Information on Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2006

• Preface
• Introduction
• The Standard Geographical Classification
• Other geographical entities
• Presentation

Preface

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is Statistics Canada's official classification for geographical areas in Canada.

Established in the early 1960s, the Standard Geographical Classification was released as a working manual for 1964, 1966 and 1972. In 1974, the manual became an official publication of Statistics Canada and it was subsequently issued for 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001. This 2006 version is the eighth edition.

The Classification has been updated and revised, and is now released online. This classification consists of two volumes, each available separately. Volume I contains tables of the SGC units with their names and codes, as well as tables of metropolitan areas with their component census subdivisions. Volume II contains reference maps showing the locations and boundaries of the standard geographical areas in the classification.

While the content of Volume II is final, Volume I is, at this time, a preliminary release and contains a subset of the tables (Tables 1 to 5). The final version of Volume I will be available in January 2007 and will include all the tables of the standard geographical areas (Tables 1 to 7) and concordance tables. The printed version of Volume II, which includes all the reference maps, will also be available in January 2007.

The 2006 Standard Geographical Classification is published by Standards Division, under the guidance of Alice Born, Director. The publication was prepared by Richard Fortin and Guy Auger under the supervision of John Crysdale. Major contributors included Geography Division, which was responsible for the source data for the tables and definitions as well as for the preparation of the maps; and Dissemination Division, which was responsible for setting PDF table and text formats as well as printing.

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Introduction

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is a classification of geographical areas used to collect and disseminate statistics.

Following a description of the SGC itself, other geographical units¹ and related entities used for the collection and dissemination of statistics are presented. An outline of the content of the two volumes that constitute the Standard Geographical Classification is then presented.

¹In addition to the geographical units of the SGC (e.g., province/territory, census division and census subdivision) Statistics Canada's Policy on Standards recognizes census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, economic regions, health regions and countries as standard areas.

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The Standard Geographical Classification

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) was developed to enable the production of integrated statistics by geographical area. It provides a range of geographical units that are convenient for data collection and compilation, and useful for spatial analysis of economic and social statistics. It is intended primarily for the classification of statistical units, such as establishments or households, whose activities are normally associated with a specific location.

The SGC is based on a classification system originally developed for the dissemination of statistics from the Census of Population.

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

The SGC is one of a family of statistical standards, approved and promulgated by Statistics Canada. These standards provide the basic definitions which, when adopted for data collection and dissemination, result in statistics that are comparable among series and over time. Even non-standard units, when defined by reference to the standard, are enhanced by better definition of content and relevance to other series.

The geographical units

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

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

The SGC identifies three types of geographical unit:

1. province or territory,
2. census division,
3. census subdivision.

In SGC 2006, there are 13 provinces and territories, 288 census divisions and 5,418 census subdivisions.

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(1) Province or territory (PR)

Reflecting the primary political subdivision of Canada, provinces and territories are the most permanent level of the SGC. From a statistical point of view, province and territory are basic areas for which data are tabulated. Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories.

The provinces, territories, and their codes and abbreviations are presented in Table A.

Table A
List of provinces and territories with codes and abbreviations, 2006

Province or Territory	SGC Code	Alpha Code1	Abbreviation1
Newfoundland and Labrador	10	NL	N.L.
Prince Edward Island	11	PE	P.E.I.
Nova Scotia	12	NS	N.S.
New Brunswick	13	NB	N.B.
Quebec	24	QC	Que.
Ontario	35	ON	Ont.
Manitoba	46	MB	Man.
Saskatchewan	47	SK	Sask.
Alberta	48	AB	Alta.
British Columbia	59	BC	B.C.
Yukon Territory	60	YT	Y.T.
Northwest Territories	61	NT	N.W.T.
Nunavut	62	NU	Nvt.
1 On October 21, 2002, the alpha code for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador changed from NF to NL. In addition, the English abbreviation for Newfoundland and Labrador, which was provisional in the SGC 2001 changed from Nfld.Lab. to N.L..

