Skip to Main Content

GEOG 204 Tutorial -- Census of Canada / NHS: Census Geography

The Illustrated Glossary

  1. Go to Statistics Canada's site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-debut-eng.html.
  2. Click on the Census program button, located near the middle of the top navigation bar on the page. Scroll down and click on Geography under Information and Services, and click on Illustrated Glossary under Reference documents.
  3. Click on Dissemination area or Census tract, depending on what you have been assigned, and then click on Detailed definition under the illustration.
     

    Questions for discussion:

    Dissemination Areas Census Tracts
    What are dissemination areas? What are census tracts, and where are they found?
    A dissemination area is represented by a unique eight-digit unique identifier (UID). In order to uniquely identify a dissemination area, what three elements must make up this eight-digit UID? A census tract is represented by a ten-digit (decimal counts as one digit) unique identifier (UID). In order to uniquely identify a census tract, what two elements must make up this ten-digit UID?
  • You would need the complete eight-digit UID for a dissemination area or the complete 10-digit UID for a census tract to determine the location of that dissemination area or census tract in Canada. Why?
  • Why do census tract codes include decimals?

Standard Geographical Classification

Reference maps

  • From Reference maps on the Statistics Canada web site (from the Census program home page, scroll down and click on Geography under Information and Services), click on Census Tract, and download and open the 2011 Prince George map (note: other years are available from this page).  Click on Inset / Carton 1 within the map to view the census tracts within the City of Prince George.  (Note: If you are viewing the PDF in a viewer, the link within the map may not work.  Try downloading the map to your desktop.)  What is the full ten-digit census tract UID for the census tract in which the UNBC campus is located? (Hint: Part of the information you will need to answer this question is in the map legend.)
  • Going back to the Reference maps page, open the dissemination area reference map for that same census tract. What is the full eight-digit dissemination area UID for the dissemination area in which the UNBC campus is located?

Subject Librarian

Profile Photo
Susie Wilson
Contact:
250-960-6607

Contact Us