Content Considerations
The 2001 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 who were staying in that area on Census Day and who had no usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada, as well as those considered to be "non-permanent residents" (see the Special Notes). For 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 that 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" - see the Special Notes). Given these differences, users are advised not to interpret population counts as being the number of people living in the reported dwellings.
The dwelling counts refer to total private dwellings in Canada, including dwellings occupied by their usual residents, and/or occupied by temporary or foreign residents as well as private dwellings that are unoccupied. An unoccupied dwelling is a private dwelling that meets the two conditions necessary for year-round occupancy (a source of heat or power and shelter from the elements), but in which no usual, temporary or foreign resident is living on Census Day. The census dwelling counts do not include collective dwellings, which are dwellings of a commercial, institutional or communal nature. The usual residents counted in collective dwellings are, however, included in the population counts.
Care should be exercised in comparing the 2001 Census counts of total dwellings (including both occupied and unoccupied) with dwelling counts from the 1996 and earlier population and dwelling count releases. For 2001, the count of total dwellings in some areas is substantially higher than reported for the 1996 Census of Canada. The increase in the total number of dwellings between 1996 and 2001 is directly linked to our efforts to improve the coverage of seasonal dwellings. Based on our consultation process for 2001 and the requirements to simplify collection procedures and improve overall coverage of dwellings, the 2001 Census private dwelling definition was modified slightly from previous censuses to eliminate one criterion - access to a source of drinking water throughout the year. The result was that more private dwellings were counted in the 2001 Census - specifically more seasonal dwellings (secondary residences such as cottages, cabins and/or chalets) that now meet the private dwelling definition.
For the 2001 Census, a private dwelling is defined as:
A set of living quarters designed for or converted for human habitation in which a person or group of persons reside or could reside. In addition, a private dwelling must have a source of heat or power and must be an enclosed space that provides shelter from the elements, as evidenced by complete and enclosed walls and roof and by doors and windows that provide protection from wind, rain and snow.
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 a 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 2001 Census, the geographic reference date was January 1, 2001.
Users wishing to compare 2001 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 1996 Census population counts are adjusted as needed to take into account boundary changes between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses. The 1996 counts that were adjusted are identified by the letter "A". The letter "A" may also refer to corrections to the 1996 counts; however, most of these are the result of boundary changes. This symbol is also used to identify areas that have been created since 1996, such as newly incorporated municipalities (census subdivisions) and new designated places (DPLs). When the letter "A" appears next to a designated place with parts, this means that one or more of the parts has an adjusted count.
There are 1,261 designated places for the 2001 Census. There are 602 census subdivisions that contain DPLs or parts of DPLs (82 DPLs straddle two or more census subdivisions). For DPLs that contain parts, the number of parts is displayed beside the DPL name (e.g. part of/partie de 2).
A detailed description of intercensal changes made to the geographic units can be found in the publication entitled Standard Geographic Classification, 2001, Volume I (Catalogue No. 12-571-XPB).
Some Indian settlements and Indian reserves were incompletely enumerated during the 1996 Census and/or the 2001 Census (see Special Notes). These reserves and settlements are identified wherever they appear in the tables.
Land area is the area in square kilometres of the land-based portions of standard geographic areas. The land area measurements are unofficial, and are provided for the sole purpose of calculating population density. The population density was calculated, using land area at four decimal places. The land area presented in these tables is rounded off to two decimal places. The data are calculated and stored in square kilometres at the block level, and then aggregated to the higher level geographic units. Land area data for the standard geographic areas reflect the boundaries in effect on January 1, 2001 (the geographic reference date for the 2001 Census of Canada). Users should note that even when the boundaries of standard geographic areas did not change between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses, the land areas differ because the methodology for calculating land area has changed. Land area for 1996 was manually calculated using a planimeter, and for 2001, it is calculated using software applied to the new National Geographic Base. Users should also note that the land area for each geographic unit is an independent aggregation from the block level. Consequently, if users aggregate land areas differently - such as aggregating municipality (census subdivisions) land areas to the provincial level, they may get results with minor differences from the values presented.
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