GST/HST credit starting in 1997), Child Tax Credit (to 1992), Canada Child Tax Benefit (starting with 1993), Old Age Security pension benefits/net federal supplements, Canada and Quebec Pension plans benefits, non-taxable income and provincial refundable tax credits (both beginning in 1990), Quebec child assistance payment (beginning in 2006) which replaced the Quebec Family allowances (the latter were in place from 1994 to 2004), British Columbia Family Bonus (beginning in 1996), New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit (beginning in 1997), Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit (beginning in 1997), Northwest Territories Child Benefit (beginning in 1998), Nova Scotia Child Tax Benefit (beginning in 1998), Nunavut Child Benefit (beginning in 1998), Ontario Child Benefit (beginning in 2007) which integrates the Ontario child care supplement for working families (beginning in 1998), Saskatchewan Child Benefit (from 1998 to 2008), Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit (beginning in 1999), the Yukon Child Benefit (beginning in 1999), the Newfoundland and Labrador Seniors Benefit (beginning in 1999), the Saskatchewan Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2000), the Nova Scotia one-time payment Taxpayer Refund Program (2003 only), the New Brunswick Low-Income Seniors Benefit (since 2005), the British Columbia Seniors Supplement (beginning with 2005), the Universal Child Care Benefit (beginning in 2006), the Alberta Resource Rebate (for 2006 only), the Ontario Home Electricity Relief (for 2006 only), the Newfoundland and Labrador Home Heating Rebate (beginning with 2007), the Nova Scotia Credit for Volunteer Fire-fighter (beginning with 2007), the New Brunswick Home Energy Assistance Program (for 2007 only), the Quebec Credit for Individuals Living in Northern Villages (beginning with 2007), the Quebec Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Ontario Senior Homeowners Property Tax Grant (beginning with 2008), the Northern Ontario Energy Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Child Activity Tax Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Ontario Sales Tax Transition Benefit (beginning in 2010), the Manitoba Child Tax Benefit (beginning in 2008), the Manitoba Education Property Tax Credit (beginning in 2001), the Manitoba School Tax Credit for Homeowner (beginning in 2003), the Manitoba Advanced Tuition Tax Rebate (beginning in 2010), the Saskatchewan Graduate retention Program tuition Rebate (beginning with 2008), the Saskatchewan Low-Income tax credit (beginning in 2008),the Saskatchewan Active Family Benefit (beginning in 2010), the British Columbia Climate Action Dividend (2008 only), the British Columbia Low Income Climate Action Tax Credit (beginning with 2009),  the Yukon First Nations Tax Credit (beginning with 2008), and the Nunavut Volunteer Fire-fighter Credit (starting in 2008), the Nova Scotia Affordable Living Credit (beginning with 2010), the Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Tax Credit (beginning with 2010),  the Nunavut Cost of Living Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Working Income Tax Benefit (beginning in 2010)  and  the Quebec Solidarity Tax Credit (beginning in 2011).The individuals in this case receive these payments without providing goods or services in return.  Previous to the 1996 data, Transfer payments also included superannuation and other (private) pensions.

Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)
In Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the provincial sales tax has been harmonized with the goods and services tax (GST) since 1997, to become the harmonized sales tax. Ontario and British Columbia harmonized their provincial sales tax starting in 2010. For this reason, the federal GST credit is now known as the GST/HST credit.

Husband-Wife Family
Similar to the Couple family concept but excludes same-sex couples.  For more information see Couple family.

Imputed Persons
Are persons who are not taxfilers, but are reported or otherwise identified by a taxfiler (for example, a non-filing spouse or child).

Income After Tax
Is total income minus provincial and federal income taxes plus Quebec Abatement.

Index
Is a comparison of the variable for the given area with either the province (province = 100) or with Canada (Canada = 100).

Interest Income
Refers to the amount Canadians claimed on line 121 of the personal income tax return. This amount includes interest generated from bank deposits, Canada Savings Bonds, corporate bonds, treasury bills, investment certificates, term deposits, annuities, mutual funds, earnings on life insurance policies and all foreign interest and foreign dividend incomes.

Investment Income
Includes both interest income and dividend income.

Labour Income
Includes income from employment and Employment Insurance benefits.

Level of Geography
Is a code designating the type of geographic area to which the information in the table applies. See the section on Geography for further information.

Limited Partnership Income
Is net income (i.e., gross income less expenses) from a limited partnership, where a limited partner is a passive or non-active partner whose liability as a member is limited to his or her investment. Included in "Other income" in the statistical tables.

Lone-Parent Family
Is a family with only one parent, male or female, and with at least one child. See also "Census families" and “Children”.

Low-Income Measure (LIM)
The Low-Income Measure is a relative measure of low income. LIMs are a fixed percentage (50%) of adjusted median family income where adjusted indicates a consideration of family needs. The family size adjustment used in calculating the Low-Income Measures reflects the precept that family needs increase with family size. For the LIM, each additional adult, first child (regardless of age) in a lone-parent family, or
child over 15 years of age, is assumed to increase the family’s needs by 40% of the needs of the first adult. Each child less than 16 years of age (other than the first child in a lone-parent family), is assumed to increase the family’s needs by 30% of the first adult. A family is considered to be low income when their income is below the Low-Income Measure (LIM) for their family type and size.

Manitoba Advanced Tuition Tax Rebate
Introduced in 2010 by the Province of Manitoba to assist post-secondary students claim an advanced credit against tuition fees payable for the school year up to November of the current tax year. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical table

Manitoba Child Tax Benefit
Beginning in 2008, the Manitoba Child Benefit (MCB) is a provincial supplement program that replaces and enhances the Child Related Income Support Program. The MCB provides monthly benefits to low-income Manitoba families needing assistance with the cost of raising children. The MCB is part of Manitoba’s Rewarding Work strategy to help Manitobans move from income assistance to work. Under the MCB, maximum monthly benefits are available to families at higher income levels, and assets are no longer considered when calculating eligibility benefits. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Manitoba Education Property Tax Credit
Instituted in 2001 by the Province of Manitoba to assist all residents to offset some or all school tax component paid along with their property taxes. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Manitoba School Tax Credit For Homeowners
Introduced in 2003 by the Province of Manitoba to assist homeowners 55 years of age to receive an additional tax credit against property taxes paid. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical table.

Median
Is the middle number in a group of numbers. Where a median income, for example, is given as $26,000, it means that exactly half of the incomes reported are greater than or equal to $26,000, and that the other half are less than or equal to the median amount. Median incomes in the data tables are rounded to the nearest hundred dollars and starting with 2007 to the nearest ten dollars. Zero values are not included in the calculation of medians for individuals, but are included in the calculation of medians for families.

