Ecosystem accounting: Thematic accounts: Land cover and land use for selected geographic areas, 1991 to 2011
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Released: 2018-03-28
The Wood Buffalo census agglomeration (CA) in Alberta, which includes the town of Fort McMurray, had the highest rate of built-up area growth from 1991 to 2011 (357%). Vernon, British Columbia (37%) and Drummondville, Quebec (33%) had the next highest rates of growth among a group of 10 CAs with land cover and land use data that are now available.
The CA with the smallest growth rate in this group was Medicine Hat, Alberta, at 8% growth from 1991 to 2011.
The Wood Buffalo CA also had the highest rate of growth within its census agglomeration-ecosystem, where built-up area grew by 330%.
Overall, the 10 CAs grew by 896 km2 from 1991 to 2011, with Wood Buffalo responsible for 83% of the total.
Note to readers
Statistics Canada is releasing land cover and land use data for selected geographic areas for 1991, 2001 and 2011. These data track changes in the extent of built-up area by census agglomeration (CA) and census agglomeration-ecosystem (CA-E), building upon previous work that focused on census metropolitan areas (CMAs).
The group of 10 CAs included in the release of time-series data were chosen based upon data availability from 1991 to 2011 and the size of the built-up area of the CA.
Data for 2011 is also being released for 43 other CAs.
These data are produced as part of Statistics Canada's thematic ecosystem accounts, as described in the Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (16-509-X).
A CMA or a CA is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000, of which 50,000 or more must live in the core based on adjusted data from the previous Census of Population. A CA must have a core population of at least 10,000, also based on data from the previous Census of Population.
The CA-E is a spatial unit that combines CAs with an environmental geography – the Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC). The CA-E combines any SLC polygon that is contained or that intersects with the CA.
For more information on land cover and land use and concepts presented here, see the articles "The changing landscape of Canadian metropolitan areas" and "Agriculture in Canada" in Human Activity and the Environment (16-201-X).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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