Profiles and Topic Based Tabulations:
Census Profile tables are used to find characteristics of places. Detailed profile tables provide a statistical overview of all places in Canada by level of census geography. In 2011, Community Profiles (2006 and earlier) changed their name and are now refered to as Census Profiles.
For quick access to basic information at the community level (cities and towns, reserves), the Community Profiles/Census Profiles are a good place to start. You can search by place name, or browse by province or territory. Results of your search include comparative data for the community and its province.
Topic based tabulations are used to find informaton about subjects such as language, immigration, employment, education etc. They provide more detailed informaton and provide a more comprehensive portrait compared to the Profile tables.
Access:
Two options are offered:
HTML, which displays a table for a single place at one time. Note that downloading options appear on a tab at the top of the page--CSV, TAB. IVT (Beyond 20/20), XML.
B20/20, which opens the entire table but allows for customizing both variables and geography.
Electronic Profiles and topic based tabulations can be accessed through Dataverse and through Statistics Canada
These file in Dataverse cover all levels of geography listed above, plus dissemination areas (the smallest geographical units) and forward sortation areas. Tables are in Beyond 20/20 and ASCII
Beyond 20/20