Older Census Data - EA Level and Reference Maps

June 29, 2020

Question

I have a research team looking at sub-municipal population trends for Prince George, BC/Regional District of Fraser-Fort George hopefully going back to the 1940s. We get back to 1981 just fine, but prior to that I am running in to a wall looking for EA-level data/statistics and corresponding reference maps. Do these exist somewhere? I have found the EA-level files available from U of T, and I swear I’ve looked at the documentation but I can’t find a map of Enumeration Areas. If anyone could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Answer

The library compiled information, available here.

I searched the Library’s collection of published census reports from 1941 to 1976, and I found limited information on enumeration areas. That said, many of the instructions for enumerators mentioned that maps had been distributed to the enumerators; some of the census reports included lists of EA codes; and I found EA-level data from other resources online. I feel all this suggests that EA-level data might exist for 1976, 1971, 1966, 1961, and possibly 1956. Have you tried contacting demography or DLI to see if they might have it?

While I could not find maps in StatCan reports showing EA boundaries, I found records of EA maps at Library and Archives, as well as the University of Toronto. Furthermore, there are a couple of maps on Scholars GeoPortal that contain EA-level data; these maps do not seem to delineate the boundaries of the EAs, but if you zoom in close enough, you can see numbered blocks on the maps. From the datasets, could a user figure out which blocks are included in each EA? I’m not familiar enough with GIS, but maybe Geo Help would know? (Links to Scholars GeoPortal are in the attached document.)

In general I think that most of the information that is held at Statcan is from 1971 to currently however it might be worth it for you to check with demography anyhow.

Geography had this to say about 1976 and 1971 data when I reached out to see what was available.

In terms of digitally, our data in fichiersGEOfiles go back to 1971. Each folder does have the Geographic Attribute File (GAF) that contains census geographic information at the Enumeration Area level for all of Canada. It may not have everything your client is looking for but each record includes population and dwelling counts, land area, names, unique identifiers, and geographic codes for linkages with other census boundaries. Unfortunately we do not have access to our own library of historical documents at the moment for information prior to 1971.

2006 Census Dictionary Now Available

January 29, 2010 RELEASE: 2006 Census Dictionary in PDF format

The 2006 Census Dissemination Project is pleased to announce the official release of the 2006 Census Dictionary in PDF format.

As of 8:30 a.m. (Ottawa time) today (January 29, 2010), the 2006 Census Dictionary in PDF format is available for free to all users, via the Internet.

This product can be accessed via the Statistics Canada home page, by clicking on the 'Census' button, selecting the 'Reference materials' link under the 2006 Census header and selecting the '2006 Census Dictionary' link (PDF version link is located in the left-hand sidebar). This product can also be directly accessed through the 'Spotlight' section of the census home page.

Please note that this PDF version of the 2006 Census Dictionary being released today is currently an 'un-indexed' version. Work is continuing on the development of an index which will be incorporated into the PDF version later in the first quarter of 2010.

Thank you.

Policy on Codebooks for RDC Datasets

Question

I am part of a team looking at the National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses (NSWHN) survey. At our initial meeting at the RDC in Toronto, we were told that the codebook (containing the data dictionary with frequencies for all variables) could not be made available to us outside the RDC.

My question is: why not?

Other RDC-available surveys make data dictionaries freely available on the Web. Could someone tell me why an exception is being made for this survey? Even just a record layout, without any associated frequencies, would be useful. It would make life so much simpler, especially for a research group scattered clear
across the country.

Answer

I talked to the subject matter and it's not general practice to have codebooks and data dictionaries from master files available to DLI. Only a few subject matters did and only after ensuring that there is no confidential data released. The author division had no intention of making this codebook for the Health Nurses Survey outside of the RDC. They may go back and look at the codebook to see if they can release but at the present time, they don't have any resources to do so and don't know when they would be able to do so.

For most author divisions, they only release the codebook for PUMF which ensure that no confidential data are released. What is on our Web are the PUMF codebook and only a few exceptions have masterfiles codebook.

Inquiry on "Gross Rent" variable in 2001 Census

Question

A student has asked me about the following 2001 Census table:

http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?Temporal=2001&PID=58914&APATH=5&GID=431584&METH=1&PTYPE=55440&THEME=55&FOCUS=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0&PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=521&GK=CMA&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&FL=0&RL=0&FREE=0

This table shows ‘Gross Rent as a percentage of 2000 Household Income’. What is confusing under ‘gross rent’ is the presence of both a “50% and over” category and a “50-99%” category. Why have both categories, and what is the practical difference between them?

The 2001 Census Dictionary (http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Reference/dict/appendices/92-378-XIE02002.pdf ) does not include the 50-99% category for this variable.

