census geographic unit of Canada
Let an agent identify a Canadian census geographic unit by type, code and census year, relate it to other units, and use the right unit for statistics.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Unit Which unit it is.
Type
Division, subdivision, metropolitan area and others.
Unit type
Type and definition.
- Which type of census unit is this? definition
- How is that type defined? provenance
Code and year
Identifier, scheme and geographic vintage; geographic reference date kept apart from Census Day.
Code
SGC code or DGUID and its census year.
- What is the unit's code? provenance
- For which census year is it valid? boundary
Hierarchy How units relate.
Nesting
Containing and contained units.
Containment
Parents and children.
- Which units contain this one? definition
- Which units does it contain? definition
Alternative hierarchies
Overlaps and relationships without exact nesting.
Overlap
Population centres and metropolitan areas.
- Which population centre or metropolitan area overlaps it? definition
- Does it cross provincial boundaries? boundary
Delineation How boundaries are drawn.
Criteria
Population and commuting thresholds.
Thresholds
Population, density and commuting rules.
- Which thresholds define this unit type? measurement
- Did the unit meet them in this census? measurement
Change
Boundary changes between censuses.
Boundary change
What changed and why.
- Did the boundary change since the last census? provenance
- Is a correspondence file available? provenance
Data Statistics for the unit.
Census data
Profiles and tables.
Data product
Table, census year, variables.
- Which data product gives this statistic? provenance
- What is the population of the unit? measurement
Confidentiality
Suppression and rounding.
Disclosure control
Rounding and suppression rules.
- Are values rounded or suppressed for confidentiality? boundary
- How reliable are small-area values? measurement
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.PLC
- Other names and narrower kinds
- population centre in Canada, Census agglomeration in Canada, census subdivision in Canada, census division of Canada, census division of Manitoba, northern community, fire district of Prince Edward Island
What it is Filled
Any of the geographic areas that Statistics Canada defines in its Standard Geographical Classification and census geography to collect and publish census data, such as census divisions, census subdivisions, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, population centres and dissemination areas.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent identify a Canadian census geographic unit by type, code and census year, relate it to other units, and use the right unit for statistics.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Statistical areas, not necessarily legal municipalities, though census subdivisions often match municipalities.
- Boundaries and codes are tied to a census year.
- Some units nest in a hierarchy; others, such as population centres, cut across it.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- mix boundaries from different census years without saying so
- invent codes
- attempt to identify individuals from small-area data
May
- identify units and retrieve published statistics
- explain definitions
Moral aspects Filled
- confidentiality of census respondents
- accurate representation of communities
Who is affected
- residents of the areas
- users of census data
Owners Filled
Steward
Statistics Canada
Master systems
- Statistics Canada census geography files and the Standard Geographical Classification
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q5616099 - registry parent class
related
- Canadian census - the census geography
- Statistics Canada - the national statistical office
- municipality - a legal local government
- dissemination area - depending on the unit type
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.census-geographic-unit-of-canada
- Wikidata: Q1053463 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1053463)
- Standard Geographical Classification code: province (2) + census division (2) + census subdivision (3) for SGC units
- DGUID: 10-21 characters: vintage (4), type (1), schema (4), unique identifier used by Statistics Canada before 2021; structure documented in 2019
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Statistical areas: size and population belong to individual units and census years.
Recognition required Filled
- Shown as boundaries on Statistics Canada maps and boundary files
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- name the type and code of a census unit
- find the units that contain or overlap a place
- explain thresholds such as those for census metropolitan areas
- retrieve census data for a unit from Statistics Canada
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Comparing data across census years with changed boundaries
- Mistaking a census unit for a legal municipality
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) of Statistics Canada
- Statistics Act of Canada
Context of use required Filled
- Organising the collection and publication of census and other statistics for places in Canada.
- province and territory
- census division
- census subdivision
- census metropolitan area
- census agglomeration
- census tract
- population centre
- dissemination area
- aggregate dissemination area
- dissemination block
- designated place
- economic region
- federal electoral district
Sources Filled
- Q1053463 - identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks
- Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2021 - Introduction - SGC units and codes
- Dissemination Geography Unique Identifier: Definition and Structure - DGUID structure
- Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021 - definitions of census geographic units
Open questions
- Should each unit type, such as census metropolitan area, have its own entry?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1053463/spec.json