Negative Income
Generally applies to net self-employment income, net rental income and net limited partnership income. Negative income would indicate that expenses exceeded gross income.

Net Federal Supplements
Are part of the Old Age Security (OAS) pension program, intended to supplement the income of pensioners and spouses with lower income; payments take the form of a Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or a Spouse's Allowance (SPA). Between 1990 and 1993, net federal supplements were included in “non-taxable income”.

Net Rental Income
Is income received or earned from the rental of property, less related costs and expenses. Included in “Other income”.

New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit
Since 1997, the New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit (NBCTB) is a non-taxable amount paid monthly to qualifying families with children under the age of 18. The New Brunswick Working Income Supplement (NBWIS) is an additional benefit paid to qualifying families with earned income who have children under the age of 18. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

New Brunswick Home Energy Assistance Program
Is a one-time payment of $100 made in 2007 to residents of New Brunswick to help low-income families cope with high electricity and energy prices. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables of 2007 only.

New Brunswick Low Income Seniors Benefit
Since 2003, is a refundable credit available to assist low-income seniors in New Brunswick.  The government offers a $400.00 annual benefit to qualifying applicants.

Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit
Beginning in 1999, the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit (NLCB) is a non-taxable amount paid monthly to help low-income families with the cost of raising children under the age of 18. The Mother Baby Nutrition Supplement (MBNS) is an additional benefit paid to qualifying families who have children under the age of one.  In addition, The Mother Child Benefit Supplement (MCBS) is a one-time payment made at the time of birth for each child.  In 2008 the Newfoundland and Labrador introduced two additional parental benefits known as Progressive Family Growth Benefit (PFGB) and the Parental Support Benefit (PSB). Starting in 2011, there is a new, non refundable, Child Care Credit amount equal to child care expenses currently deductible from income. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Newfoundland and Labrador Home Heating Rebate
Beginning in 2007, the Newfoundland and Labrador Home Heating Rebate is an amount available to individuals and families with a household income of $30,000 or less regardless of whether they heat their homes by home heating fuel, electricity or wood. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Newfoundland and Labrador Seniors Benefit
The Newfoundland Seniors' Benefit (NSB) was announced in Newfoundland & Labrador’s 1999 budget.  It is a supplement to the HST credit.

If the tax filer and/or the tax filer’s partner were 65 or older at any time in the year, and they have applied for GST credit on their federal return, they may receive a payment per year.

To receive the credit, the tax filer/or the tax filer’s partner has to apply for the GST/HST credit. Benefits are then combined with the October payment of the federal GST/HST credit. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Non-Family Person
See Persons not in Census Families

Non-Negative Income
Is income that is zero or greater.

Non-Taxable Income/Provincial (refundable) Tax Credits
Non-taxable income refers to the amounts included in a taxfiler's income when applying for refundable tax credits, but not included in the calculation of taxable income; these amounts include workers' compensation payments, net federal supplements received (Guaranteed Income Supplements and/or Spouse's Allowance), and social assistance payments. Beginning with the 1994 data, information is available separately for net federal supplements, workers' compensation and social assistance. Provincial tax credits are a refundable credit paid to individuals by the province in which he or she resided as of December 31 of the taxation year. See also Provincial refundable tax credits.

Northern Ontario Energy Credit
Beginning in 2010, the Province of Ontario introduced  the Northern Ontario Energy Credit for residents of these Northern Ontario districts: Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay or Timiskaming who pay rent or property tax on their principle residents and who apply for the credit.
Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Northwest Territories Child Benefit
Beginning in July 1998, the Northwest Territories Child Benefit (NWTCB) is a non-taxable amount paid monthly to qualifying families with children under age 18. The Territorial Worker's Supplement, part of the NWTCB program, is an additional benefit paid to qualifying families with working income who have children under age 18. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Nova Scotia Affordable Living Tax Credit
Beginning in 2010, with the Harmonized Sales Tax increase, households with low and modest incomes will receive a quarterly tax credit to offset the restoration of the Harmonized Sales Tax. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Nova Scotia Child Tax Benefit
Beginning in October 1998, but retro-active to July 1998, the Nova Scotia Child Benefit (NSCB) is a non-taxable amount paid monthly to help low- and modest-income families with the costs of raising children under the age of 18. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Nova Scotia Credit for Volunteer Firefighters
Beginning in 2007, this credit is made to residents of Nova Scotia who have been volunteer firefighters for a minimum of six months in the calendar year. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Tax Credit
Beginning in 2010, the Poverty Reduction Credit provides tax-free payments to help about 15,000 low-income residents who are in receipt of social assistance. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Nova Scotia Taxpayer Refund Program
Is a one-time payment of $155 made in 2003 to residents of Nova Scotia who paid $1 or more in provincial income tax. The refund is part of the government’s commitment to lower taxes in the province. Included in 2003 data only.

Nunavut Child Benefit
Beginning in July 1998, the Nunavut Child Benefit (NUCB) is a non-taxable amount paid monthly to qualifying families with children under age 18. The Territorial Worker's Supplement, part of the NUCB program, is an additional benefit paid to qualifying families with working income who have children under age 18. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Nunavut Cost of Living Credit
Beginning in 1999, when Nunavut  was carved out of the Northwest Territories, it inherited this unique refundable cost of living credit for residents of Nunavut who qualify. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Nunavut Volunteer Fire-Fighter Credit
Beginning in 2008, the Volunteer Fire Fighter tax credit is allowed to residents of Nunavut who were volunteer fire fighter for a minimum of six months during the year. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Old Age Security (OAS) Pension
Is part of the Old Age Security program, a federal government program that guarantees a degree of financial security to Canadian seniors. All persons in Canada aged 65 or older, who are Canadian citizens or legal residents, may qualify for a full OAS pension, depending on their years of residence in Canada after reaching age 18. Old Age Security benefits include all benefits reported for the reference year, excluding Guaranteed Income Supplements and Spouse’s Allowance benefits; see also "Net Federal Supplements" and "Non-Taxable Income/Provincial (refundable) Tax Credits". Starting with the 1994 data, OAS income of non-filing spouses was estimated and included in the tables.

Ontario Child Activity Tax Credit
Introduced in 2010, the Province of Ontario to assist residents with the cost of registering their children (under the age of 19) in eligible activities as defined by the Province.

Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Ontario Child Benefit Program Formerly Ontario Child Care Supplement for Working Families
Effective in July 2007, the Ontario Child Benefit is integrating its Ontario Child Care Supplement program with its basic social assistance benefits for children. It is intended to be completely integrated with the federal child tax benefit program. The Ontario Child Care Supplement for Working Families (OCCSWF) is a tax-free monthly payment to help with the cost of raising children under the age of seven. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit
Introduced in 2010, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit helps low- to moderate-income individuals 18 years of age and older, and families, with the sales tax they pay on energy and with property taxes. Included in provincial refundable tax credits/Family Benefits in the statistical tables.

Ontario Home Electricity Relief
Was a one-time payment of $120 made in 2006 to lower-income residents of Ontario to assist them with the rising cost of electricity. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Ontario Sales Tax Credit
Introduced in 2010, the Ontario Sales Tax Credit helps low- to moderate-income individuals, 19 years of age and older, and families, with the sales tax they pay. Included in provincial refundable tax credits/Family Benefits in the statistical tables.

Ontario Senior Homeowners Property Tax Grant
Beginning in 2008, this grant is an annual amount provided to help offset property taxes for seniors with low and moderate incomes who own their own homes. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Ontario Sales Tax Transition Credit
Introduced in 2010, this benefit provides three payments to families and single people to help with the transition to the HST. Families (including single parents) can receive up to $1,000 in total. If the person is single, he or she can get up to $300 in total. The first benefit payment and the second benefit payment were paid in June and December 2010. The final benefit payment was paid in June 2011. Included in provincial refundable tax credits/Family Benefits in the statistical tables.

Other Government Transfers
Added in 2010. Currently only includes the Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB).

Other Income
Includes net rental income, alimony, income from a limited partnership, retiring allowances, scholarships, amounts received through a supplementary unemployment benefit plan (guaranteed annual income plan), payments from income‑averaging annuity contracts, as well as all other taxable income not included elsewhere. Beginning with the 1992 data, this variable also includes the imputed income of imputed spouses, as derived from the tax return of the filing spouse. Beginning with the 2008 data, this variable also includes the registered disability savings plan income. See also "Total income".

Parent
Is a person for whom we have identified one or more children living at the same address. See also "Census families" and “Children”.

Parental Support Benefit (PSB)
Is a monthly benefit available to residents of the province of Newfoundland  and Labrador for the 12 months after the child’s birth or the 12 months after the adopted child is place in the home on or after January 1st 2008

Participation Rate
Is the count of a given population of an area with labour income expressed as a percentage of the total for that same population in that same area.

Persons not in Census Families Previously Non-Family Persons
Is an individual who is not part of a census family – couple family or a lone-parent family. These persons may live with their married children or with their children who have children of their own (e.g., grandparent). They may be living with a family to whom they are related (e.g., sibling, cousin) or unrelated (e.g., lodger, roommate). They may also be living alone or with other persons not in census families. See also "Census families".

Private (other) Pensions
Include pension benefits (superannuation and private pensions) other than Old Age Security pension benefits and Canada/Quebec Pension Plan benefits.

Progressive  Family Growth Benefit (PFGB)
Is a $1,000 lump-sum payment to residents of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador who give birth to a baby or have a child placed with them for adoption on or after January 1st 2008.

Provincial Refundable Tax Credits/Family Benefits
Unlike non-refundable tax credits, these amounts are paid to the taxfiler, regardless of tax liability. Included are the refundable provincial tax credits received by taxfilers in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan (since 1990), British Columbia and the Northwest Territories (since 1993), Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut (beginning in 1997), FST credit (in 1989 and 1990), GST credit (which began replacing the FST credit in 1990 and completely replaced it by 1991, and became the GST/HST credit starting in 1997), Quebec child assistance payment (beginning in 2005) which replaced the Quebec Family allowances (the latter were in place from 1994 to 2004), British Columbia Family Bonus (beginning in 1996), New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit (beginning in 1997), Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit (beginning in 1997), Northwest Territories Child Benefit (beginning in 1998), Nova Scotia Child Tax Benefit (beginning in 1998), Nunavut Child Benefit (beginning in 1998), Ontario Child Care Supplement for Working Families  (commenced in 1998), replaced with Ontario Child Benefit program (OCB) in July 2007 which combines the former  OCCS payment with basic social assistance benefit payments for children, renamed ( 2008) Ontario Child care Benefit Supplement (OCCS),Saskatchewan Child Benefit (from 1998 to 2006), Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit (beginning in 1999) which  includes the  Mother Baby Nutrition Supplement (MBNS) beginning in 2002,  the Mother Child Benefit Supplement (2004)  and the Progressive Family growth benefit (PFGB) (starting in 2008) and the Parental Support  Benefit (PSB) (beginning in 2008), the Yukon Child Benefit (beginning in 1999), the Newfoundland and Labrador Seniors Benefit (beginning in 1999),  the Saskatchewan Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2000), the Nova Scotia one-time payment Taxpayer Refund Program (2003 only), the New Brunswick Low-Income Seniors Benefit (since 2005), the British Columbia Seniors Supplement (beginning with 2005), the Universal Child Care Benefit (beginning in 2006), the Alberta Resource Rebate (for 2006 only), the Ontario Home Electricity Relief (for 2006 only), the Newfoundland and Labrador Home Heating Rebate (beginning with 2007), the Nova Scotia Credit for Volunteer Fire-fighter (beginning with 2007), the New Brunswick Home Energy Assistance Program (for 2007 only), the Quebec Credit for Individuals Living in Northern Villages (beginning with 2007), the Quebec Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Ontario Senior Homeowners Property Tax Grant (beginning with 2008), the Northern Ontario Energy Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Child Activity Tax Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Ontario Sales Tax Transition Benefit (beginning in 2010), the Manitoba Child Tax Benefit (beginning in 2008), the Manitoba Education Property Tax Credit (beginning in 2001), the Manitoba School Tax Credit for Homeowner (beginning in 2003), the Manitoba Advanced Tuition Tax Rebate (beginning in 2010), the Saskatchewan Graduate retention Program tuition Rebate (beginning in 2008), the Saskatchewan Low-Income tax credit (beginning in 2008), the Saskatchewan Active Family Benefit (beginning in 2010), the British Columbia Climate Action Dividend (for 2008 only), the British Columbia Low Income Climate Action Tax Credit (beginning with 2009),  the Yukon First Nations Tax Credit (beginning with 2008), and the Nunavut Volunteer Fire-fighter Credit (starting in 2008), the Nova Scotia Affordable Living Credit (beginning with 2010), the Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Tax Credit (beginning with 2010),  the Nunavut Cost of Living Tax Credit (beginning in 2003) and  the Quebec Solidarity Tax Credit (beginning in 2011).The individuals in this case receive these payments without providing goods or services in return.