EXCERPT FROM 2001 CENSUS DICTIONARY

Owner.s Major Payments or Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household

Income

Part A . Plain Language Definition

Percentage of a household.s average total monthly income which is spent on shelter-related expenses.

Those expenses include the monthly rent (for tenants) or the mortgage payment (for owners) and the

costs of electricity, heat, municipal services, etc. The percentage is calculated by dividing the total

shelter-related expenses by the household.s total monthly income and multiplying the result by 100.

Part B . Detailed Definition

Refers to the proportion of average monthly 2000 total household income which is spent on owner's major

payments (in the case of owner-occupied dwellings) or on gross rent (in the case of tenant-occupied

dwellings). This concept is illustrated below:

(a) Owner-occupied non-farm dwellings:

Owner's major payments X 100 = ___%

(2000 total annual household income) /12

(b) Tenant-occupied non-farm dwellings:

Gross rent X 100 = ___%

(2000 total annual household income) /12

Censuses: 2001 (1/5 sample), 1996 (1/5 sample), 1991 (1/5 sample), 1986 (1/5 sample), 1981

(1/5 sample)

Reported for: Private households in owner- or tenant-occupied non-farm dwellings

Question Nos.: Derived variable: Questions 51, H6 (a), (b), (c), H7, H8 (a), (c) and (f)

Responses: Not applicable

Remarks: The response categories used in the census products are as follows: less than 15%;

15-19%; 20-24%; 25-29%; 30-34%; 35-39%; 40-49%; 50% and over.

Any thoughts?

Answer

1) I had to consult with the Census division for a specific explanation in regards to your question. Their answer is as follows:

"Gross rent Refers to the proportion of average monthly 2000 total household income which is spent on owner's major payments (in the case of owner-occupied dwellings) or on gross rent (in the case of tenant-occupied dwellings).

The relatively high shelter cost to household income ratios for some households may have resulted from the difference in the reference period for shelter cost and household income data. The reference period for shelter cost data (gross rent for tenants, and owner's major payments for owners) is 2001, while household income is reported for the year 2000. As well, for some households the 2000 household income may represent income for only part of a year.

In the category "Average monthly total of all shelter expenses paid by tenant households", "Gross rent" includes the monthly rent and the costs of electricity, heat and municipal services.

In the case below, 4,795 represents 50% and over while 2,920 represents 50-99%. Therefore 1,875 spend over 99% of their total household income on Gross rent."


I hope this clarifies the numbers shown in the table.

As well, we suggest you use the numbers provided in this table cautiously. There are notes in regards to the reference period for shelter cost and household income data wich you may access by clicking on the link "More information on this product is available here.", provided under the table you have referenced.

2) I received a similar response from our Census consultant, and I also received some information regarding why the 50-99% category wasn't included in the 2001 Census Dictionary. The consultant concluded that this was an oversight because the dictionary is produced before some of the standard products are released:

"The dictionary is usually produced before the standard products are released and at times after analysis of the data by our subject matter experts they may decide to include additional breakdowns or to remove breakdowns do to the quality of the data."

However, she is going to suggest that the 50-99% category be added to the 2011 Dictionary, and asked me to thank you for bringing the issue to her attention.

DA Maps for PEI

Question

Why are dissemination area reference maps unavailable for PEI under "Dissemination Area Reference Maps, by Census Tracts, for Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations"
(http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss2006/Maps/CTDA_e.jsp).

Answer

Maps for PEI aren't available through that page because PEI does not have CMAs or CAs which are part of the Census Tract program. (There are no census tracts in PEI). PEI has non-tracted Census Agglomerationss.

Dissemination area reference maps for PEI can be found under "Dissemination Area Reference Maps, by Non-tracted Census Agglomerations"
(http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss2006/Maps/CADA_e.jsp)

Datum used for LONG and LAT in PCCF

Question

In the PCCF+ 4h program - I know the longtitude and latitude format is xx.xxxxxx and -xxx.xxxxxx, respectively, but what Datum was used for the LONG and LAT? Options would be NAD83 or NAD27?

Answer

From the reference guide for the PCCF & PCCF+ (Statistics Canada Catalogue 4 no. 92F0153GIE):

2001 Census geography features

* Within major urban areas, postal code address ranges are linked to the National Geographic Base (NGB) and wherever possible, a block-face link is identified.

* The 2001 postal code conversion process has produced some cases of reduced data quality. A part of the process generated cases where a postal code was assigned to all blocks located along a road. This occurred when a postal code could be geocoded to a road but not to a specific address range. The system then assigned the postal code to all 2001 blocks linked to the road identifier. In some cases, especially if the road was very long, this process was not appropriate and has resulted in poorer data quality. 4,522 postal codes in the PCCF were corrected where postal codes were related to ‘Main’ postal delivery installations. The records related to these postal codes were re-geocoded so that they are linked to the correct 2001 Census geography. Another group of records (associated with 40 postal codes) with incorrect census subdivision linkages in the province of Québec were also re-geocoded and corrected in the PCCF.

