Step 1: Geography Type

In the first step of the CEA Tools you are asked to choose the type of geographic area you want to analyze. On the left of the screen you will see radio buttons allowing three options: Census Sub-Division, Census Division and Economic Region.

Census Subdivision (CSD) is the census equivalent of a lower-tier municipality in Ontario. A CSD may also be an area treated as a municipal equivalent for statistical purposes. So, a CSD can be a town, township, city, First Nation/reserve or unorganized territory.

In Ontario, a Census Division (CD) generally corresponds to a county, a regional municipality or a regional district. With municipal amalgamations, some CDs are represented by "cities," as in the City of Ottawa and the City of Hamilton.

An Economic Region (ER) is a grouping of complete census divisions. Economic regions are not administrative or municipal areas, but were established by the federal government as a standard geographic unit for regional economic analysis. Statistics Canada’s monthly Labour Force Survey is based on economic regions, of which there are eleven in Ontario.

The Geography Type you choose in Step 1 will determine the range of choices available at subsequent steps. Certain types of analysis are only available for certain types of geographies. This is due to the type of information required for the analysis and the level of geography at which Statistics Canada collects the information.

There are advantages and disadvantages to choosing each level of geography. For example, at the CSD level the analysis will provide information specific to local communities. However, the years available for the analysis are more limited than an analysis at the economic region level, which is based on bi-annual data. In turn, the limitation of the economic region analysis is that the area for analysis is large and may not reflect local conditions.

It may take a little time before you are familiar with the options available for each geography type. Be sure to choose an appropriate geographic level for the type of information that you are looking for. To get a more complete picture, it is advisable to run the analysis for different geography types/geographic levels. For example, if you choose CSD (lower-tier municipality) at Step 1 and complete the analysis, it may be useful to do a subsequent analysis using CDs (county/regional municipality).

To proceed to Step 2, select one of the three geography types and click on the Step 2 header or the Next button:

Once you have moved to Step 2, a checkmark will appear beside STEP 1 and the selected geography type will appear below the heading. If you try to proceed to Step 2 without selecting a geographic type, an error message will appear telling you to select a geography type.

Note: If at any time you would like to change the choice made at any step, simply click on STEP 1, STEP 2, etc. and you will return to that step.

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