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Description:

This paper examines the growth of human capital in Canadian and U.S. cities. Using pooled Census of Population data for 242 urban centres, we evaluate the link between long run employment growth and the supply of different types of skilled labour. The paper also examines whether the scientific capabilities of cities are influenced by amenities such as the size of the local cultural sector.

The first part of the paper investigates the contribution of broad and specialized forms of human capital to long-run employment growth. We differentiate between employed degree holders (a general measure of human capital) and degree holders employed in science and cultural occupations (specific measures of human capital). Our growth models investigate long-run changes in urban employment from 1980 to 2000, and control for other factors that have been posited to influence the growth of cities. These include estimates of the amenities that proxy differences in the attractiveness of urban areas.

The second part of the paper focuses specifically on a particular type of human capital'degree holders in science and engineering occupations. Our models evaluate the factors associated with the medium- and long-run growth of these occupations. Particular attention is placed on disentangling the relationships between science and engineering growth and other forms of human capital.

Description:

Until very recently, reliable data on the literacy of Aboriginal people in Canada have been scarce. The 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) collected data from large enough samples of Aboriginal people living in urban areas in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as well as Aboriginal people living in selected communities in the territories, to answer key questions about the literacy proficiency of these populations. The off-reserve Aboriginal population in Manitoba and Saskatchewan is comprised of significant proportions of individuals who self-identify as First Nations and Métis. The IALSS background questionnaire allows researchers to make distinctions on the basis of self-reported Aboriginal identity group.

This report uses data from the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey to provide a profile of the level and distribution of adult literacy among the off-reserve First Nations and Métis populations residing in urban areas in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Literacy profiles are provided for males and females, for different age groups and by educational attainment. Finally, the article examines the literacy profiles of the employed and unemployed sub-groups within these populations.

Description:

Using 2006 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the marital status, common-law status, families, dwellings and households variables for urban areas.

In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as release components of profiles. These are made available with the major releases of variables of the census cycle, starting with age and sex. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Starting with the age and sex major day of release, and on major days of release thereafter, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province and territory, census division and census subdivision levels, at the census metropolitan area, census agglomeration and census tract levels, and at the federal electoral district (based on the 2003 Representation Order) level. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including dissemination areas, urban areas, designated places and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the major days of release.

Description:

This study uses administrative tax data and the Survey of Financial Security to explore trends in the number and characteristics of high-income Canadians, as well as their wealth and effective income tax rates, from 1982 to 2004. The paper uses a range of thresholds to delineate high income and emphasizes statistics on the top 5%, 1%, 0.1% and 0.01% of tax filers.

The study found that an individual income of $89,000 was needed to be counted among the top 5% if income recipients in 2004. A family income of $154,000 would place one in the top 5% of families. The growth in incomes at the high end has been quite rapid while incomes of the majority of the population remained stable. Compared with the U.S., Canada had significantly fewer high-income recipients in 2004, and their incomes were considerably less. Higher-income individuals tend to be middle aged married males that live in the larger urban centres. While women have made up a larger portion on the top 5% of tax filers since 1982, they have not made gains in the very highest income groups. High income Canadians have roughly the same share of total wealth as they do of total income.

High income Canadians, in line with an increasing share of total income, have been paying an increasing share of total personal income taxes. Their share of total income increased from 21% to 25% between 1992 and 2004 while their share of income taxes paid increased from 30% to 36%. At the same time their effective tax rate dropped from 29% to 27%. Thus despite lower tax rates the increase in incomes was large enough, when combined with the progressive tax system, to result in an increased share of total taxes paid by high income Canadians. There is considerable heterogeneity in effective tax rates at the individual level with some high income individuals facing an effective tax rate of over 45%, while some pay as little as 10%. The proportion of tax filers, across the income distribution, who pay zero taxes decreased between 1992 and 2004.

Description:

This paper examines the extent of the culture workforce in cities and rural areas across Canada.

Description:

This paper quantifies and assesses the role of culture employment in urban settings in Canada and the United States over the past two decades.

Description:

Using 2006 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the age and sex variables for urban areas.

In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as release components of profiles. These are made available with the major releases of variables of the census cycle, starting with age and sex. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Starting with the age and sex major day of release, and on major days of release thereafter, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province and territory, census division and census subdivision levels, at the census metropolitan area, census agglomeration and census tract levels, and at the federal electoral district (based on the 2003 Representation Order) level. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including dissemination areas, urban areas, designated places and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the major days of release.

Description:

This bulletin extends the analysis to present selected socioeconomic characteristics of the population by type of watershed. This analysis is based on Statistics Canada's 2001 Census of Population data tabulated according to drainage sub-basins.

