Annual Demographic Estimates: Subprovincial Areas, July 1, 2016
Appendix A: Glossary
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Age
Age as of July 1.
Ageing (of a population)
An increase in the number of old persons as a percentage of the total population.
Average absolute error of closure
Defined as the mean of the absolute differences between the postcensal estimates on Census Day and the results of the Census adjusted for the census net undercoverage.
Average age
The average age of a population is the average age of all its members.
Census coverage
Census net undercoverage: Difference between undercoverage and overcoverage.
Overcoverage: Number of persons who should not have been counted in the census or who were counted more than once.
Undercoverage: Number of persons who were intended to be enumerated in a census but were not.
Census division (CD)
Census division (CD) 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 level and the municipality (census subdivision).
In Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, provincial or territorial law does not provide for these administrative geographic areas. Therefore, Statistics Canada, in cooperation with these provinces and territories, has created equivalent areas called census divisions for the purpose of disseminating statistical data. In Yukon, the census division is equivalent to the entire territory.
Cohort
Represents a group of persons who have experienced a specific demographic event during a given year. In the case of births, persons born within a specified year are referred to as a generation.Census metropolitan area (CMA)
A census metropolitan area (CMA) 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. To be included in the CMA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the core, as measured by commuting flows derived from census place of work data.
Once an area becomes a CMA, it is retained as a CMA even if its total population declines below 100,000 or the population of its core falls below 50,000. Small population centres with a population count of less than 10,000 are called fringe. All areas inside the CMA that are not population centres are rural areas. All CMAs are subdivided into census tracts.
The CMA of Ottawa-Gatineau (Ontario-Quebec) crosses provincial boundaries. When the geographic level selected is all of Canada, the totals include the CMA on both sides of the provincial border. If a province has been selected, only the part of the CMA in the province chosen is included in the totals.
Components of demographic growth
Any of the classes of events generating population movement variations. Births, deaths and migrations are the components responsible for the variations since they alter either the total population or the age and sex distribution of the population.
Demographic dependency ratio
The ratio of the combined population aged between 0 to 14 years old and the population aged 65 years and over to the population aged between 15 and 64 years old.
Economic region (ER)
An economic region is a grouping of complete census divisions (with one exception in Ontario) created as a standard geographic unit for analysis of regional economic activity.
Within the province of Quebec, economic regions (“régions administratives”) are designated by law. In all other provinces or territories, economic regions are created by agreement between Statistics Canada and the provinces or territories concerned. Prince Edward Island and the three territories each consist of one economic region. In Ontario, there is one exception where the economic region boundary does not respect census division boundaries: the census division of Halton is split between the ER of Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula and the ER of Toronto.
Emigrant
Canadian citizen or immigrant who has left Canada to establish a residence in another country, involving a change in usual place of residence. Emigration may be either temporary or permanent. Where the term is used alone, it references to a person's permanent emigration which involves severing residential ties with Canada and acquiring permanent residency in another country.
Error of closure
Difference between the postcensal estimate at the census date and the results of the census adjusted for census net undercoverage (including adjustment for incompletely enumerated Indian reserves).
Generation
Unless otherwise specified, refers here to a group of persons born within a given period. The 2006 generation represents people born during the year 2006.
Immigrant
Within the framework of this publication, the terms immigrant, landed immigrant and permanent resident are equivalent. An immigrant refers to a person who is or has ever been a landed immigrant (permanent resident) and who has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants are either Canadian citizens by naturalization (the citizenship process) or permanent residents under Canadian legislation. Some immigrants have resided in Canada for a number of years, while others have arrived recently. Most immigrants are born outside Canada, but a small number are born in Canada. Also, children born in other countries to parents who are Canadian citizens that reside temporarily in another country are not included in the category as they become Canadian citizens at birth.
Internal migration
Internal migration represents all movements of persons within Canada's geographical boundaries, involving a change in usual place of residence. Internal migration denotes movement from one province or territory to another (i.e., interprovincial migration) and movements from some other smaller defined geographical unit to another (i.e., intraprovincial migration).
International migration
International migration represents movement of population between Canada and a foreign country which involves a change of the usual place of residence. A distinction is made with regard to immigrants, emigrants, returning emigrants, net temporary emigration and net non-permanent residents.
Interprovincial migration
Interprovincial migration represents all movement from one province or territory to another involving a change in the usual place residence. A person who takes up residence in another province or territory is an out-migrant with reference to the province or territory of origin and an in-migrant with reference to the province or territory of destination.