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(2) Census division (CD)

Census division is a general term for provincially legislated areas (e.g., county, "municipalité régionale de comté" and regional district) or their equivalents. Census divisions are intermediate geographical areas between the province and territory level and the municipality (i.e., census subdivision). Usually they are created for the purposes of regional planning and managing common services (e.g., police or ambulance services).

In Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, provincial/territorial law does not provide for such administrative geographical areas. Therefore, Statistics Canada, in co-operation with these provinces and territories, has created equivalent areas called census divisions for the purpose of collecting and disseminating statistical data. In the Yukon Territory, the census division is equivalent to the entire territory.

In New Brunswick, six municipalities (i.e., census subdivisions) straddle the legal county boundaries. In order to maintain the integrity of component municipalities, Statistics Canada modified the census division boundaries. Specifically, the following six municipalities straddle county boundaries and the first county in brackets indicates the CD in which these municipalities are completely located:

• Belledune (Restigouche/Gloucester)
• Fredericton (York/Sunbury)
• Grand Falls (Victoria/Madawaska)
• Meductic (York/Carleton)
• Minto (Queens/Sunbury)
• Rogersville (Northumberland/Kent)

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

Census divisions (CDs) are classified into 13 types. Eleven of these types were created according to official designations adopted by provincial or territorial authorities. The other two types – the "census division" (CDR) and the "territory" (TER) – were created as equivalents by Statistics Canada, in co-operation with the affected provinces and the territory, for the purpose of collecting and disseminating statistical data.

Changes to CD types for 2006 include:

1. CD types added

• county / comté (CT) in New Brunswick;
• management board (MB) in Ontario;
• "territoire équivalent" (TÉ) in Quebec.

2. CD type deleted

• "communauté urbaine" (CU) in Quebec.

3. Other change

• the abbreviation for the CD type – census division – was changed from DIV to CDR.

Table B shows CD types, their abbreviated forms, and their distribution by province and territory.

The total number of CDs has not changed from the previous census, however in Newfoundland and Labrador, Statistics Canada created a new CD in co-operation with the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Nunatsivut Government to represent the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area. The lands covered by this new CD, Division No. 11 (CD 10 11), were settled under the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act, which was passed and received Royal Assent in December 2004. The creation of Division No. 11 increases the number of CDs in Newfoundland and Labrador to 11.

In Quebec, as a result of municipal restructuring (census subdivisions), the "municipalité régionale de comté" (MRC) Desjardins (CD 24 24) has been dissolved. The deletion of the MRC Desjardins decreases the number of CDs in Quebec to 98.

In Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Nunavut all CD names have had any reference to the associated CD type removed from their names in order to remain consistent with the conventions used for naming all geographical units. For example, Niagara Regional Municipality, RM (CD 35 26) is now referred to as Niagara, RM and Perth County, CTY (CD 35 31) is now referred to as Perth, CTY.

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(3) Census subdivision (CSD)

Census subdivision is a general term for municipalities as determined by provincial or territorial legislation, or areas treated as municipal equivalents for statistical purposes (e.g., Indian reserves, Indian settlements and unorganized territories). Municipalities are units of local government.

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

For 2006, there is a total of 1,095 Indian reserves and 28 Indian settlements classified as CSDs. These are populated (or potentially populated) Indian reserves, which represent a subset of the approximately 3,100 Indian reserves across Canada. Statistics Canada works closely with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to identify the reserves and the settlements to be included as CSDs. Furthermore, the inclusion of an Indian settlement is dependent upon the agreement of the provincial or territorial authorities.

There are two municipalities in Canada that straddle provincial boundaries, Flin Flon (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) and Lloydminster (Saskatchewan and Alberta). Each of their provincial parts is treated as a separate CSD. Three Indian reserves also straddle provincial limits, Shoal Lake (Part) 39A and Shoal Lake (Part) 40 (Ontario and Manitoba); and Makaoo (Part) 120 (Saskatchewan and Alberta); and are treated as separate CSDs.

