Release and Concepts Overview
2016 Census of Population:
Mobility and migration

1. Objectives of the Release and Concepts Overview series
2. Concepts and definitions:
   • Mobility and migration
   • Geography
3. Key indicators
4. Products and activities available with this release:
   • Products available on day of release
   • Social media activities with this release
5. Products available after release
6. 2016 Census Program web module
7. 2016 Census Program release schedule
8. Contact information

Census of Population release topics will be accompanied by their own Release and Concepts Overview and will be available from Statistics Canada's website in advance of each release.

The purpose of the Release and Concepts Overview series is to provide an overview of:

• the concepts, definitions and key indicators used by each of the major 2016 Census of Population releases

• the products that will be available on each major day of release and later

The Release and Concepts Overview series will help partners, stakeholders and other data users to better understand the information being released.

This Release and Concepts Overview is for the Mobility and migration release, which will be on November 29, 2017.

The information provided in this overview is subject to change.

Mobility and migration

Mobility status – 1 year or 5 years ago:

Mobility status refers to the status of a person with regard to the place of residence on Census day (May 10, 2016) in relation to the place of residence on the same date one year or five years earlier.

• Persons who lived in the same residence on the reference day as on the same date one year or five years earlier are referred to as non-movers.
• Persons who did not live in the same residence on the reference day as on the same date one year or five years earlier are referred to as movers.
• Movers include non-migrants and migrants.
• Non-migrants are movers who lived in the same census subdivision on the reference day as on the same date one year or five years earlier.
• Migrants include internal migrants and external migrants.
• Internal migrants include migrants who lived in Canada one year or five years ago. This includes persons who moved to a different city, town, township, village or Indian reserve within Canada. Greater detail can be provided for internal migrants by identifying whether they have crossed provincial and/or Census metropolitan area or Census agglomeration boundaries.
• External migrants include migrants who did not live in Canada one year or five years ago.

Location of residence – 1 years or 5 years ago:

Location of residence refers to a person's usual place of residence one year or five years prior to the census reference day.

• For persons who resided in Canada at the earlier time, location of residence one or five years ago is collected and coded as a 7-digit Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) code.
• For person who resided outside Canada at the earlier time, location of residence one or five years ago is collected and coded as a 5-digit Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest (SCCAI) code.

Geography

In addition to making data available for Canada, the following other levels of geography will be available:

1. Province or territory
2. Census metropolitan area (CMA)
3. Census agglomeration (CA)
4. Census division (CD)
5. Census subdivision (CSD)
6. Census tract (CT)
7. Population centre (POPCTR)
8. Statistical Area Classification (SAC)
9. Federal electoral district (FED)
10. Economic region (ER)
11. Forward sortation area (FSA)^©
12. Designated place (DPL)
13. Aggregate dissemination area (ADA) (new!)
14. Dissemination area (DA)

The following mobility and migration indicators will be available at the national, provincial and subprovincial levels, as well as by mother tongue, age and sex.

Mobility status

• Distribution of the population aged one year or five years and older in private households by mobility status

Location of residence one year or five years ago

• Distribution of the migrant population aged one year or five years and older in private households by current province or territory or residence and province or territory of residence one year or five years ago

Components of migration

• Distribution of the migrant population aged 1 year or 5 years and older in private households by components of migration

The following will be available with the Mobility and migration release on November 29, 2017:

• Data products
  • Data tables
  • Census Profile
• Geography product
  • GeoSearch
    
    
    
    
    
• Reference products
  • Release and Concepts Overview series
  • Guide to the Census of Population, 2016
  • Census Dictionary
  • Mobility and migration Reference Guide
• Social media
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Chat with an expert (December 4, 2017)

The following provides additional details on some key products to be available at the time of the Mobility and migration release. Together, they will provide main findings, important messages, latest trends and additional background information.

• Data tables: These cross-tabulations allow for a more detailed examination of Canada, by comparing up to eight variables across various levels of geography.

• Census Profile: This product provides key statistics about the dwellings and the people living there. Users are able to select a standard geographic area and compare two geographic areas. They can search by place name or postal code for an area of interest as large as Canada or as small as a grouping of city blocks.

• Mobility and migration Reference Guide: This guide explains census concepts and definitions. It also includes information about data quality and historical comparability, as well as comparisons with other data sources.

• Guide to the Census of Population, 2016: This reference document provides an overview of the 2016 Census of Population processes, including content determination, collection, processing, data quality assessment, data dissemination and data suppression. It also includes response rates, global non-response rates, the distribution of the number of census subdivisions for which data have been published by province and territory and at the national level, as well as other data quality information.

• Census Dictionary: This provides detailed definitions of census concepts, variables and geographic terms, as well as historical information to facilitate the comparison between census years.

Social media activities with this release

• Facebook and Twitter: The official social media accounts will also be used to communicate and engage with the public for the dissemination of results from the 2016 Census of Population.

• Chat with an expert: Users are invited to chat with Statistics Canada experts on the topics of Mobility and migration, Journey to work and Language of work, on December 4, 2017, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Eastern time. For more information, refer to Statistics Canada's website: Chat with an expert.

The following products will be available with later releases:

Analytical products

• Articles in Insights on Canadian Society (ICS)
• Data visualization tool. More information about this initiative will be made available during the release cycle.

Data products

• Additional data tables at various levels of geography
• 2016 Census Aboriginal Population Profile
• 2016 Census Individuals Public Use Microdata File (PUMF)
• 2016 Census Hierarchical Public Use Microdata File (PUMF)
• 2016 Census Long-form Research Data Centre (RDC) Microdata File

Reference products

• Reference guides (various topics)
• Technical reports

To access the 2016 Census of Population products, please consult the 2016 Census Program web module.

General enquiries

• 1-800-263-1136 – Canada and the United States only
  7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday to Friday (time zones within Canada)
• Email: STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca

Media Relations – Media Hotline

• 613-951-INFO (613-951-4636)
  8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday, excluding holidays
• Email: STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca