content: a few key indicators from each Census component (topic); tables provide counts, % distribution and sometimes % change figures from 2001 Census
customization: user can select specific geographic area(s) and sort columns
smallest geographic area: Census Subdivision (CSD) = municipality level
other features: Some tables include a "figure": a ready-made chart or graph.
2006 Census Trends
content: 85 key indicators from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 Censuses
customization: users can compare how one key indicator has changed in different regions over 15 years (e.g. % visible minorities), or compare how all indicators (or a chosen subset) have changed for one region; can sort some columns
smallest geographic area: Census Subdivision (CSD) = municipality level
other features: Some tables include a "figure": a ready-made chart or graph.
A profile is "a collection of characteristics for a given set of geographic areas.”
You always choose the PLACE first, then topic, when viewing profile tables.
Profile Tables usually present each characteristic (also called a 'variable') individually:
e.g. sex: number of females in a specific area
Some profiles combine (cross-tabulate) two or more characteristics:
e.g. sex and age: number of females in a specific age bracket, in a specific area
If you're looking for more complex combinations of variables, you need the Topic-Based Tabulations instead.
There are several kinds of Profile Tables, which focus on different levels of detail and interests - see below:
content: profiles present community-level information from the 2006 Census of Population; over 200 characteristics
customization: can compare two places, side-by-side in table
smallest geographic area: Census Subdivision (CSD) = city/municipality level
other features: can map selected variables
content: over 200 characteristics
customization: can select categories from drop-down menu, or select specific variables using the View Builder tool
smallest geographic area: Census Tract (CT) = neighbourhood; average CT population is 4,000, but it can range from 2,500-8,000 people; CT's only exist in urbanized areas
other features: can find census tract data by searching by postal code or map (Geocode 2006); or by using a CMA/CA code and census tract name
content: very detailed profile tables for five topics: Aboriginal peoples; Labour; Ethnic origin and visible minorities; Immigration and place of birth; Place of work.
customization: can change geographic level and select specific variables using drop-down menus
smallest geographic area: Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) = regional district level
content: these are the MOST DETAILED profiles available; they include every Census variable (2,175 characteristics). You can learn more about cumulative profiles and release topics here.
smallest geographic area: Dissemination Area (DA); these are the only tables available below the Census Tract (CT) level; each DA is several square blocks with between 400-700 people: one-tenth the size of a CT. All of Canada is divided into DA's.
note: UBC users can access Dissemination Area (DA) tables directly through Abacus Dataverse Network the Canadian Census Analyser and . You do not need to request them via email from the Statistics Canada website.
access: Below are different ways to access the Cumulative Profiles. They differ in the way you look up the tables, how easy they are to search, and how you can export or display the statistics.
You always choose the TOPIC first, then place, when viewing topic-based tabulations.
These tables typically combine at least four variables to provide a much more in-depth portrait of an area than the Profiles. Many of these variables are broken down to a very fine level of detail. Some tables are available at the Census Tract level, but many are not, due to the need for confidentiality.
An Example of a Topic-Based Tabulation:
Population Groups (28), Age Groups (8), Sex (3) and Selected Demographic, Cultural, Labour Force, Educational and Income Characteristics (309), for the Total Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data
To make sense of what this table can tell you, it helps to separate out the variables (also called 'dimensions') that it includes:
Working with Topic-Based Tabulations:
When you view this table on the Statistics Canada website (in HTML), the only things that you can change about the display are the level of geography, and the Population Groups and Age Groups. To do anything else, you must download the statistics into CSV or TAB formats to view in a spreadsheet program like Excel, or into IVT format to analyze in Beyond 20/20 software.