Census subdivisions are classified into 55 types. Fifty-three of these were created according to official designations adopted by provincial, territorial or federal authorities. The other two types – "Subdivision of unorganized" in Newfoundland and Labrador, and "Subdivision of county municipality" in Nova Scotia – were created as equivalents to municipalities by Statistics Canada, in co-operation with the two affected provinces, for the purpose of collecting and disseminating statistical data.

It should be noted that some CSDs have the same geographical name but different CSD types. In these cases, the census subdivision type accompanying the census subdivision name is used to distinguish CSDs from each other (i.e., Granby, V [for the "ville" of Granby] and Granby, CT [for the "municipalité de canton" of Granby]).

Changes to CSD types for 2006 include:

1. CSD types added

• Community government (CG) in Northwest Territories;
• Crown colonie / Colonie de la couronne (CN) in Saskatchewan;
• "Terres réservées aux Cris" (TC) in Quebec;
• "Terres réservées aux Naskapis" (TK) in Quebec;
• Municipality (MU) in Ontario;
• Municipality / Municipalité (M) in Ontario;
• Town / Ville (TV) in New Brunswick and Ontario.

2. CSD type deleted

• "Terres réservées" (TR) in Quebec was replaced by "Terres réservées aux Cris" (TC) and "Terres réservées aux Naskapis" (TK).

3. Other changes

• City / Cité (C) is replaced by City / Cité (C), City (CY) and "Cité" (CÉ);
• "Municipalité" (M) in Quebec becomes "Municipalité" (MÉ);
• "Paroisse (municipalité de)" (P) in Quebec becomes "Paroisse (municipalité de)" (PE);
• Parish (PAR) in New Brunswick is replaced by Parish / Paroisse (municipalité de) (P);
• Indian reserve – Réserve indienne (R) becomes Indian reserve / Réserve indienne (IRI);
• Rural community (RC) in New Brunswick becomes Rural community / Communauté rurale (RCR);
• Subdivision of county municipality (SCM) in Nova Scotia becomes Subdivision of county municipality / Subdivision municipalité de comté (SC);
• Indian settlement – Établissement indien (S-E) becomes Indian settlement / Établissement indien (S-É);
• Settlement (SET) in Yukon Territory becomes Settlement / Établissement (SÉ);
• Subdivision of unorganized (SUN) in Newfoundland and Labrador becomes Subdivision of unorganized / Subdivision non organisée (SNO);
• Unorganized – Non organisé (UNO) becomes Unorganized / Non organisé (NO).

Table C shows CSD types, their abbreviated forms, and their distribution by province and territory.

The structure of the SGC

Each of the three levels of the classification covers all of Canada. They are hierarchically related: census subdivisions aggregate to census divisions, which in turn aggregate to a province or a territory. The relationship is illustrated in Figure 1.

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

PR	CD	CSD
35			Ontario
35	18		Durham (Regional municipality)
35	18	013	Oshawa (City)

Figure 1.   The SGC hierarchy

The SGC coding system

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

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

Provinces are numbered from east to west. Because the number of provinces and territories exceeded nine, a two-digit code was adopted. The first digit represents the standard regions of Canada in which the province or territory is located and the second digit denotes one of the ten provinces and three territories. The standard regions are:

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

The provincial and territorial codes are shown in Table A.

The following conventions are used in the coding system:

1. The codes usually follow a serpentine pattern beginning in the southeast corner of each province, territory or CD. In this way, adjacent code numbers usually represent geographical units that share a common boundary. Exceptions are found in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where census divisions are numbered in a straight line from east to west, returning to the eastern border when the western border is reached. Also, in Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, Indian reserve codes are included in the 800 series of numbers, whereas in the other provinces they are accommodated within the serpentine numbering pattern for census subdivisions.
2. In order to provide the flexibility required to maintain the coding system over the years, the numbering is not sequential (except for CDs, which are more stable). Gaps in the numbering sequence leave opportunities to incorporate new geographical units within the numbering sequence.
3. Codes are not generally used more than once. However, a code may be reused if at least two editions of the classification have appeared. For example, a code deleted in 1991 may be reused in 2006.
4. Component parts of codes are preserved as much as possible. For example, when a new CD is created, the original CSD codes are retained where possible.

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Naming geographical units

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

1. Official names are used where they are available. The names of incorporated local and regional municipalities are taken from provincial and territorial gazettes, where official notifications of acts of incorporation for new municipalities and changes to existing municipalities are published.
2. Most official names are accepted as published, but many are edited by Statistics Canada for the sake of consistency and clarity. For example, Statistics Canada drops the CSD type and uses the geographical name only (i.e., the official name City of Ottawa appears in the SGC as Ottawa).
3. Six municipalities (i.e., census subdivisions) in Canada have different official names in English and French: Beaubassin East / Beaubassin-est, and Grand Falls / Grand-Sault in New Brunswick; and Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury, French River / Rivière des Français, The Nation / La Nation, and West Nipissing / Nipissing Ouest in Ontario. For English products, the official name in English is used (i.e., Greater Sudbury), for French products, the official name in French is used (i.e., Grand Sudbury), and for bilingual products, the bilingual name is used with English followed by French (i.e., Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury).
4. The remaining geographical names are created by Statistics Canada in co-operation with provincial, territorial and federal officials (e.g., when creating names for most economic regions).
5. Some statistical areas (e.g., census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations) straddle provincial boundaries (e.g., the census metropolitan area [CMA] of Ottawa–Gatineau). In such a case, when data are presented for the provincial parts, the name of the province must follow the name of the statistical area. For the CMA of Ottawa–Gatineau, each part of the CMA will be identified as Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario part and Ottawa–Gatineau, Quebec part.

Language form of census division (CD) and census subdivision (CSD) types

Where the CD or CSD type (e.g., town, city, county) is part of the legal name of the CD or CSD as legislated by provincial or territorial governments, Statistics Canada uses the language form of the legal name. In all other cases, where the CD or CSD type is not embedded in the legal name, Statistics Canada uses the language of the publication. As a consequence, this means that in an English language publication there may be some French language type names, and that in French language publications there may be some English language type names. For example, in the case of Bathurst, New Brunswick, the legislation specifies that the legal name is "City of Bathurst". Accordingly, the type is presented as City (CY) in English publications; City (CY) in French publications; and as City (CY) in bilingual publications.

Table D and Table E provide the standard abbreviations and titles for all CD and CSD types for English, French and bilingual publications respectively.

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Other geographical entities

Although the SGC is the basic system of geographical units used for collecting and disseminating statistics in Statistics Canada, it cannot serve all statistical purposes for which the presentation and analysis of economic and social data are required. Therefore, Statistics Canada uses, in addition to the SGC, a number of other geographical entities (e.g., census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations) for the provision of statistics.

Census metropolitan area (CMA) and census agglomeration (CA)

The general concept of these standard units is one of an urban core, and the adjacent urban and rural areas that have a high degree of social and economic integration with that urban core, as measured by commuting flows derived from Census of Population data on place of work.

To form a census metropolitan area (CMA), the urban core must have a population of at least 50,000 and the area (CMA) must have a population of at least 100,000. Once an area becomes a CMA, it is retained as a CMA even if the population of its urban core declines below 50,000.

To form a census agglomeration (CA), the urban core must have a population of at least 10,000. If the population of the urban core of a CA declines below 10,000, the CA is retired.

As of March 2003, CAs are no longer required to have an urban core population count of 100,000 to be promoted to the status of a CMA. Instead, CAs will assume the status of a CMA if they have attained a total population of at least 100,000 and an urban core of 50,000 or more.