Quebec Child Assistance Payment Previously Quebec Family Allowance
The Régie des rentes du Québec administers the child assistance payment program that is part of Québec's family policy. This program provides for the payment of a family allowance intended to cover the basic needs of children under age 18 in low-income families. This payment adds to the Canada Child Tax Benefit paid by the federal government. In 2005, the Child Assistance Payment program replaced the Quebec Family Allowance which was in place from 1994 to 2004. Available starting with 1994 data. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Quebec Credit for Individuals Living in Northern Villages
Beginning in 2007, this credit is for residents of a northern village as defined by the Quebec Government. It consists of a monthly payment for each of the spouses plus an additional amount per month for each dependent child. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Quebec Family Allowance
See Quebec Child Assistance Payment

Quebec Sales Tax Credit
Beginning in 2003, the Province of Quebec instituted The Sales Tax Credit to assist low income residents who pay the Quebec Sales Tax. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Quebec Solidarity Tax Credit
On July 1, 2011, the solidarity tax credit took effect, thereby replacing the QST credit, the property tax refund and the credit for individuals living in northern villages. Included in provincial refundable tax credits/Family Benefits in the statistical tables.

Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) Income
Beginning in 2008, the RDSP is for individuals for whom a valid disability certificate has been filed. Contributions can be made by the beneficiary or by qualified persons legally authorized to act for the beneficiary. The contributions are not deductible but the income earned is not taxable as long as it remains into the plan. Contributions are subject to a lifetime limit of $200,000; they will be matched in some degree by government contributions. Included in Other income in the statistical tables.

Registered Retirement Savings Plan Income (RRSP)
Is any money withdrawn from a RRSP, either as a lump sum or as a periodic payment. Included in this amount are withdrawals and monies from RRSP annuities. Note that monies from a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) may be reported on line 115 (other pensions or superannuation) if the recipient is 65 years of age or older; otherwise, monies from a RRIF are reported on line 130 (other income). Information on RRSP income is available starting with the 1994 data. Starting in 1999, only RRSP income of persons aged 65 years or older is included.

Saskatchewan Active Family Benefit
Beginning in 2009, the Province of Saskatchewan provides a refundable tax credit for eligible expenses for children for cultural, recreational, or sports activities. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Saskatchewan Child Benefit
Beginning in July 1998, the Saskatchewan Child Benefit (SCB) is a non-taxable amount paid monthly to help lower-income families with the cost of raising children under age of 18. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables. This program was terminated in 2008.

Saskatchewan Graduate Retention Program Tuition Rebate
The Graduate Retention Program rewards students in Saskatchewan by providing a refund up to $20,000 of fees paid by eligible graduates who live in Saskatchewan and who file a Saskatchewan income tax return. The Graduate Retention Program became effective January 1, 2008. Included in provincial refundable tax credits/Family Benefits in the statistical tables.

Saskatchewan Low-Income Tax Credit
The Government replaced and enhanced the provincial Sales Tax Credit with a new Low-Income Tax Credit, effective July 2008, to reduce the taxes of lower income provincial residents.  The credit is fully refundable, meaning that a person does not have to pay income tax in order to receive the benefits.  A recipient must file an income tax return as a resident of Saskatchewan and meet income and family criteria to be eligible for benefits. Included in provincial refundable tax credits/Family Benefits in the statistical tables.

Saskatchewan Sales Tax Credit
Introduced in 2000, this credit is aimed at offsetting the effects of sales tax on lower income earners in Saskatchewan. It is a program designed to improve the fairness of the provincial sales tax for low-income Saskatchewan residents. Eligibility for the Saskatchewan Sales Tax credit is identical to federal GST credit requirements, and application for the SSTC credit is automatic if you apply for federal GST credit and are resident in Saskatchewan as of December 31 of the base year. The SSTC is calculated on the current tax year and the credit will be paid in October of the year following the due date of your return.  The SSTC credit is combined with the payment of the federal GST/HST credit and paid in full. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Self-Employment Income
Is net income from business, professional, commission, farming and fishing.

Single-Earner Family
Is defined, in couple families, as only one of the partners having employment income greater than zero or, in lone-parent families, as the parent with employment income greater than zero.

Social Assistance
Includes payments made in the year on the basis of a means, needs or income test (whether made by an organized charity or under a government program). The value is reported on line 145 of the personal income tax return. Available only since 1994; previously included in "Non-taxable income".

Spouse
Is either partner in a couple family.

Suppressed Data
Are intentionally omitted because they breach confidentiality. All data counts under a certain number are suppressed along with the corresponding income amounts. If the count for one cell or component is suppressed, then corresponding income aggregates in another cell are also suppressed to avoid disclosure by subtraction (called residual disclosure). See the section on Confidentiality.

Taxfilers

Most taxfilers are people who filed a tax return for the reference year and were alive at the end of the year. Starting with the 1993 tax year, those taxfilers who died within the tax year and who had a non-filing spouse had their income and their filing status attributed to the surviving spouse.

Total Income
Note: this variable was revised over the years, as reflected in the comments below; data users who plan to compare current data to data from previous years should bear in mind these changes. Also, it should be noted that all income amounts are gross, with the exception of net rental income, net limited partnership income and all forms of net self-employment income.

Income reported by tax filers from any of the following sources:

