Content Considerations

The 1996 Census population counts for a particular area represent the number of Canadians whose usual place of residence is in that area, regardless of where they happened to be on Census Day. Also included are any Canadians staying in a dwelling in that area on Census Day and having no usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada, as well as those considered "non-permanent residents" (Special Note on Non-permanent Residents). In most areas, there is little difference between the number of usual residents and the number of people staying in the area on Census Day. For certain places, however, such as tourist or vacation areas, or those including large work camps, the number of people staying in the area at any particular time could significantly exceed the number of usual residents shown here. The population counts include Canadians living in other countries, but do not include foreign residents living in Canada (the "foreign residents" category does not include "non-permanent residents" - Special Note on Non-permanent Residents). Given these differences, users are advised not to interpret population counts as being the number of people living in the reported dwellings.

 Unlike previous censuses, a Temporary Residents Study was not carried out in 1996. Therefore, the census did not verify, on a sample basis, if temporary residents (persons found on Census Day at a place other than their usual place of residence) were enumerated at their usual place of residence. In 1991, missing temporary residents accounted for an estimated 92,584 persons. For a more precise comparison of the 1991 and 1996 Census results, the 1991 Census population counts should be reduced accordingly (Special Note on Temporary Residents).

 The dwelling counts refer to all private dwellings in Canada occupied by their usual residents, as well as temporary or foreign residents. The dwelling counts do not include collective dwellings, which are dwellings of a commercial, institutional or communal nature. The population in collective dwellings is, however, included in the population counts.

 Changes occur to the names, boundaries, and other characteristics of geographic areas (e.g., census subdivisions may amalgamate, or there may be an annexation, or change of name or status). Since the geographic framework is used for census data collection, the geographic reference date must be set several months before the date of the census in order to have these changes made in time. For the 1996 Census, the geographic reference date was January 1, 1996, except for forward sortation areas.

 Users wishing to compare 1996 Census data with those of other censuses should then take into account that the boundaries of geographic areas may change from one census to another. In order to facilitate comparison, the 1991 Census population counts are adjusted as needed to take into account boundary changes between the 1991 and 1996 Censuses. The 1991 population counts that were adjusted are identified by the letter "A". The "A" may also refer to corrections to the 1991 population counts; however, most of these are the result of boundary changes. This symbol is also used to identify areas which have been created since 1991, such as newly incorporated municipalities (census subdivisions). However, the "A" symbol has not been applied to the 1991 counts for designated places (appearing in Table 10, Catalogue No. 93-357-XPB) since these are entirely new for 1996.

 A detailed description of intercensal changes made to the geographical units can be found in the publication entitled Standard Geographical Classification, 1996, Volume I (Catalogue No. 12-571-XPB).

 Some Indian settlements and Indian reserves were incompletely enumerated during the 1991 and/or 1996 Censuses (Special Note on Incompletely Enumerated Indian Reserves and Indian Settlements). These reserves and settlements are identified wherever they appear in the table.