Health Regions: Boundaries and Correspondence with Census Geography
Correspondence files

Production of health region level data requires geographic coding tools. Since census geography does not recognize provincial health region boundaries, a health region-to-census geography correspondence file provides the linkage between health regions and their component census geographic units. These correspondence files use the smallest relevant census geographic unit.

To accommodate various data sources producing health region level data, linkage has been created for both 2016 and 2011 Census geographies. The layout of these correspondence files includes the seven-digit Standard geographic classification (SGC) code. The SGC code uniquely represents census subdivisions (CSD).

Most health regions comprise entire CSDs. However, there are some cases where health regions do not conform to municipalities. The 2016 Census linkage was created at the dissemination block level. Even these smaller geographic areas sometimes straddle health region boundaries. In those cases, the entire dissemination block was assigned, in conjunction with the affected province, to just one health region and therefore represents a 'best fit' with census geography.

Other data sources use postal codes to geographically reference data records. These data are first converted to census geographic units using the Statistics Canada postal code conversion file, and then linked to health regions based on the correspondence file.

The dissemination area/dissemination block-to-health region (DA/DB-to-HR) correspondence files provided in this publication are available in CSV format.

Record layout

The record layout of the files is shown in the following tables.

Table 4
2016 Census health region correspondence file layout

Table 5
2011 Census health region correspondence file layout

2016

Health region–to–2016 Census dissemination blocks available in CSV format.

• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Prince Edward Island
• Nova Scotia
• New Brunswick
• Quebec
• Ontario
  • Public Health Units
  • Local Health Integration Networks
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Territories

2016 Comprehensive Correspondence files

All Canada Correspondence files

2011

Health region–to–2011 Census dissemination blocks available in CSV format.

• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Prince Edward Island
• Nova Scotia
• New Brunswick
• Quebec
• Ontario
  • Public Health Units
  • Local Health Integration Networks
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Territories

2011 Comprehensive Correspondence files

All Canada Correspondence files

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