  • Labour income
    • Employment income
      • Wages/salaries/commissions
      • Other employment income as reported on line 104 of the tax form (tips, gratuities, royalties, etc.)
      • Net self-employment
      • Indian Employment Income (new in 1999)
    • Employment insurance (EI) benefits
  • Pension income
    • Old Age Security pension benefits/net federal supplements (the latter including guaranteed income supplements and spouses' allowances since 1994)
    • Canada/Quebec Pension Plan benefits
    • Superannuation and other (private) pensions
  • Federal Family Allowance benefits (up to and including 1992)
  • Quebec Family Allowance (from 1994 to 2004)
  • Quebec Child Support Payment (beginning with 2005)
  • British Columbia Family Bonus (beginning with 1996)
  • New Brunswick Child Benefit Supplement (beginning with 1997)
  • Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit (beginning with 1997)
  • Northwest Territories Child Benefit (beginning with 1998)
  • Nova Scotia Child Tax Benefit (beginning with 1998)
  • Nunavut Child Benefit (beginning with 1998)
  • Ontario Child Benefit (beginning 2007) which integrates the Ontario Child Care Supplement for Working Families (beginning with 1998)
  • Saskatchewan Child Benefit (from 1998 to 2008)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit (beginning with 1999)
  • Yukon Child Benefit (beginning with 1999)
  • Interest and other investment income
  • Dividend income
  • RRSP income (since 1994; previously in "other income" / since 1999; only tax filers 65+)
  • Net limited partnership income (included in "other income")
  • Alimony (included in "other income")
  • Net rental income (included in "other income")
  • Income for non-filing spouses (since 1992; included in "other income")
  • Other incomes as reported on line 130 of the tax form (fellowships, bursaries, grants, registered disability savings plan (since 2008), etc.; included in "other income")
  • Federal sales tax (FST) credit (for 1989-1990 inclusive)
  • Goods and services tax (GST) credit (beginning in 1990)
  • Harmonized sales tax (HST) credit (beginning in 1997)
  • Child tax credit (up to and including 1992)
  • Canada Child Tax Benefit (starting with 1993) and Universal Child Care Benefit (beginning in 2006)
  • Manitoba Child Tax Benefit (beginning in 2008)
  • Other non-taxable income (since 1990)
    • Workers' compensation payments (shown separately starting with 1994)
    • Social assistance payments (shown separately starting with 1994)
    • Guaranteed income supplements (included with net federal supplements since 1994; previously in "non-taxable income")
    • Spouses' allowances (included with net federal supplements since 1994; previously in "non-taxable income")
  • Provincial refundable tax credits in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan (since 1990), British Columbia and the Northwest Territories (since 1993), Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nunavut (since 1997), the Nova Scotia one-time payment Taxpayer Refund Program (2003 only), the New Brunswick Low-Income Seniors Benefit (since 2005), the Universal Child Care Benefit (beginning in 2006), the Alberta Resource Rebate (for 2006 only), the Ontario Home Electricity Relief (for 2006 only), the Newfoundland and Labrador Home Heating Rebate (beginning with 2007), the Nova Scotia Credit for Volunteer Fire-fighter (beginning with 2007), the New Brunswick Home Energy Assistance Program (for 2007 only) and the Quebec Credit for Individuals Living in Northern Villages (beginning with 2007), the Ontario Senior Homeowners Property Tax Grant (beginning with 2008), the Manitoba Child Tax Benefit (beginning in 2008), the Saskatchewan Educational Rebate (beginning with 2008), the British Columbia Climate Action Dividend ( 2008 only), the Yukon First Nations Tax Credit (beginning with 2008) and the Nunavut Volunteer Fire-fighter Credit (starting in 2008). ), the Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit (beginning in 1997), the Newfoundland and Labrador Seniors’ Benefit (beginning in 1999), the Saskatchewan Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2000), the British Columbia Seniors’ Supplement (beginning in 2005), the Quebec Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Northern Ontario Energy Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Child Activity Tax Credit (beginning in 2010), the Ontario Sales Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Ontario Sales Tax Transition Benefit (beginning in 2010), the Manitoba Education Property Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Manitoba School Tax Credit for Homeowners (beginning in 2003), the Manitoba Advanced Tuition Tax Rebate (beginning in 2010), the Saskatchewan Low-Income tax credit (beginning in 2008),the Saskatchewan Graduate Retention Program Tuition Rebate (beginning in 2008), the Saskatchewan Active Family Benefit (beginning in 2010), the British Columbia Low Income Climate Action Tax Credit (beginning in 2009),the Nova Scotia Affordable Living Credit (beginning in 2010), the Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction Tax Credit (beginning in 2010), the Nunavut Cost of Living Tax Credit (beginning in 2003), the Working Income Tax Benefit (starting in 2010) and the Quebec Solidarity Tax Credit (beginning in 2011).

Monies not included in income above are: veterans' disability and dependent pensioners' payments, war veterans' allowances, lottery winnings and capital gains.

Unemployment Insurance (UI)
See Employment Insurance (EI)

Universal Child Care Benefit
Beginning in July 2006, the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) is a taxable amount of $100 paid monthly for each child under 6 years of age. Included in Canada Child Tax Benefits in the statistical tables.

User-Defined Areas
Are areas that have been defined by the data users as the specific area for which they require data. The smallest "building block" for these special areas is the six-character postal code. To obtain data, provide us with a list of the postal codes for which data are required and we will provide the aggregated data. Also, the user-defined area may be a total of a number of individual standard areas, grouped together for a total, rather than a number of individual areas each with their own total. Of course, the area must satisfy our confidentiality requirements, or no data can be produced. See section on Geography.

Wages, Salaries and Commissions
Include employment pay and commissions as stated on T4 information slips, training allowances, tips, gratuities and royalties. Starting with the 1999 data, the total of wages, salaries and commissions includes tax-exempt employment income earned on an Indian reserve. Starting with the 2001 data, wage and salary income of non-filing spouses was identified, in some cases, from T4 earnings statements.

Workers' Compensation
Includes any compensation received under Workers' Compensation in respect of an injury, disability or death. This value is reported on line 144 of the personal income tax return. Information on Workers' Compensation is available as a distinct income source starting with the 1994 data; previously included in "Non-taxable Income".

Working Income Tax Benefit
An incentive for the working poor to keep working instead of depending solely on other types of government assistance (hence it is viewed as a government transfer).

The tax filer can claim the Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB) if he or she meets all of the following conditions in 2009:

  • He or she was a resident of Canada throughout the year;
  • He or she earned income from employment or business;
  • At the end of the year, he or she was 19 years of age or older, or he or she had an eligible spouse, or you had an eligible dependant.

In addition, the tax filer working income must be greater than $3,000 to claim the basic WITB and greater than $1,150 to claim the WITB disability supplement. Included in Other Government Transfers in the statistical tables.

Yukon Child Benefit
Beginning in 1999, the Yukon Child Benefit (YCB) is a non-taxable amount paid monthly to help low- and modest-income families with the cost of raising children under the age of 18. Benefits are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Yukon First Nations Tax Credit

Beginning in 2008, the Yukon First Nations Tax Credit provides that both the Government of Canada and the Government of Yukon will share the field of personal income tax with self-governing Yukon First Nations. It is for individuals residing on the settlement lands of the self-governing First Nations. The transferred amount is referred to as Yukon First Nations Tax that consists of a federal abatement and a Yukon First Nations income tax credit. Included in Provincial refundable tax credits/Family benefits in the statistical tables.

Section 4  — Geography

The data are available for the following geographic areas. See “Statistical Tables - Footnotes and Historical Availability” for further details. The mailing address at the time of filing is the basis for the geographic information in the tables.

