Selected 2006 Census product attributes

Variables and stubsets

Census variables can be produced directly from a census question (e.g., sex, marital status, ethnic origin) or derived from the aggregation or manipulation of responses (e.g., population in the labour force). For a comprehensive list of census variables and their definitions, please consult the 2006 Census Dictionary.

Many census variables are broken into categories or 'stubs.' For example, 'Italian' is a stub within the ethnic origin variable and '$80,000 and over' is a stub included under the employment income groups. The information disseminated in a given table is organized by variable category.

For the stubsets used in the topic-based tabulations, please consult the list of topic-based tabulations by variable category and, where applicable, select a table to see the related variable categories. A list of variables and stubsets found in the cumulative profile is presented on the census web pages.

Output formats

Statistics Canada packages data in several media for greater accessibility. Census data are usually presented in Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) and Beyond 20/20. Many of the online tables are now published in print-friendly, CSV (comma-separated values) and PRN (tab-separated values) formats. Some reference products are downloadable in portable document format (PDF). Census geography products are available in PDF, ARC/INFO^®, Geography Mark-up Language (GML) and MapInfo^® formats.

Dissemination of data by level of geography

Statistics Canada ensures respondent confidentiality while maintaining a high level of quality assurance. As a result, data for most variables are available down to census tracts or dissemination areas.

Users who require custom area creation can obtain the geographic delineation according to their specific boundary definitions.

For descriptions of the 2006 Census standard levels of geography, please see Appendix.