New Guidelines for census metropolitan area name change requests

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

The previous convention for the naming of a census metropolitan area (CMA) was based on the name of the principal urban area or largest city at the time the CMA was first formed. This standard has been used since the 1971 Census. Through the years, the CMA names have remained relatively stable. The most important changes resulted from name changes to the census subdivisions (resulting from municipal dissolutions, incorporations and name changes).

In recent years, Statistics Canada has received a number of requests to change the CMA naming convention to include additional component municipality names in the name of the CMA. In response to these requests, Statistics Canada has adopted a revised naming convention.

The CMA Naming Convention is revised as of May 25, 2009. The key revision to the convention is the addition of Guidelines for CMA Name Change Requests for municipalities. The existing CMA names will be maintained for the next Census unless a formal request for a name change is received according to the guidelines. The Guidelines for CMA Name Change Requests are described in Appendix 1.

As of May 25, 2009 the name of the CMA of Abbotsford is changed to Abbotsford–Mission.

Report a problem on this page

Is something not working? Is there information outdated? Can't find what you're looking for?

Please contact us and let us know how we can help you.

Privacy notice

Date modified: