census subdivision (csd), 2001 census

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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

	–	island municipality (IM) in British Columbia

	–	Nisga'a Land (NL) in British Columbia

	–	Nisga'a Village (NVL) in British Columbia

	–	regional district electoral area (RDA) in British Columbia

	–	region (RG) in Newfoundland and Labrador

	–	Teslin Land (TL) in the Yukon Territory

2. CSD types deleted

	–	borough (BOR) in Ontario (the unique Borough of East York was dissolved and amalgamated with the City of Toronto on January 1, 1998)

	–	northern town (NT) in Saskatchewan (the only two northern towns were changed to towns)

	–	subdivision of regional district (SRD) in British Columbia (this type was replaced by the regional district electoral area)

3. Other changes

	–	In Newfoundland and Labrador, the CSD type "community (COM)" was changed to the CSD type "town (T)".

	–	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

Table 6. Census Subdivision Types by Province and Territory, 2001 Census

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.

1.	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.

2.	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.

3.	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.

4.	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.

5.	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.

6.	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.

7.	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.

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

Table 7. Selected Census Subdivisions Included when Tabulating

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:

PR-CD-CSD Code	CSD Name and Type
12 06 008 35 06 008	Mahone Bay, T (N.S.) Ottawa, C (Ont.)

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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