A CMA or CA is delineated using adjacent municipalities (census subdivisions) as building blocks. These census subdivisions (CSDs) are included in the CMA or CA if they meet at least one delineation rule. The three principal rules are:

1. Urban core rule: The CSD falls completely or partly inside the urban core.
2. Forward commuting flow rule: Given a minimum of 100 commuters, at least 50% of the employed labour force living in the CSD works in the delineation urban core as determined from commuting data based on the place of work question in the last decennial census (2001 Census).
3. Reverse commuting flow rule: Given a minimum of 100 commuters, at least 25% of the employed labour force working in the CSD lives in the delineation urban core as determined from commuting data based on the place of work question in the last decennial census (2001 Census).

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

A CMA or CA represents an area that is economically and socially integrated. However, there are certain limitations to the manner in which this goal can be met. Since the CSDs, which are used as building blocks in CMA and CA delineation, are administrative units, their boundaries are not always the most suitable with respect to CMA and CA delineation. There are always situations where the application of rules creates undesirable outcomes, or where the rules cannot be easily applied. In these circumstances, a manual override is sometimes applied to ensure that the integrity of the program is retained.

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

There are 33 CMAs and 111 CAs in 2006. Six CAs from the previous census became CMAs: Moncton in New Brunswick; Barrie, Brantford, Guelph, and Peterborough in Ontario; and Kelowna in British Columbia. Seven new CAs were created: Bay Roberts in Newfoundland and Labrador; Miramichi in New Brunswick; Centre Wellington and Ingersoll in Ontario; Okotoks and Canmore in Alberta; and Salmon Arm in British Columbia. The 2001 CA of Magog merged with the CMA of Sherbrooke since the commuting interchange between the CMA and CA is equal to at least 35% of the employed labour force living in the CA, based on the 2001 place of work data. Finally, two CAs, Gander and Labrador City in Newfoundland and Labrador, were retired because the population of their urban core dropped below 10,000 in 2001

Between 2001 and 2006, a number of municipalities underwent name changes, amalgamations, annexations, and dissolutions with the result that three CMAs had their names changed: Chicoutimi–Jonquière became Saguenay; Ottawa–Hull became Ottawa–Gatineau; and Greater Sudbury became Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury. Two CAs had their names changed: Port Hope and Hope became Port Hope and Haileybury became Temiskaming Shores.

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Presentation

The 2006 Standard Geographical Classification is divided into two separate products:

• Volume I (Preliminary)    The Classification   (Catalogue 12-571)
• Volume II    Reference Maps   (Catalogue 12-572)

Volume I (Preliminary) - The classification

Volume I is the basic presentation of the system of geographical units. It is a preliminary release that describes the SGC and the census metropolitan areas/census agglomerations (CMAs/CAs), and displays them in a variety of configurations for easy access and understanding. The introductory text explains the background and context for using standard geographical units.

The SGC is the centrepiece of the classification, providing a complete list of its geographical units. These units are the building blocks for all other standard geographical areas. The SGC provides a code, name, type for each CSD, and indicates if the CSD is a component of a CMA/CA.

The metropolitan areas list all major urban centres in Canada. They are important in analysing current economic activity since most of the economic activity in Canada occurs in these centres.

The metropolitan areas provide easier access to the codes for CMAs and CAs by province/territory and they define CMAs and CAs by reference to CSDs.

Volume II - Reference Maps

This product contains a series of 23 provincial and territorial maps depicting the boundaries in effect on January 1, 2006 for census divisions, census subdivisions, census metropolitan areas, and census agglomerations. The boundaries are plotted on base maps, showing water features. The maps identify each CSD by name and code, and CDs and CMAs/CAs by code.

Also included are five maps of Canada, which are:

1. an index to the reference maps;
2. the boundaries for census divisions;
3. the locations of census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations;
4. the spatial distribution of CSDs among CMAs, CAs, CMA- and CA-influenzed zones, and territories;
5. the boundaries for economic regions with their component CDs.

Reference

1. Standard Geographical Classification 2001
   
   Volume I, The Classification, Catalogue No. 12-571-XPB
   Volume II, Reference Maps, Catalogue No. 12-572-XPB
   
   Source: Statistics Canada