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Geographic Units:
Census Subdivision (CSD)
Modified on December 4, 2003
Part A – Plain Language Definition
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.
Part B – Detailed Definition
Census subdivision (CSD) is the general term for municipalities (as determined
by provincial legislation) or areas treated as municipal equivalents for
statistical purposes (for example, Indian reserves, Indian settlements
and unorganized territories).
Censuses: 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986, 1981, 1976, 1971, 1966, 1961
Remarks:
Census Subdivision Type
Census subdivisions (CSDs) are classified into 46 types according to
official designations adopted by provincial or federal authorities. Two
exceptions are "Subdivision of Unorganized" in Newfoundland and Labrador,
and "Subdivision of County Municipality" in Nova Scotia, which are geographic
areas created as equivalents for municipalities by Statistics Canada,
in cooperation with those provinces, for the purpose of disseminating
statistical data.
The census subdivision type accompanies the census subdivision
name in order to distinguish CSDs from each other, for example, Granby,
V (for the ville of Granby) and Granby, CT (for the municipalité
de canton of Granby).
Changes to CSD types for 2001 include the following:
1. CSD types added
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island municipality (IM) in British Columbia |
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Nisga'a Land (NL) in British Columbia |
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Nisga'a Village (NVL) in British Columbia |
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regional district electoral area (RDA) in British
Columbia |
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region (RG) in Newfoundland and Labrador |
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Teslin Land (TL) in the Yukon Territory |
2. CSD types deleted
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borough (BOR) in Ontario (the unique Borough of East York
was dissolved and amalgamated with the City of Toronto on January 1, 1998) |
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northern town (NT) in Saskatchewan (the only two northern
towns were changed to towns) |
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subdivision of regional district (SRD) in British Columbia
(this type was replaced by the regional district electoral area) |
3. Other changes
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In Newfoundland and Labrador, the CSD type "community
(COM)" was changed to the CSD type "town (T)". |
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In Ontario, the CSD type "improvement district (ID)"
was changed to the CSD type "township (TP)". |
Table 6 shows CSD types, their abbreviated forms,
and their distribution by province and territory.
Table 6. Census Subdivision Types by Province
and Territory, 2001 Census
As of March 12, 2002
Census Subdivision Types Associated With "On-reserve" Population
On-reserve population is a derived census variable that is captured by
using the CSD type according to criteria established by Indian and Northern
Affairs Canada (INAC). On-reserve population includes all people
living in any of seven CSD types legally affiliated with First Nations
or Indian Bands (described below), as well as selected CSDs of various
other types that are northern communities in Saskatchewan, the Northwest
Territories and the Yukon Territory (see Table 7).
The following CSD types are based on the legal definition of communities
affiliated with First Nations or Indian Bands.
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Indian Reserve (R) – A tract of federally owned land with
specific boundaries that is set apart for the use and benefit of an
Indian Band and that is governed by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
(INAC). Statistics Canada only recognizes the subset of Indian reserves
that are populated (or potentially populated) as census subdivisions.
For 2001, of the more than 2,800 Indian reserves across
Canada, there are 1,052 Indian reserves classified as CSDs (including
the 60 reserves added for 2001). Statistics Canada works closely
with INAC to identify those reserves to be added as CSDs. |
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Indian Settlement (S-E) – A place where a self-contained
group of at least 10 Indian (Aboriginal) persons reside more or less
permanently. It is usually located on Crown lands under federal or
provincial jurisdiction. Indian settlements have no official limits
and have not been set apart for the use and benefit of an Indian Band
as is the case with Indian reserves. Statistics Canada relies on INAC
to identify Indian settlements to be recognized as census subdivisions,
and their inclusion must be with the agreement of the provincial or
territorial authorities. An arbitrary boundary is delineated to represent
each Indian settlement as a census subdivision. |
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Indian Government District (IGD) – Sechelt reserve lands
in British Columbia. The Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act
is a transfer by Her Majesty in right of Canada to the Sechelt Band
in all Sechelt reserve lands, recognizing that the Sechelt Band would
assume complete responsibility for the management, administration
and control of all Sechelt lands. The Sechelt Indian Government
District Enabling Act (British Columbia) recognizes the district
Council as the governing body of the Sechelt Indian Government District.