Standard areas:

Canada
Provinces and Territories

Postal Geography

  • City Totals
  • Urban Forward Sortation Areas (excludes Rural Routes and Suburban Services, and  Other Urban Areas within City)
  • Postal Walks*
  • Other Postal Walks*
  • Suburban Services*
  • Rural Routes (Within City)*
  • Rural Postal Code Areas (Within City)
  • Other Urban Areas (Non-residential within city)
  • Rural Communities (not in City)
  • Other Provincial Totals

*These postal geography levels were available in the past but are no longer available for this data.

Census Geography

  • Economic Regions
  • Census Divisions
  • Census Metropolitan Areas
  • Census Agglomerations
  • Census Tracts
  • Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order)

User-defined areas:

Users may select a specific area of interest that is not a standard area for which data can be made available in standard format.  To obtain data, provide us with a list of the Postal Codes for which data are required and we will provide the aggregated data. Of course, the area must satisfy our confidentiality requirements, or no data can be produced.  See the "Special Geography" section for further information.

Geographic Levels – Postal Geography

The various data compiled from the taxfile are available for different levels of the postal geography, and for some levels of the Census geography.  Coded geographic indicators appearing on the data tables are shown below with a brief description.

Geographic Levels – Postal Geography
Table summary
This table displays the results of geographic levels – postal geography. The information is grouped by level of
 geography (l.o.g.) (appearing as row headers), postal area and description (appearing as column headers).
Level of
 Geography (L.O.G.)		 Postal Area Description
12 Canada This level of data is an aggregation of the provincial/territorial totals (code 11). The national total is identified by the region code Z99099.
11 Province or Territory Total This level of data is an aggregation of the following geographies within a province:

City Totals = Code 08
Rural Communities = Code 09
Other Provincial Totals = Code 10

These totals are identified by a provincial/territorial postal letter, then a "990" followed by the province/territory code, as follows:

Newfoundland and Labrador = A99010
Nova Scotia = B99012
Prince Edward Island = C99011
New Brunswick = E99013
Quebec = J99024
Ontario = P99035
Manitoba = R99046
Saskatchewan = S99047
Alberta = T99048
British Columbia = V99059
Northwest Territories = X99061
Nunavut = X99062
Yukon Territory = Y99060
10 Other Provincial Total
("P" Pot)		 This level of data is an aggregation of small communities in the province that had less than 100 taxfilers, where these communities are combined into a "pot". Before 1992, it was identified by the same codes as the provincial/territorial totals, and only the "Delivery Mode" codes 2 and 3 distinguished between the two. To avoid this problem, starting with the 1992 data, an "8" appears after the provincial/territorial letter instead of a "9". The "9" will be reserved for the provincial/territorial total, as explained in 11 above. These "pot" codes are as follows:

Newfoundland and Labrador = A89010
Nova Scotia = B89012
Prince Edward Island = C89011
New Brunswick = E89013
Quebec = J89024
Ontario = P89035
Manitoba = R89046
Saskatchewan = S89047
Alberta = T89048
British Columbia = V89059
Northwest Territories = X89061
Nunavut = X89062
Yukon Territory = Y89060
09 Rural Communities
(Not in City )		 For data obtained prior to reference year 2011, this level of geography was called “Rural Postal Codes (Not in a City)”.

This level of geography pertains to rural communities that have one and only one rural Postal Code. Rural Postal Codes can be identified by a "zero" in the second position of the Postal Code. For this level of geography, only the name of the community appears with the disseminated data. The actual rural Postal Code is not displayed with the disseminated data.

The 2011 databanks contain 4,010 areas coded as level of geography 09.
08 City Total This level of data is an aggregation of the following geographies for unique place names within a province/territory:

Urban FSA (Residential) = Code 03
Rural Route = Code 04
Suburban Services = Code 05
Rural Postal Code Areas (within city) = Code 06
Other Urban Area = Code 07

As of 2011, data for L.O.G. 04 and 05 are suppressed but included in the city totals.

They have the following format: e.g., Edmonton = T95479; Regina = S94876. The pattern is the postal letter of the city plus "9" in the second position (indicating a total), followed by a 4 digit numeric code for the community (often called "CityID").

In general, postal cities do not coincide exactly with census subdivisions.

The 2011 databanks contain 1,655 areas coded as level of geography 08.
07 Other Urban Area
(Non-residential within city - "E" Pot)		 This aggregation of data (or "pot") covers non-residential addresses within an urban centre and all other data not otherwise displayed. Commercial addresses, post office boxes and general delivery are included, as are residential addresses with too few taxfilers to report separately. They can be recognized by codes that are similar to the city totals, with a distinguishing difference: an "8" will follow the city postal letter rather than the "9" of the city total (e.g., Edmonton = T85479; Regina = S84876).

The 2011 databanks contain 452 areas coded as level of geography 07.
06 Rural Postal Code Areas (Within City) For data obtained prior to reference year 2011, this level of geography was called “Rural Postal Codes (Within a City)”.

These data pertain to rural Postal Codes that belong to communities with more than one rural Postal Code. These occur in areas that were formerly serviced by rural delivery service and changed by Canada Post to urban delivery service or in communities served by more than one rural Postal Code. Rural Postal Codes can be identified by a "zero" in the second position of the Postal Code. Although data is disseminated individually for each rural Postal Code associated with a community, only the community name appears with the disseminated data. The actual rural Postal Codes are not displayed with the disseminated data. Therefore, for this level of geography, community names will appear more than once.

The 2011 databanks contain 561 areas coded as level of geography 06.
05 Suburban Service No longer available.

Sparsely populated fringe areas of urban centres may receive their postal service from an urban post office by delivery designated as "suburban service". Their region code retains all six characters of the Postal Code. Suburban Services are usually near or on the perimeters of urban areas, and mail is delivered by a contractor to group mail boxes, community mail boxes and/or external delivery sites (e.g., kiosks, miniparks).
04 Rural Route No longer available.

Reasonably well-settled rural areas may receive their postal service from an urban post office by delivery designated as "rural route". Mail is delivered by a contractor to customers living along or near well-defined roads. Their region code retains all six characters of the Postal Code.
03 Urban FSA
(Residential Area)		 The urban Forward Sortation Area (FSA, identified by the first three characters of the Postal Code) includes all residential addresses covered by the first three characters of a Postal Code in a particular urban area (not including levels 04 and 05). Only residential FSAs are considered for these databanks.