Intraprovincial migration or subprovincial migration
Intraprovincial migration or subprovincial migration represents all movement from one region to another within the same province or territory involving a change of the usual place residence. A person who takes up residence in another region is an out-migrant with reference to the region of origin and an in-migrant with reference to the region of destination.
Median age
The median age is an age "x", such that exactly one half of the population is older than "x" and the other half is younger than "x".
Natural increase
Variation of the population size over a given period as a result of the difference between the numbers of births and deaths.
Net internal migration
Sum of net intraprovincial and net interprovincial migration.
Net international migration
Net international migration is obtained according to the following formula: Immigrants + returning emigrants + net non-permanent residents – (emigrants + net temporary emigrants).
Net interprovincial migration
Net interprovincial migration represents the difference between in-migrants and out-migrants for a given province or territory.
Net intraprovincial migration
Net intraprovincial migration represents the difference between in-migrants and out-migrants in a given region. A region can be defined as a census division, an economic region or a census metropolitan area.
Net non-permanent residents
Net non-permanent residents represent the variation in the number of non-permanent residents between two dates.
Non-permanent residents
A non-permanent resident is a person who is lawfully in Canada on a temporary basis under the authority of a valid document (work permit, study permit, Minister's permit or refugee) issued for that person along with members of his family living with them. This group also includes individuals who seek refugee status upon or after their arrival in Canada and remain in the country pending the outcome of processes relative to their claim. Note that Immigration Refugees Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses the term temporary resident rather than non-permanent resident.
Net temporary emigration
Net temporary emigration represents the variation in the number of temporary emigrants between two dates. Temporary emigration includes Canadian citizens and immigrants living temporarily abroad who have not maintained a usual place of residence in Canada.
Population
Estimated population and population according to the census are both defined as being the number of Canadians whose usual place of residence is within 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.
Population estimate
Postcensal: Population estimate produced by using data from the most recent available census adjusted for census net undercoverage (including adjustment for incompletely enumerated Indian reserves) and estimate of the components of demographic growth since that last census. This estimate can be preliminary, updated or final.
Intercensal: Population estimate derived by using postcensal estimates and data adjusted for census net undercoverage (including adjustment for incompletely enumerated Indian reserves) of censuses preceding and following the year in question.
Population growth or total growth
Variation of population size between two dates. It can also be obtained by summing the natural increase, total net migration and if possible, subtract residual deviation. It can be positive or negative.
Precocity error
Difference between preliminary and final estimate in terms of its relative proportion of the total population for the relevant geographical area. It can be calculated for either population estimates or components of population growth.
Rate
Refers to the ratio of the number of events estimated in a year (t, t+1) to the average populations at the beginning and the end of the period. In this regard, births, deaths, immigration rates, etc are calculated. Generally, the rates are expressed in per 1,000.
Demographic growth or population growth: Ratio of population growth between the year t and t+1, to the average population of both these years. The rate is generally expressed in per 1,000.
Census net undercoverage of population: Difference between undercoverage rate and overcoverage rate.
Overcoverage of population: The ratio of the number of persons who should not have been counted in the census or who were counted more than once to the total number of persons that should have been enumerated in the census. Generally, the rate is expressed in percentage.
Undercoverage of population: The ratio of the estimated number of persons not enumerated in the census (who were intended to have been enumerated) to the total number of persons that should have been enumerated in the census. Generally, the rate is expressed in percentage.
Residual deviation
Difference between demographic population growths calculated using intercensal estimates of population between two dates and that obtained by the sum of the components for the same period. This deviation results from the distribution of the error of closure (by using the number of days) over the five-year period concerned.
Returning emigrant
Canadian citizen or immigrant having previously emigrated from Canada and subsequently returned to the country.
Sex ratio
The ratio of the number of men to the number of women. This is not to be confused with the sex ratio at birth, which is the ratio of the number of live-born boys to the number of live-born girls. This ratio is usually expressed as an index, with the number of females taken to be a base of 100.
Sprague coefficients
Series of factors which, when multiplied to a population distributed by multiples age groups, give a distribution of the same population by single years of age.
Total net migration
Sum of net international and net internal migration.
Vital statistics
Vital Statistics includes all the demographic events (that is to say births, deaths, marriages and divorces) for which there are a legal requirement to inform the Provincial or Territorial Registrar's Office.
Year
Unless otherwise specified, the term “year” refers to the period beginning July 1 of a given year and ending June 30 of the following year.
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