The district Council may enact laws or by-laws that a municipality
has power to enact under an Act of the province. |
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Terres réservées (TR) – Parcels of land
in Quebec set aside for the permanent residence of Cree and Naskapi
First Nations of Quebec. Terres réservées are
adjacent to villages Cri and village Naskapi. The area
of a village Cri is set aside for the use of Cree Bands,
but members of Cree Bands are not permanently residing there. Similarly,
the area of the lone village Naskapi is set aside for
the use of the Naskapi Band, although its members do not reside there
permanently. Note that a village Cri and its adjacent terre
réservée can have the same name, e.g. the Village
Cri of Waswanipi and the Terre réservée of
Waswanipi. |
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Nisga'a Village (NVL) – The four former Bands of the Nisga'a
Nation that became villages with the Final Land Claims Agreement of
1998 between the Nisga'a Nation, the Government of Canada and the
Government of British Columbia. These include the villages of Gingolx,
Gitwinksihlkw, Laxgalts'ap and New Aiyansh. Note that the Nisga'a
Village called New Aiyansh is delineated as two separate census subdivisions,
which correspond to the former Indian reserves called Aiyansh 1 (currently
unpopulated) and New Aiyansh 1. |
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Nisga'a Land (NL) – Part of the territory whose title has
been transferred to the Nisga'a Nation by the Final Land Claims Agreement
of 1998 between the Nisga'a Nation, the Government of Canada and the
Government of British Columbia. Together with the four Nisga'a Villages
(NVL), this territory makes up the Nisga'a Lands defined by the land
claims agreement. |
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Teslin Land (TL) – A parcel of rural settlement land whose
title has been transferred to the Teslin Tlingit Council by the
Teslin Tlingit Council Land Claims Agreement of 1993 between the
Teslin Tlingit Council, the Government of Canada and the Government
of the Yukon.
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Table 7 lists the specific northern communities
selected by INAC because they are affiliated with First Nations or Indian
Bands. The people living in these CSDs are included when tabulating on-reserve
population.
Table 7. Selected Census Subdivisions Included
when Tabulating "On-reserve" Population, 2001 Census
Census Subdivision Code
Each census subdivision is assigned a three-digit code that is not unique
to each of the provinces and territories, and is based on the Standard
Geographical Classification (SGC). In order to identify each CSD uniquely
in Canada, the two-digit province/territory code and the two-digit census
division (CD) code must precede the CSD code. For example:
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PR-CD-CSD Code
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CSD Name and Type
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12 06 008
35 06 008
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Mahone Bay, T (N.S.)
Ottawa, C (Ont.)
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There are two municipalities in Canada that straddle provincial limits:
Flin Flon (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) and Lloydminster (Saskatchewan and
Alberta). Each of their provincial parts is treated as a separate CSD.
Indian reserves are also treated as separate CSDs when they straddle provincial
limits.
Changes to Census Subdivisions for the 2001 Census
Municipal restructuring in many provinces has resulted in a larger than
usual number of municipal dissolutions and incorporations (Table
8). There were 910 dissolutions recorded between 1996 and 2001. In
the same period, 526 incorporations were recorded, with the majority being
newly amalgamated municipalities.
Table 8. Summary of Dissolutions and Incorporations
by Province and Territory (January 2, 1996 to January 1, 2001)
The boundaries, names, codes and status of CSDs reflect those in effect
on January 1, 2001, the geographic reference date for the 2001
Census of Canada. Information about any CSD changes that were effective
on or before the January 1, 2001 reference date must have been received
by Statistics Canada prior to March 1, 2001, in order to be processed
in time for the census.
Refer to the related definition of Standard Geographical
Classification (SGC), and to the publication 2001 Standard Geographical
Classification (SGC) Manual, Volume I (Catalogue No. 12-571-XPB)
for summaries of the intercensal census subdivision changes to codes,
names and status.
Changes Prior to the 2001 Census:
For 1996, there were six new CSD types: chartered community (CC) in the
Northwest Territories; northern town (NT) in Saskatchewan; rural community
(RC) in New Brunswick; regional municipality (RGM) in Nova Scotia; specialized
municipality (SM) in Alberta; and terre inuite (TI) in Quebec.
The CSD type sans désignation (SD) in Quebec was changed
to the CSD type municipalité (M) to conform to provincial
terminology.
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