An Urban FSA of this type can be identified by the FSA followed by three blanks. One FSA can be split in different parts if it is associated with more than one city.

The 2011 databanks contain 2,451 areas coded as level of geography 03.
02 Other Postal
Walk		 No longer available.

This level of data is an aggregation of urban residential Postal Codes unallocated to a letter carrier route and postal walks with less than 100 taxfilers. A postal walk record of this type can be identified by the FSA followed by three blanks, and the postal walk number "XXXX".
01 Postal Walk No longer available.

This is the finest level of data and is an aggregation of urban residential Postal Codes allocated to a letter carrier route. A postal walk of this type can be identified by a region code which is the FSA followed by three blanks, and the postal walk number. An average FSA contains 11 walks.

 

Adding postal areas without duplication

 

Data files according to the postal geography will often contain subtotals and totals.  Many data users need to add certain geographies in order to come up with a total for their particular area of interest. However, including subtotals during this process results in double-counting some populations, and this leads to an erroneous total. The following is a summary of which postal areas are aggregations in the standard postal geography.

Postal Walks (Level of Geography, or LOG 1) and Walk Pots (LOG 2) add up to Urban Forward Sortation Areas (FSAs, LOG 3).

Urban FSAs (LOG 3), Rural Routes (LOG 4), Suburban Services (LOG 5), Rural Postal Code areas within a city (LOG 6) and Other Urban Areas (LOG 7) add up to City Totals (LOG 8).

City Totals (LOG 8), Rural Communities not in a city (LOG 9) and Other Provincial Totals (LOG 10) add up to provincial/territorial totals (LOG 11).

Provincial/territorial totals (LOG 11) add up to the Canada total (LOG 12).

Thus, using the Level of geography codes:
1 + 2 = 3
3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 8
8 + 9 + 10 = 11

City identification number (CityID)

As of 2007, CityID has been modified.

Previous to 2007:

  • CityID was a 4 digits number
  • Each municipality had a unique number between 1 and 9999
  • Almost every number was allocated to a municipality.  Few numbers remained available for future new municipalities.

Starting with 2007data:
To create more possibilities without changing the CityID length in our systems:

  • CityID number is now combined with 1st letter of Postal Code
  • Each 1st letter of Postal Code has a possibility of numbers, ranged from 1 to 9999 (Table F)
  • Old numbers have been kept for existing municipality and 1st letters of Postal Code have been added to them (Table E)
  • New municipalities have been assigned a new CityID number in new format (Table E)
Table E
Table summary
This table displays the results of table e. The information is grouped by postal code (appearing as row headers), municipality name, 2006 and prior and 2007 and follow (appearing as column headers).
Postal Code Municipality name 2006 and Prior 2007 and Follow
K1A xxx Ottawa 2434 K2434
G3C xxx Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury n/a G2
Table F
Table summary
This table displays the results of table f. The information is grouped by province (appearing as row headers), letter file and range of number (appearing as column headers).
Province Letter file Range of number
Newfoundland & Labrador A 1 – 9999
Prince Edward Island C 1 – 9999
Nova Scotia B 1 – 9999
New Brunswick E 1 – 9999
Quebec G 1 – 9999
Quebec H 1 – 9999
Quebec J 1 – 9999
Ontario K 1 – 9999
Ontario L 1 – 9999
Ontario M 1 – 9999
Ontario N 1 – 9999
Ontario P 1 – 9999
Manitoba R 1 – 9999
Saskatchewan S 1 – 9999
Alberta T 1 – 9999
British Columbia V 1 – 9999
Yukon Y 1 – 9999
Northwest Territories X 1 – 9999
Nunavut X 1 – 9999

Therefore, it is now essential to identify a municipality by adding the Postal Code 1st letter to the number in order to get the proper municipality in the proper province (Table G):

Table G
Table summary
This table displays the results of table g. The information is grouped by letter (appearing as row headers), number, municipality name and province (appearing as column headers).
Letter Number Municipality name Province
A 2 Avondale NL
B 2 Bible Hill NS
T 2 Rocky View AB
G 2 Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury QC

 

Hierarchy of postal geography

 

Hierarchy of postal geography

Description for hierarchy of postal geography

Geographic Levels – Census Geography

Data are also available for the following levels of the Census geography; the following table shows the coded designators for these geographies, as well as a brief description of each.

Geographic Levels – Census Geography
Table summary
This table displays the results of geographic levels – census geography. The information is grouped by level of
 geography (l.o.g.) (appearing as row headers), area and description (appearing as column headers).
Level of
 Geography (L.O.G.)		 Area Description
12 Canada This level of data is an aggregation of the provincial/territorial totals (L.O.G. 11). The national total is identified by the region code Z99099.
11 Province or Territory Total These totals are identified by a provincial/territorial postal letter, then a "990" followed by the province/territory code, as follows:

Newfoundland and Labrador = A99010
Nova Scotia = B99012
Prince Edward Island = C99011
New Brunswick = E99013
Quebec = J99024
Ontario = P99035
Manitoba = R99046
Saskatchewan = S99047
Alberta = T99048
British Columbia = V99059
Northwest Territories = X99061
Nunavut = X99062
Yukon Territory = Y99060
61 Census Tract Census tracts (CTs) are small geographic units representing urban or rural neighbourhood-like communities in census metropolitan areas (see definition below) or census agglomerations with an urban core population of 50,000 or more at time of 1996 Census. CTs were initially delineated by a committee of local specialists (such as planners, health and social workers and educators) in conjunction with Statistics Canada.

The 2011 databanks contain 4,994 areas coded as level of geography 61, based on 2006 Census.
51 Economic Region An economic region is a grouping of complete census divisions (see definition below) with one exception in Ontario. Economic regions (ERs) are used to analyse regional economic activity. Within the province of Quebec, ERs are designated by law. In all other provinces, they are created by agreement between Statistics Canada and the provinces concerned. Prince Edward Island and the territories each consist of one economic region.

The 2011 databanks contain 76 areas coded as level of geography 51, based on 2006 Census.
42 Census Agglomeration The general concept of a census agglomeration (CA) is one of a very large urban area, together with adjacent urban and rural areas that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that urban area. CAs have an urban core population of at least 10,000, based on the previous census.

The 2011 databanks contain 130 area codes as level of geography 42, based on the 2006 Census: 111 CAs, 6 provincial parts for the 3 CAs which cross provincial boundaries, and 13 residual geographies called Non CMA-CA, one for each province and territory.
41 Census Metropolitan Area The general concept of a census metropolitan area (CMA) is one of a very large urban area, together with adjacent urban and rural areas that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that urban area. CMAs have an urban core population of at least 100,000, based on the previous census.