Description:

This Juristat presents a comparative analysis of police-reported crime statistics in large urban, small urban and rural areas. It examines overall crime rates as well as the specific offences of homicide, robbery, break-ins and motor vehicle theft in these three geographic areas. Data on the most serious weapon present in violent crimes and victim-offender relationships are likewise analyzed. The report also features the perception of the residents of large urban, small urban and rural areas regarding their safety from crime and the job being done by the police, as well as precautionary measures taken. The 2005 Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and the 2004 General Social Survey on victimization are used as data sources.

Description:

If low fertility, aging, demographic growth and ethnocultural diversity are phenomena that accurately describe Canada overall, the same patterns may not necessarily hold true for urban and rural areas. The rhythm and sources of demographic growth have often been significantly different from one area to the next, which would suggest that the situation across Canada stems from the aggregation of different demographies, which are variable between types of regions.

The objective of this study is to examine demographic differences between urban and rural areas in Canada by analyzing communities along a gradient ranging from the largest metropolitan regions to the most rural areas. Applying a geographic structure to Census data from 1971 to 2001 that maintains constant borders over time, the authors analyze population growth across eight types of urban and rural regions; as well as the contribution of immigration, fertility and internal migration to growth differentials; and the consequences of these observed demographic differences in terms of aging and ethnocultural diversity.

The study finds that growth is concentrated in the most metropolitan areas in the country and in the rural areas on which they have a strong influence, and diminished as the degree of rurality increases. Internal migration between the different types of areas has largely contributed to this differential growth: the most urbanized areas-with the exception of Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver-underwent significant migratory gains as well as strong growth. This was also the case with the rural regions that had a strong metropolitan influence. The most rural regions experienced a weak demographic growth, in some cases a decline, despite having higher fertility than other regions. The strong growth in the three largest urban areas in Canada-Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver-is largely attributed to the high numbers of international immigrants who decided to settle there. The concentration of newcomers in these regions helped increase the gap between these three areas and the rest of the country in terms of ethnocultural diversity.

Description:

This annual publication includes detailed analysis and charts depicting construction activity over the last decade. The tables are comparable to those in the monthly publication 64-001-XPB Building permits. In addition, the annual publication includes revised monthly data, on a seasonally adjusted basis, for the previous three years.

Description: Although overall, Canadians feel fairly safe, there may be groups in the population who feel less safe for reasons such as where they live, fear of discrimination or other factors. One possible measure of how well immigrants are adapting to Canadian society is how safe they feel in their new country. In particular, are they more likely to feel safe after having lived in Canada for some time or less safe than those who have arrived recently? The Canadian General Social Survey (GSS) data help us to answer these questions with data from three time periods for recent immigrants who arrived in Canada in the 5-year period prior to the respective surveys and more established immigrants who have been in the country for longer periods.

All percentages (%) have been adjusted as of September 17, 2008.

Description:

The purpose of this research paper was to examine whether the chances of experiencing fear of crime varied across Canadian urban neighbourhoods, and whether factors associated with individuals and their neighbourhoods explained this variation. In addition, the study aimed to understand how Canadians' perceptions of neighbourhood crime and disorder influenced their chances of experiencing fear. Analyses were based on data from the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization and the 2001 Census. Multilevel regression modelling techniques were employed in order to address the statistical complications that arise when individuals are clustered within larger units such as neighbourhoods. The results showed that while the characteristics and perceptions of individuals were most important in explaining differences in fear among urban Canadians; a statistically significant portion of the variation in fear was attributable to the neighbourhood environment.

Description:

"Signs of crime," which criminologists often call incivility, range from evidence of drug dealing and drug use to garbage littering the neighbourhood. When these perceptions of incivility reach levels of being considered a problem by residents, they can disrupt the community as a whole and lead to feelings of insecurity. This article will examine perceptions of incivility problems within some of Canada's census metropolitan areas. Then, it will look at patterns of perceptions of incivility problems by neighbourhood types.

Description:

Low income cut-offs (LICOs) are income thresholds, determined by analysing family expenditure data, below which families will devote a larger share of income to the necessities of food, shelter and clothing than the average family would. To reflect differences in the costs of necessities among different community and family sizes, LICOs are defined for five categories of community size and seven of family size.

Low income Measures (LIMs), on the other hand, are strictly relative measures of low income, set at 50% of adjusted median family income. These measures are categorized according to the number of adults and children present in families, reflecting the economies of scale inherent in family size and composition. This publication incorporates a detailed description of the methods used to arrive at both measurements. It also explains how base years are defined and how LICOs are updated using the Consumer Price Index.