* A geographic unit, the block, has been added to the standard hierarchy.

* A statistical area classification code (SAC) has been added to the census subdivision.

* All the spatial information is now based on the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83).

Help with interpreting exported data from GeoSuite

Question

I have exported some date from GeoSuite at the Block level for all the blocks within DA 59290066. There is a field in there for UARA, which I assume is Urban Area/Rural Area. The data for this field mystifies me. I seem to get one of two values for these 48 blocks: 9959 or 316. Does anyone know what these figures mean? I have been through the GeoSuite Reference Guide, and it has not been a help.

Answer

The codes 9959 and 316 correspond to the the geographic codes for the urban/rural areas for British Columbia Rural Area and Gibsons (respectively).

You can perform a search for these codes using the "Code search feature" and selecting UA/RA as the level of geography. They are not population counts - they are simply the codes which identify the regions in the greater hierarchy of geographies.

Definition for Census "20% Sample"

Question

Sometimes I get asked how the "20% sample" for the results from the 2B Form of the Census can be construed as answers for the "whole" (ie. 100%) Canadian population.

Would anyone care to give me a phrase or two about how they would explain that the results of the "20% sample" can be trusted as an extrapolation for Canada as a whole?

Responses

1) Depending how technical of an answer you wish to provide, the 2001 Census Handbook has a straightforward explanation for the use of the 20 percent sample in the Census on page 3. For more technical explanations of the sample and coverage in the Census, check out the technical reports, 92-395-XIE (about sampling and weighting) and 92-394-XIE (about coverage). Section 4 of 92-395-XIE addresses the estimation methodology used in the Census. It may be useful to read Section 2 in this same report first because it describes the data processing used with the Census. There are a lot of techniques employed in providing Canadians with the final Census results and this section might help put in perspective the overall process used.

2) Here is a brief description of weighting from a census FAQ we have...

Many of the census questions are asked only for a sample of 1 in 5 households. In order to make the results for the sample refer to the total population, the answers to these questions for each household in the sample are multiplied by a weight. The weight for each household depends on the exact characteristics of the household, but is generally around 5.

For an in-depth explanation on sampling and weighting in the census please refer to the technical report:
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Reference/tech_rep/sampling/index.cfm

Generation Definition

Question

A researcher would like more details concerning the definition of "generation status". Here is the definition in the census dictionary:

Generation status of the respondent, i.e. "1st", "2nd" or "3rd" + generation, refers to whether the respondent or the respondent's parents were born in or outside Canada.

I'm probably missing something but how do they know if they are the 3rd generation living in Canada?

I'm assuming they use answers on grand-children (3rd generation), children (2nd generation) and parents (1st generation).

Is this answer derived from other questions?

Answer

Census questions on birthplace of parents and birthplace of respondent are used to define the first, second and third-plus generations in Canada. Data on generational status refers to the population aged 15 and over, as the 2001 parental birthplace question is asked only of this population.

First generation refers to people aged 15 years and over who were born outside Canada, that is the foreign-born. For the most part, these are people who are now, or once were immigrants to Canada. Included in the foreign-born are a small number of people born outside Canada to parents who are Canadian citizens by birth. In addition, non-permanent residents are included in the foreign-born in this study for the 2001 Census. (Non-permanent residents were not
enumerated in the 1971 Census.) Non-permanent residents are defined as people from another country in Canada at the time of the Census on employment and student authorizations, Minister’s permits and refugee claimants, as well as any family member living with these temporary residents.

Second generation refers to people aged 15 years and over who were born in Canada and had at least one parent born outside Canada. These are the adult children of immigrants. The definition of second generation does not distinguish whether it was the mother or father who was foreign-born.

Third-plus generation refers to people aged 15 years and over who were born in Canada and their parents were born in Canada. As such this group can be described as the third and subsequent generations.

Place of birth (including Canada) is based on current national boundary.

Census Geography Reference Material

Question

A user here is hoping to find a non-PDF machine readable source that lists all changes in Census Subdivisions from 1981 through 2001, together with the coding and the CSD Type after each change. I suspect that she will have to go through each of the Standard Geographical Classifications, but hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Answer

The same information in a somewhat more usable format, ie as xls files, is available from the Interim list of changes to municipal boundaries, under DLI. We have pulled the files as per:
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/datalib/codebooks/cstdli/92f0009xpb.htm

On the DLI ftp site, the files are (or rather were) in
/dli/geography/1991/document/interim/ and in /dli/geography/1996/interim/