Hierarchy of geographic areas
Province/Territory
- Portion of Canada’s land area governed by a political authority.
- Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories.
Census Metro Areas (CMA)
- Area consisting of one of more neighbouring municipalities situated around a core.
- A census metropolitan area must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more live in the core.
- There are 33 CMAs in Canada as of the 2011 census.
Census Division (CD)
- Group of neighbouring municipalities joined together for the purposes of regional planning and managing common services (such as police or ambulance services).
- In Toronto, the amalgamated City of Toronto corresponds to the Census Division unit.
Census Subdivision (CSD)
- Area that is a municipality or an area that is deemed to be equivalent to a municipality for statistical reporting purposes (e.g. as an Indian reserve or an unorganized territory).
- Municipal status is defined by laws in effect in each province and territory in Canada.
- The Toronto CSD is the same as the CD (see above), because of amalgamation.
Census Tract (CT)
- Area that is small and relatively stable.
- Census tracts usually have a population of 2,500 to 8,000 persons.
- They are located in large urban centres that must have an urban core population of 50,000 or more.
Dissemination Area (DA)
- Small area composed of one or more neighbouring dissemination blocks, with a population of 400 to 700 persons.
- All of Canada is divided into dissemination areas.
- It is the smallest standard geographic areas for which all census data are disseminated.
Canada Postal Code
- The postal code is a six-character code defined and maintained by Canada Post Corporation for the purpose of sorting and delivering mail.