Description:

University degree holders in large cities are more prevalent and are growing at a more rapid pace than in smaller cities and rural areas. This relatively high rate of growth stems from net migratory flows and/or higher rates of degree attainment in cities. Using data from the 1996 and 2001 Censuses, this paper tests the relative importance of these two sources of human capital growth by decomposing degree-holder growth across cities into net migratory flows (domestic and foreign) and in situ growth: that is, growth resulting from higher rates of degree attainment among the resident populations of cities. We find that both sources are important, with in situ growth being the more dominant force. Hence, it is less the ability of cities to attract human capital than their ability to generate it that underlies the high rates of degree attainment we observe across city populations.

Description:

Where immigrants choose to settle appears to have an impact on their economic integration. It is much faster outside the large urban centres. In the larger urban centres, immigrants face a large initial income disadvantage and subsequent increases are not enough for them to achieve parity with other Canadians. Better economic integration of immigrants outside the larger urban centres is found even after taking into consideration differences in education, ability in an official language, admission class and country of origin.

Description:

On November 26 2006, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held an international workshop on defining and measuring metropolitan regions. The reasons the OECD organized this workshop are listed below.

1. Metropolitan Regions have become a crucial economic actor in today's highly integrated world. Not only do they play their traditional role of growth poles in their countries but they function as essential nodes of the global economy.2. Policy makers, international organisations and research networks are increasingly called to compare the economic and social performances of Metropolitan Regions across countries. Examples of this work undertaken in international organisation and networks include the UN-Habitat, the EU Urban Audit, ESPON and the OECD Competitive Cities.3. The scope of what we can learn from these international comparisons, however, is limited by the lack of a comparable definition of Metropolitan Regions. Although most countries have their own definitions, these vary significantly from one country to another. Furthermore, in search for higher cross-country comparability, international initiatives have - somehow paradoxically - generated an even larger number of definitions.4. In principle, there is no clear reason to prefer one definition to another. As each definition has been elaborated for a specific analytical purpose, it captures some features of a Metropolitan Region while it tends to overlook others. The issue, rather, is that we do not know the pros and the cons of different definitions nor, most important, the analytical implications of using one definition rather than another. 5. In order to respond to these questions, the OECD hosted an international workshop on 'Defining and Measuring Metropolitan Regions'. The workshop brought together major international organisations (the UN, Eurostat, the World Bank, and the OECD), National Statistical Offices and researchers from this field. The aim of the workshop was to develop some 'guiding principles', which could be agreed upon among the participants and would eventually provide the basis for some form of 'International Guidance' for comparing Metropolitan Regions across countries.

This working paper was presented at this workshop. It provides the conceptual and methodological basis for the definition of metropolitan areas in Canada and provides a detailed comparison of Canada's methodology to that of the USA. The intent was to encourage discussion regarding Canada's approach to defining metropolitan areas in the effort to identify the 'guiding principles'. It is being made available as a working paper to continue this discussion and to provide background to the user community to encourage dialogue and commentary from the user community regarding Canada's metropolitan area methodology.

Description:

An urban area has a minimum population concentration of 1,000 persons and a population density of at least 400 persons per square kilometre, based on the current census population count. All territory outside urban areas is classified as rural. Taken together, urban and rural areas cover all of Canada. For the 2001 Census, there were 913 urban areas. In 2006, the number of urban areas decreased to 895.

Following the release of urban areas for the 2001 Census, in-depth analysis revealed that the land area of many urban areas had increased substantially and the boundaries of these urban areas were considered to be over-bounded. In response, the boundaries of nearly half of the 2001 urban areas were updated to rectify this over-bounding, either manually or automatically. This paper describes the post-censal update process of 2001 urban areas and addresses the impact on the 2001 modified population counts adjusted to 2006 urban area boundaries.

The paper also briefly describes and compares the delineation criteria for urban areas from the 1996 and 2001 Censuses.

Description:

In this article, we explore four possible approaches to the problem of differentiating between suburban neighbourhoods and central neighbourhoods in census metropolitan areas. The advantages and limits of the four approaches are discussed in detail. In the second part, we show, using census data and selected classification tools, how the various types of neighbourhoods differ in terms of population characteristics.

Description:

In this article, we focus on the relationship between the types of neighbourhoods in which people live and the use of cars for daily travel. How much do residents of peripheral areas and low-density (suburban) neighbourhoods depend on cars in their daily lives compared with residents of more "urban" neighbourhoods? To what extent can residents of central neighbourhoods go about their day-to-day business without necessarily using a car? In which metropolitan areas is exclusive use of the automobile most common?

