Great tool for identifying codes for different Census geographic levels.
Statistics Canada uses several approaches to dividing Canada geographically for releasing Census data. It does not use 6-digit postal codes. Instead, Census areas are based upon:
The tabs above are arranged from largest to smallest area. Quotations in the tabs are taken from the Illustrated Glossary.
For a visual of how the areas relate to each other, see Statcan's Hierarchy of Standard Geographic Areas for Dissemination.
Every geographic unit has a unique number.
Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) or Census Agglomeration (CA)
An urban area which contains "one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core)." A CMA/CA may cover the same geographic area as a Census District (CD).
note: the Vancouver CMA has the same boundaries as the Vancouver Census District (CD), which is the Greater Vancouver Regional District.
Image source: Statistics Canada. (2021). Census Metropolitan Area. Illustrated Glossary. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/cma-rmr/cma-rmr-eng.htm
A regional district (in BC). It is a "group of neighboring municipalities joined together for the purposes of regional planning and managing common services (such as police or ambulance services)." A legal entity, created by provincial governments.
A CD may (but does not always) cover the same geographic area as its corresponding CMA/CA.
Image source: Statistics Canada. (2021). Census Division. Illustrated Glossary. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/cd-dr/cd-dr-eng.htm
A city. It is an "area that is a municipality or an area that is deemed to be equivalent to a municipality." A legal entity,
Image source: Statistics Canada. (2021). Census Subdivision. Illustrated Glossary. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/csd-sdr/csd-sdr-eng.htm [red border added]
Aggregate Dissemination Area (ADA)
"An aggregate dissemination area (ADA) is a dissemination geography created for the Census. ADAs cover the entire country and, where possible, have a population between 5,000 and 15,000 based on the previous census population counts. ADAs are created by grouping existing dissemination geographic areas, including census tracts (CTs), census subdivisions (CSDs) or dissemination areas (DAs). ADA boundaries respect provincial, territorial, census division (CD), census metropolitan area (CMA) and census agglomeration (CA) boundaries."
Source: Statistics Canada. (2021). Aggregate Dissemination Area. Illustrated Glossary. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/ada/ada-eng.htm
Roughly equivalent to a neighbourhood. Only found in urban areas.
"Census tracts (CTs) are small, relatively stable geographic areas that usually have a population of fewer than 7,500 persons, based on data from the previous Census of Population Program. They are located in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and in census agglomerations (CAs) that had a core population of 50,000 or more in the previous census.Every CT has a 6-digit number.
1. Search Census Profiles by postal code, then "map"
2. Use GeoSearch
3. Look at a PDF Reference Map of the area
Image source: Statistics Canada. (2021). Census Tract. Illustrated Glossary. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/ct-sr/ct-sr-eng.htm
A small area "composed of one or more neighbouring dissemination blocks with an average population of 400 to 700 persons." All of Canada is divided into dissemination areas. This is the smallest area for which statistics are publicly released.
Use GeoSearch to locate the boundaries for Dissemination Areas.
Image source: Statistics Canada. (2021). Dissemination Area. Illustrated Glossary. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/da-ad/da-ad-eng.htm
An area equivalent to a city block. "Bounded on all sides by roads and/or boundaries of Statistics Canada’s standard geographic areas for dissemination. The dissemination block is the smallest geographic area for which population and dwelling counts are disseminated. Dissemination blocks cover all the territory of Canada." This is the smallest geographic area measured by the Census. Statistics at this level are only available at secure Research Data Centres.
Use GeoSearch to locate the boundaries for Dissemination Blocks.
Image source: Statistics Canada. (2021). Dissemination Block. Illustrated Glossary. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/db-id/db-id-eng.htm
A geographic entity created by Canada Post to represent where people receive mail, not where they live.
Image source: Denelson83 on Wikimedia Commons [Public domain]
Statistics Canada does not release Census data by 6-digit postal code. Although you can search the Census Profiles by Postal Code, the results will be for the closest matching Dissemination Area, which is larger. The boundaries will not match.
If you are willing to put in a lot of work, you can do more sophisticated matching of postal codes to Census geographic areas for large numbers of postal codes. You will need to use Statistics Canada's Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF) or Postal Code Conversion File Plus (PCCF+) to 'translate' 6-digit postal codes into the closest Census boundaries. Due to Canada Post licence restrictions, the PCCF is only available upon request from KPU's Data Librarian. For more info on the PCCF and PCCF+, see this guide from Queen's University Library.
Maps: Not available. Canada Post only produces FSA and "Letter Carrier Walk" maps.
The first 3-digits of a postal code are called the Forward Sortation Area (FSA) code, e.g. V3W.
FSA's are smaller than a city (Census Subdivision), but larger than a Census Tract.
You can view Census Profiles and selected Census Data Tables by Forward Sortation Area (FSA).
![Denelson83 on Wikimedia Commons [Public domain]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Components_of_a_Canadian_postal_code.png){kind=link}