The 2011 databanks contain 35 areas coded as level of geography 41, based on 2006 Census:

001, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
205, Halifax, Nova Scotia
305, Moncton, New Brunswick
310, Saint John, New Brunswick
408, Saguenay, Quebec
421, Québec, Quebec
433, Sherbrooke, Quebec
442, Trois-Rivières, Quebec
462, Montréal, Quebec
505, Ottawa-Gatineau (3 items: combined, Quebec part and Ontario part)
521, Kingston, Ontario
529, Peterborough, Ontario
532, Oshawa, Ontario
535, Toronto, Ontario
537, Hamilton, Ontario
539, St-Catharines-Niagara, Ontario
541, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ontario
543, Brantford, Ontario
550, Guelph, Ontario
555, London, Ontario
559, Windsor, Ontario
568, Barrie, Ontario
580, Greater Sudbury, Ontario
595, Thunder Bay, Ontario
602, Winnipeg, Manitoba
705, Regina, Saskatchewan
725, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
825, Calgary, Alberta
835, Edmonton, Alberta
915, Kelowna, British Columbia
932, Abbotsford-Mission, British Columbia
933, Vancouver, British Columbia
935, Victoria, British Columbia
31 Federal Electoral District A federal electoral district (FED) refers to any place or territorial area represented by a member of Parliament elected to the House of Commons. There are 308 FEDs in Canada according to the 2003 Representation Order. The Representation Order is prepared by the Chief Electoral Officer describing, naming and specifying the population of each electoral district established by the Electoral Boundaries Commission and sent to the Governor in Council.

The 2011 databanks contain 308 areas coded as level of geography 31.
21 Census Division A census division (CD) is a group of neighbouring municipalities joined together for the purposes of regional planning and managing common services (such as police or ambulance services). A CD might correspond to a county, a regional municipality or a regional district.

CDs are established under laws in effect in certain provinces and territories of Canada. In other provinces and territories where laws do not provide for such areas (Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta), Statistics Canada defines equivalent areas for statistical reporting purposes in cooperation with these provinces and territories.

The 2006 Census contain 288 areas coded as level of geography 21; however, the 2011 databanks contain 290 areas since the CD of Halton (Ont.) straddles 2 Economic Regions.

Starting in 2007, Census divisions are identified in the tables by a six digits code:

2 first digits = Province
2 next digits = Economic Region
2 last digits = Census Division

 

Geographic Levels - Special Geography

 

Clients may select geographical areas of their own definition; areas that are not part of the standard areas listed here (for example, bank service areas, retail store catchment areas). For this, clients must submit a list of the geographic areas that make up their special area, and we will aggregate the micro data to correspond to that area of interest. User-defined areas can be based on aggregations of provinces and territories, economic regions, census divisions, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, federal electoral districts and census subdivisions. Information ordered for "user-defined" areas will be coded according to the following:

Geographic Levels - Special Geography
Table summary
This table displays the results of geographic levels - special geography. The information is grouped by level of
geography
(l.o.g.) (appearing as row headers), name and description (appearing as column headers).
Level of
Geography
(L.O.G.)		 Name Description
93 Total for all user-defined areas This level represents the sum total of all user-defined areas, and is the total of levels 91 and 92 described below.
92 Other user-defined areas This level of geography represents all user-defined areas that were too small, in terms of population; to have information compiled on those areas individually (i.e. fewer than 100 taxfilers). Such areas are grouped into this "other" category.
91 Special user-defined area Any area showing L.O.G. = 91 is an area defined by a specific user according to that user's needs (for example, school catchment areas, health districts, etc.)

 

Postal Code Conversion File

 

When a client is interested in purchasing data for areas made up of Postal Codes that are considered non‑standard postal geography, a conversion file is necessary. In this context an electronic file containing a combination of Postal Codes making up one or more user-defined area(s) is referred to as a conversion file. The data can then be compiled for these user-defined areas (subject to our confidentiality restrictions).

For example, Postal Code based user-defined areas may be branch service or school catchment areas, neighbourhoods or almost any other region.

We invite your comments

We are always working on ways to improve our products. The comments we receive concerning quality and presentation are essential to meet this objective. If you have any suggestions in this regard, we encourage you, the user, to provide us with your comments.

How to obtain more information

Inquiries about these data and related statistics or services should be directed to:

Client Services, Income Statistics Division
Telephone:  Toll Free 1-888-297-7355 or 613-951-7355
Statistics Canada, Jean Talon Building, 5th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T6
Online requests: income@statcan.gc.ca

Statistics Canada's National Contact Centre provides a wide range of services: identification of your needs, establishing sources or availability of data, consolidation and integration of data coming from different sources, and general support for the use of Statistics Canada concepts and the use of statistical data.

Statistics Canada's National Contact Centre
Telephone: Toll Free 1-800-263-1136 or 613-951-8116
Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired (TTY): 1-800-363-7629
Online requests: infostats@statcan.gc.ca
You can also visit us on the web: Statistics Canada 

Standards of service to the public

Statistics Canada is committed to serving its clients in a prompt, reliable and courteous manner. To this end, the Agency has developed standards of service which its employees observe in serving its clients.

Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© Minister of Industry, 2013

All rights reserved. Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

© This data includes information copied with permission from Canada Post Corporation

List of available data products

The Income Statistics Division’s T1FF Processing Section of Statistics Canada tabulates statistical data derived from administrative records - most notably, the taxfiler. The resulting demographic and socio-economic databanks available are listed in the table below, along with their identifying product number and the usual release dates.

List of Available Data Products
Table summary
This table displays the results of list of available data products. The information is grouped by product name (appearing as row headers), product number and release date (appearing as column headers).
Product name Product number Release date
RRSP Contributors 17C0006 Fall - Winter
RRSP Contribution Limits (Room) 17C0011 Fall - Winter
Canadian Savers 17C0009 Fall - Winter
Canadian Investors 17C0007 Fall - Winter
Canadian Investment Income 17C0008 Fall - Winter
Canadian Taxfilers 17C0010 Fall - Winter
Canadian Capital Gains 17C0012 Fall - Winter
Charitable Donors 13C0014 Fall - Winter
Neighbourhood Income and Demographics 13C0015 Spring - Summer
Economic Dependency Profile 13C0017 Spring - Summer
Labour Income Profile 71C0018 Spring - Summer
Families 13C0016 Spring - Summer
Seniors 89C0022 Spring - Summer
Migration Estimates 91C0025 Fall
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