Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names
Up to January 1st, 2018

Release date: November 14, 2018
More information PDF version

The Interim List of Changes to Municipal boundaries, Status and Names provides a summary of the changes to census subdivisions, such as municipal boundary or name changes that were processed since the production of the previous Interim List and have an effective date on or before January 1, 2018. This report presents the changes which have been processed by the Statistical Registers and Geography Division based on the information received and, therefore, may not include all the changes that may have occurred in this time period.

About this product

Preface

Census subdivision (CSD) is the general term for municipalities (as determined by provincial/territorial legislation) or areas treated as municipal equivalents for statistical purposes (e.g., Indian reserves, Indian settlements and unorganized territories). Municipal status is defined by laws in effect in each province and territory in Canada.

Census subdivisions are an important component of the geographic structure used at Statistics Canada for collecting and disseminating data. As such, the Statistical Registers and Geography Division carefully monitors and updates changes to the boundaries, names and other relevant information related to CSD. These changes are published in this Interim List to warn users doing trend or longitudinal analysis that the areas being compared have changed over time.

Content considerations

The summary data in this product reflect municipal changes in effect that were processed since the production of the previous Interim List and have an effective date on or before January 1, 2018. Notifications of the changes that take place during this period are obtained from the provincial gazettes and statutes, the orders of the Municipal Board and special provincial acts.

Boundary changes are compiled from legal descriptions and accompanying maps into the National Geographic Database (NGD) using the best available information. Census subdivision boundary filesNote 1 are published on an occasional basis for public use. Any corrections or additional changes reported back to the Statistical Registers and Geography Division are represented in the subsequent issue of the Interim List.

An important reference for users of the Interim List is the Standard Geographical Classification manual. It is composed of:

We welcome any suggestions on the presentation of the Interim List or the planned frequency. Those users requiring more information about changes to census subdivisions should contact us by e-mail at STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca, or by phone at 1-800-263-1136.

Geographic changes

After a census, Statistics Canada makes public the total number of persons and the total number of dwellings counted in a given area, for example, in a municipality. By the next census, the municipality's geographic boundaries may have changed, especially if it has annexed part of another municipality or has merged with another municipality. When a boundary change occurs between censuses, the population and dwelling counts for the geographic areas affected by the boundary change are revised (adjusted). Once the dwellings affected by the boundary change are identified, it is possible to establish the population affected. These counts are then added to the geographic area that has increased in size and subtracted from the geographic area that has decreased in size.

Tables

Table 1 Changes to census subdivisions by province and territory is a table that presents all types of changes received to date, with 2016 population adjusted to modified census subdivision limits, where applicable. The table is available for download for all of Canada.

It is important to highlight that the layout of this table has been redesigned to simplify the presentation of changes to CSD and to reduce duplication of information. In the new layout, the information is presented using the assumption that a CSD may be gaining or losing information, be it area, population, a combination of both area and population, as well as codes, names and types. **Please note that a gaining CSD may have more than one entry in the table if more than one losing CSD is associated with the same transaction. Records can be grouped by transaction using the File Number field.

The record layout of the redesigned table is as follows:

Gaining CSDuid = the code that uniquely identifies the CSD that is gaining information in the transaction. This code is based on the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). In order to uniquely identify each CSD in Canada, the two-digit province/territory (PR) code and the two-digit census division (CD) code must precede the CSD code.

Gaining CSDname = the name associated with the CSD that is gaining information in the transaction.

Gaining CSDtype = the CSD type associated with the CSD that is gaining information in the transaction. The census subdivision type accompanies the census subdivision name in order to distinguish CSDs with the same name within a given province or territory.

Gaining Change Code = the code that is associated with the type of change of the gaining CSD. A full list of change codes and their meanings can be found in the description of Table 2.

Gaining Action = a brief description associated with the change code of the gaining CSD.

Losing CSDuid = the code that uniquely identifies the CSD that is losing information in the transaction. This code is based on the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). In order to uniquely identify each CSD in Canada, the two-digit province/territory (PR) code and the two-digit census division (CD) code must precede the CSD code.

Losing CSDname = the name associated with the CSD that is losing information in the transaction.

Losing CSDtype = the CSD type associated with the CSD that is losing information in the transaction. The census subdivision type accompanies the census subdivision name in order to distinguish CSDs with the same name within a given province or territory.

Losing Change Code = the code that is associated with the type of change of the losing CSD. A full list of change codes and their meanings can be found in the description of Table 2.

Losing Action = a brief description associated with the change code of the losing CSD.

Losing Census Population Affected = the population count, derived from the 2016 Census, that is removed from the losing CSD and added to the gaining CSD if applicable.

Effective Date = the date on which the change was effective.

File number = the code that identifies the transaction number for a given change or set of changes. The code is assigned by Statistical Registers and Geography Division for the purpose of logging CSD changes. The first two digits are equal to the province code in which the affected CSDs are located. The following four digits are assigned sequentially within the tracking system as the transactions are entered.

Table 2 Number of census subdivision changes by type of change is a table that presents the number of CSD changes according to the type of change. The type of change is represented by a change code. The change codes represent the following types of changes:

Notes

No changes to census subdivision were processed during the time period covered by this Interim List for the following provinces and territories: Nova Scotia, Yukon and Northwest Territories

The Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status and Names has also been added to GeoSuite web, 92-150-X. You can view the full list by clicking on the CSD layer from the Hierarchy of standard geographic areas for dissemination, 2016 Census window.

More information

ISSN: 1715-0329

Note of appreciation

Canada owes the success of its statistical system to a long-standing partnership between Statistics Canada, the citizens of Canada, its businesses, governments and other institutions. Accurate and timely statistical information could not be produced without their continued co-operation and goodwill.

Standards of service to the public

Statistics Canada is committed to serving its clients in a prompt, reliable and courteous manner. To this end, the Agency has developed standards of service which its employees observe in serving its clients.

Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2018

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 92F0009X

Frequency: Occasional

Ottawa

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