Description: This product contains contiguously settled area (CSA) boundaries for a subset of Canadian population centres for 2010 and 2020 with user documentation. The CSA boundaries are derived from land cover data and represent the geographic extent of settled areas based on their physical footprint on the landscape. The boundaries can be used for reference, mapping and spatial analysis of settled areas and urban ecosystems. The CSA boundaries are created and maintained under the umbrella of the Census of Environment, and will support Statistics Canada's ecosystem accounting efforts.

Description:

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) provides a systematic classification structure that categorizes all of the geographic area of Canada. The SGC is the official classification used in the Census of Population and other Statistics Canada surveys.

The classification is organized in two volumes: Volume I, The Classification and Volume II, Reference Maps.

Volume I describes the classification and related standard geographic areas and place names. It provides names and codes for the geographical regions of Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions (counties, regional municipalities) and census subdivisions (municipalities). The names and codes for census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census metropolitan influenced zones, economic regions, census agricultural regions and census consolidated subdivisions are shown in the classification variants of the SGC. Volume I explains the changes between the current version of the SGC and the previous version that impact upon the classification, such as changes in name, type or code, and indicates how the new and old codes relate to one another.

Reference maps showing the locations and boundaries of the standard geographic areas in the classification are in Volume II, Reference Maps

Description:

The Urban Area Boundary Files portray the urban area boundaries for which 2006 Census data are disseminated. An urban area has a minimum population concentration of 1,000 persons and a population density of at least 400 persons per square kilometre, based on the current census population count. The files contain the boundaries of all 895 urban areas defined for the 2006 Census.

There are two types of boundary files: digital and cartographic. Digital files depict the full extent of the geographical areas, including the coastal water area. Cartographic files depict the geographical areas using only the major land mass of Canada and its coastal islands. The files provide a framework for mapping and spatial analysis using commercially available geographic information systems (GIS) or other mapping software. They are positionally consistent with the 2006 Road Network File, which can provide additional geographic context for mapping applications.

The Urban Area Boundary Files are in latitude/longitude coordinates and are based on the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). A reference guide is available (92-160-GWE).

Description:

The historical tight overlap between "rural" and "agriculture" no longer exists - at least in a demographic (or "jobs") sense. The purpose of this working paper is to document the changing nature of this overlap.

Description:

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is a system of names and codes representing areas of Canada. It consists of a three-tiered hierarchy - province or territory, census division, and census subdivision. This relationship is reflected in the seven-digit code. The SGC is used to identify information for particular geographical areas and to tabulate statistics. This volume is designed as a reference and coding manual. It contains tables of SGC units with their names and codes, as well as tables of metropolitan areas. This preliminary version of Volume I will be followed in January 2007 by the final version.

Description:

This activity looks at the competition between agriculture and urban development for land around urban centres and the difficulties and advantages of farming close to urban areas. The pressure to build more housing in urban areas is strong, but such development takes some of Canada's best farmland out of production permanently. Should decisions on how this land is used be left solely to the market? Students will debate the issue.

Description:

The set of Dissemination Area Reference Maps by Non-tracted Census Agglomeration covers the smaller census agglomerations that are not part of the census tract program. Each map in the set covers one census agglomeration (CA) and shows the boundaries and codes of dissemination areas within that CA. The maps also show the boundaries of census subdivisions (municipalities), as well as urban areas, and representative points for designated places. The maps include background information such as rivers, lakes, railroad tracks and provincial boundaries, and other significant features.There are 173 maps in this set - between one and four maps per census agglomeration.. Some maps include insets to show detail for the congested areas. These insets appear on the main map where possible, but in some cases it appears on a second map sheet. The maps vary in scale and size, the maximum dimensions being approximately 91 cm by 101 cm (36 inches by 40 inches). A reference guide is available (Catalogue No. 92F0146GIE).Dissemination area reference maps are also available for census tract for large urban centres, that is, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (92F0146XCB, 92F0146XIB, 92F0146XPB), and by census division for areas outside census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (92F0148XCB, 92F0148XIB, 92F0148XPB). Together, the three sets of dissemination area maps cover all of Canada.

Description:

This document provides a detailed description of the methodology of the Survey of Household Spending. Topics covered include: target population; sample design; data collection; data processing; weighting and estimation; estimation of sampling error; and data suppression and confidentiality.

Description:

Time series studies have shown associations between air pollution concentrations and morbidity and mortality. These studies have largely been conducted within single cities, and with varying methods. Critics of these studies have questioned the validity of the data sets used and the statistical techniques applied to them; the critics have noted inconsistencies in findings among studies and even in independent re-analyses of data from the same city. In this paper we review some of the statistical methods used to analyze a subset of a national data base of air pollution, mortality and weather assembled during the National Morbidity and Mortality Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS).

Description:

This paper describes the issues around updating the low income cut-offs as well as Statistics Canada's findings and proposes a course of action.