Geographic levels

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• Canada
• Province or territory
• Census agricultural region (CAR)
• Census division (CD)
• Census consolidated subdivision (CCS)

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Canada

The Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are not included in Canada totals.

Province or territory

Province and territory refer to the major political units of Canada. From a statistical point of view, they are basic areas for which data are tabulated. Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories.

Census agricultural region (CAR)

A census agricultural region is a sub-provincial geographic area used by the Census of Agriculture for disseminating agricultural statistics. In most provinces, census agricultural regions are composed of groups of adjacent census divisions. In Saskatchewan, census agricultural regions are made up of groups of adjacent census consolidated subdivisions, but these groups do not necessarily respect census division boundaries. In Prince Edward Island, each of the three existing census divisions (counties) is treated as a census agricultural region for the purpose of disseminating statistical data. Census agricultural regions are not defined in Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. In the Prairie provinces, census agricultural regions are commonly referred to as crop districts.

Census division (CD)

Census division is the general term for provincially legislated areas (such as county, municipalité régionale de comté and regional district) or their equivalents. Census divisions are intermediate geographic areas between the province/territory level and the municipality (census subdivision). Census divisions have been established in provincial law to facilitate regional planning, as well as the provision of services that can be more effectively delivered on a scale larger than a municipality. In Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, provincial/territorial law does not provide for these administrative geographic areas. Therefore, Statistics Canada, in co-operation with these provinces and territories, has created equivalent areas called census divisions for disseminating statistical data. In the Yukon Territory, the census division is equivalent to the entire territory.

Census consolidated subdivision (CCS)

A census consolidated subdivision is a grouping of adjacent census subdivisions. Generally, the smaller, more urban census subdivisions (e.g., towns, villages) are combined with the surrounding, larger, more rural census subdivision to create a geographic level between the census subdivision and the census division. A census subdivision with a land area greater than 25 square kilometres can form a census consolidated subdivision of its own. Census subdivisions having a land area smaller than 25 square kilometres are usually grouped with a larger census subdivision. A census subdivision with a land area greater than 25 square kilometres and surrounded on more than half its perimeter by another census subdivision is usually included as part of the CCS formed by the surrounding census subdivision. Also, a census subdivision with a population greater than 100,000 (according to the last census) usually forms a census consolidated subdivision of its own. The name of the census consolidated subdivision usually coincides with its largest census subdivision component in terms of land area.