Census learning centre
Table builder: Part 5, Geography

Release date: May 7, 2025

Catalogue number: 982000032021040

Hello and welcome to the "Table builder: Part 5, Geography" video.

The purpose of this series of videos is to provide you with a good understanding of data table building concepts and to present you with some of the data table key components that might come into play when analysing data. This video will explore census geographies and how to use them when building a table.

Subject
Table builder
Length
00:06:52
Cost
Free
Links

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Video: Table builder: Part 5, Geography - Transcription

Welcome to video five of the table builder video series.

In the previous video, you were provided with a deeper understanding of variables and dimensions that are associated with different focuses and populations of interest.

(A white box highlights the heading titled "4. Variables and dimensions".)

The purpose of this video is to explore census geographies and how to use them when building a table.

(A white box highlights the heading titled "5. Geography".)

Just like we can subdivide a population by gender or age, we can also subdivide a population by different geographic areas.

This illustration shows the hierarchy of census geographies from higher level to lower level, and their relationships to each other.

(A graphical representation displays the hierarchical relationship between the standard geographical areas used for the dissemination of the 2021 Census of Canada. For more information, please refer to the description found on this page: Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021 - Figure 1.1 Hierarchy of standard geographic areas for dissemination, 2021 Census.)

Higher level geographies encompass large areas, whereas lower-level geographies cover smaller areas.

(Canada is highlighted as an example of a higher-level geography and Dissemination Block is highlighted as an example of a lower-level geography.)

The geographies can range in size from Canada, provinces, and territories, all the way down to dissemination blocks.

(Canada, Province or territory, Census division, Census subdivision, Dissemination area, and Dissemination Block are highlighted in sequence from highest level to lowest level.)

The relative position of each geographic level in the chart shows how it can be subdivided or aggregated to form other geographic levels.

For example, the national level is subdivided into 13 provinces and territories, that are subdivided into 293 Census Divisions (CDs), that are subdivided into 5,161 Census Subdivisions (CSDs), that are subdivided into 57,936 Dissemination Areas (DAs), that are finally subdivided into 498,786 Dissemination Blocks or DBs, the lowest level of standard geographic areas for which population and dwelling counts are disseminated.

(Again, Canada, Province or territory, Census division, Census subdivision, Dissemination area, and Dissemination Block are highlighted in sequence from highest level to lowest level, as they are mentioned.)

Please refer to the Introduction to the geography universe and the Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021: Geography section, for definitions and more detailed information on each of the geographic areas previously shown.

Let’s go into a more specific example.

(A flowchart illustrates the hierarchical geographic organization in Canada, specifically focusing on Manitoba. It shows Canada at the top, leading down to Manitoba, leading down to Census Divisions, and leading down to Census Subdivisions. The chart uses arrows to indicate the flow of division from the national level down to local subdivisions.)

“Manitoba,” identified by the geocode 46, is one of the 13 provinces and territories that together form Canada.

(A map of Canada highlights the province, Manitoba.)

“Census division no. 22,” identified by the geocode 4622, is one of the 23 census divisions that together form the province of Manitoba.

(An outline of Manitoba highlights the outline of census division no. 4622.)

Census subdivision “Mystery Lake,” identified by the geocode 4622017, is one of the 239 census subdivisions that form the census division no. 22.

(A map of census division no. 4622 highlights census subdivision no. 4622017, Mystery Lake.)

When building a data table, most users will use the standard geographic areas previously shown.

However, some users will need data tabulated for specific areas that are not available for any of the standard geographic hierarchies. These are called user-defined geographic areas.

There are two types of user-defined geographic areas:

  • The aggregations of individual standard geographic areas, and
  • The non-standard geographic areas.

The aggregations of individual standard geographic areas match the standard geographic areas.

An example of the aggregations of individual standard geographic areas could be user-created sales regions within Ottawa, Ontario. The sales regions could be created by combining one or more specific census subdivisions.

(A diagram illustrates an example of how individual standard geographic areas can be aggregated. In this example, the Ottawa Sales Regions are divided into user-created regions: Region 1 and Region 2. Region 1 combines the census subdivisions of Champlain and Hawkesbury, while Region 2 combines the census subdivisions of Carleton Place, Arnprior, and Mississippi Mills.))

The non-standard geographic areas do not match the standard geographic areas at all.

Examples of this second type could be school districts or election wards. These examples may require aggregations of postal code areas or dissemination areas. If a geographic area below the dissemination block is wanted, users can submit a request to Statistics Canada’s Custom Area Creation Service.

All tables have a geography, whether a single area or multiple areas, that determines which records are included in the table.

All persons, families, households, and dwellings are linked to a geographic location.

The Census of Population has the following two geography types:

  • Place of residence, and
  • Place of work.

Place of residence classifies persons according to where they usually live. Most census tables are based on this geography type.

Place of work classifies persons based on the location of their workplace.

It provides a different perspective on census analysis.

It gives businesses, planners and other users useful data on the population present in the area during business hours.

For example, the usual population in a downtown core during business hours will be very different than the population of the same area after business hours.

Always remember two things before using place of work geographies in a table:

  • Firstly, questions on place of work are only asked on the long-form questionnaire.
  • Secondly, the population of interest will be the employed labour force aged 15 years and over having a usual place of work or working from home.

The tables showing the relationship between geography of a residence and geography of work are called commuting flow tables.

Let’s look at an example from the census database. As you can see, this table contains two geographies: a place of residence and a place of work.

(A table shows commuting flow in Corner Brook (Census Agglomeration) from place of residence to place of work. It breaks down the data by gender and main mode of commuting. The data in this table displays how many people both live and work in Corner Brook, rather than commuting to other areas.)

When the two geographies are crossed, the user can see the population that commutes from the place of residence to the place of work.

(The table now shows commuting flow of Corner Brook to other areas. It breaks down the data by place of work by main mode of commuting. The data shows that most people who reside in Corner Brook also work in Corner Brook, but some also commute to other areas, most notably St. John’s.)

For example, there are 295 people that commute from Corner Brook to St. John’s.

So, what have we learned about the geography?

  • Population can be subdivided by different geographic areas.
  • Census geographies can be standard hierarchies or user-defined.
  • All data tables include at least one geography.
  • The two types of census geography are place of residence and place of work.

This concludes the fifth video of the table builder video series.

Thank you for watching.

(The census logo appears with a link, which is also available to view here: Census learning centre. The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 978-0-660-75462-8 appears underneath the link.)

To view the next table builder video, go to the Census learning centre.

(The "Canada" wordmark appears.)

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