Census Families

Families by number of children - Classification of census families (a census family is composed of a married couple or two persons living common-law, with or without children, or of a lone parent living with at least one child in the same dwelling) according to whether or not a family member is responsible for making payments for the rent, mortgage, taxes or electricity. A couple may be of opposite or same sex. 'Children' in a census family include grandchildren living with their grandparent(s) but with no parents present.

Children refer to blood, step- or adopted sons and daughters (regardless of age or marital status) who are living in the same dwelling as their parent(s), as well as grandchildren in households where there are no parents present. Sons and daughters who are living with their spouse or common-law partner, or with one or more of their own children, are not considered to be members of the census family of their parent(s), even if they are living in the same dwelling. In addition, those sons and daughters who do not live in the same dwelling as their parent(s) are not considered members of the census family of their parent(s). The category of 'children' can be further distinguished as follows:

Never-married sons and/or daughters in a census family, as used in censuses prior to 2001.

Other sons and/or daughters in a census family who would not have been included in the census family of their parents according to the previous concept.

Grandchildren living in the same household as their grandparent(s), with no parents present.

Economic family

The economic family concept requires only that family members be related by blood, marriage, common-law or adoption. By contrast, the census family concept requires that family members be either a male or female spouse, a male or female common-law partner, a male or female lone parent, or a child with a parent present. The concept of economic family may therefore refer to a larger group of persons than does the census family concept. For example, a widowed mother living with her married son and daughter-in-law would be treated as a person not in a census family. That same person would, however, be counted as a member of an economic family along with her son and daughter-in-law. Two or more related census families living together also constitute one economic family as, for example, a man and his wife living with their married son and daughter-in-law. Two or more brothers or sisters living together, apart from their parents, will form an economic family, but not a census family, since they do not meet the requirements for the latter. All census family persons are economic family persons. For 2006, foster children are considered economic family members.

Family type - Refers to the classification of census families according to whether or not any family member is responsible for household payments, i.e. rent, or mortgage, or taxes, or electricity.
* For the 2001 Census, several changes were made to the census family concept

• Two persons living in a same-sex common-law relationship, along with any of their children residing in the household, will be considered a census family.
• Children in a census family can have been previously married (as long as they are not currently living with a spouse or common-law partner). Previously, they had to be "never-married".
• A grandchild living in a three-generation household where the parent (middle generation) is never-married will, contrary to previous censuses, now be considered as a child in the census family of his or her parent, provided the grandchild is not living with his or her own spouse, common-law partner, or child. Traditionally, the census family usually consisted of the two older generations.

Household size - Number of persons occupying a private dwelling.

Household Type - Category to which a person living alone or a group of persons occupying the same dwelling belong. There are two categories: non-family households and family households.

A non-family household consists either of one person living alone or of two or more persons who share a dwelling, but do not constitute a family.

Family households are divided into two subcategories: one-family households and multiple-family households.

A one-family household consists of a single family (e.g., a couple with or without children). A multiple-family household is made up of two or more families occupying the same dwelling.

Occupied private dwelling - Refers to a private dwelling in which a person or group of persons is permanently residing. Also included are private dwellings whose usual residents are temporarily absent on Census Day. Unless otherwise specified, all data in housing products are for occupied private dwellings, rather than for unoccupied private dwellings or dwellings occupied solely by foreign and/or temporary residents.
Period of construction - Refers to the period in time during which the building or dwelling was originally constructed.

Structural type of dwelling - Characteristics that define a dwelling's structure, for example, the characteristics of a single-detached house, a semi-detached house, a row house, or an apartment or flat in a duplex.

• Single-detached house - A single dwelling not attached to any other dwelling or structure (except its own garage or shed). A single-detached house has open space on all sides, and has no dwellings either above it or below it.
• Semi-detached house - One of two dwellings attached side by side (or back to front) to each other, but not to any other dwelling or structure (except its own garage or shed). A semi-detached dwelling has no dwellings either above it or below it, and the two units together have open space on all sides.
• Row house - One of three or more dwellings joined side by side (or occasionally side to back), such as a town house or garden home, but not having any other dwellings either above or below.
• Apartment or flat in a duplex - One of two dwellings, located one above the other, may or may not be attached to other dwellings or buildings.
• Apartment in a building that has five or more storeys - A dwelling unit in a high-rise apartment building which has five or more storeys.
• Apartment in a building that has fewer than five storeys - A dwelling unit attached to other dwelling units, or other non-residential space in a building that has fewer than five storeys.
• Other single-attached house - A single dwelling that is attached to another building and that does not fall into any of the other categories, such as a single dwelling attached to a non-residential structure (e.g., a store or a church) or occasionally to another residential structure (e.g., an apartment building).
• Mobile home – A single dwelling, designed and constructed to be transported on its own chassis and capable of being moved to a new location on short notice.  It may be placed temporarily on a foundation, such as blocks, posts or a prepared pad (which may be covered by a skirt).
• Other movable dwelling - A single dwelling, other than a mobile home, used as a place of residence, but capable of being moved on short notice, such as a tent, recreational vehicle, travel trailer or houseboat.

Household income - The total income of a household is the sum of the total incomes of all members of that household.

Incidence of low income - Is the proportion or percentage of economic families or persons not in economic families in a given classification below the low income after tax cut-offs. These prevalence rates are calculated from unrounded estimates of economic families and persons 15 years of age and over not in economic families.

Low income - Measures of low income known as low income (before tax) cut-offs (LICO-BT) were first introduced in Canada in 1968 based on 1961 Census income data and 1959 family expenditure patterns. At that time, expenditure patterns indicated that Canadian families spent about 50% of their total income on food, shelter and clothing. It was arbitrarily estimated that families spending 70% or more of their income (20 percentage points more than the average) on these basic necessities would be in "straitened" circumstances. With this assumption, low income cut-off points were set for five different sizes of families. The following is the 2005 matrix of low income before tax cut-offs for economic families and persons not in economic families.

City of Toronto Employment Survey - The employment survey is a unique information resource for both the public and private sectors. It provides City Departments with background data for economic and transportation studies and a foundation for forecasting the City's service needs. The survey provides private businesses with a rich resource for making decisions such as location analysis and market development or expansion.

Industry - Refers to the general nature of the business carried out in the establishment where the person worked. If the person did not have a job during the week (Sunday to Saturday) prior to enumeration (May 16, 2006), the data relate to the job of longest duration since January 1, 2005. Persons with two or more jobs were required to report the information for the job at which they worked the most hours.
The 2006 Census industry data are produced according to the 2002 NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). The NAICS provides enhanced industry comparability among the three North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) trading partners (Canada, United States and Mexico). This classification consists of a systematic and comprehensive arrangement of industries structured into 20 sectors, 103 subsectors and 328 industry groups. The criteria used to create these categories are similarity of input structures, labour skills or production processes used by the establishment.

Mode of transportation - Main means a person uses to travel between home and place of work (by car, on foot, on public transit, or by some other means).

Occupation - Refers to the kind of work persons were doing during the reference week, as determined by their kind of work and the description of the main activities in their job. If the person did not have a job during the week (Sunday to Saturday) prior to enumeration (May 16, 2006), the data relate to the job of longest duration since January 1, 2005.  Persons with two or more jobs were to report the information for the job at which they worked the most hours.

The 2006 Census occupation data are classified according to the 2006 National Occupational Classification for Statistics (NOC-S 2006). This classification is composed of four levels of aggregation. There are 10 broad occupational categories containing 47 major groups that are further subdivided into 140 minor groups. At the most detailed level, there are 520 occupation unit groups. Occupation unit groups are formed on the basis of the education, training, or skill level required to enter the job, as well as the kind of work performed, as determined by the tasks, duties and responsibilities of the occupation.

Participation rate - Refers to the labour force in the week (Sunday to Saturday) prior to Census Day (May 16, 2006), expressed as a percentage of the population 15 years of age and over.

Place of work status - Classification of people aged 15 or over who worked at some point between January 1, 2005 and May 16, 2006 (Census Day), according to whether they worked at home, worked outside Canada, had no fixed workplace address, or worked at a specific address.

Age group - Refers to the age at last birthday (as of the census reference date, May 16, 2006). This variable is derived from date of birth.

Ethnic origin - Refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent's ancestors.

Generation status - Generation status of the respondent, i.e. "1st", "2nd" or "3rd +" generation, refers to whether the respondent or the respondent's parents were born in or outside Canada.
Generation status includes three response categories, which are defined as follows:

1st generation

Persons born outside Canada. For the most part, these are people who are now, or have ever been, landed immigrants in Canada. Also included in the first generation are a small number of people born outside Canada to parents who are Canadian citizens by birth. In addition, the first generation includes people who are non-permanent residents (defined as people from another country in Canada on Work or Study Permits or as refugee claimants, and any family members living with them in Canada).

2nd generation

Persons born inside Canada with at least one parent born outside Canada. This includes (a) persons born in Canada with both parents born outside Canada and (b) persons born in Canada with one parent born in Canada and one parent born outside Canada (these persons may have grandparents born inside or outside Canada as well).

3rd generation or more

Persons born inside Canada with both parents born inside Canada (these persons may have grandparents born inside or outside Canada as well).

Home language - Refers to the language spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by the individual at the time of the census.

Immigrants by selected places of birth - People who are or who have ever been landed immigrants. Landed immigrants are people who have been permitted by immigration authorities to live in Canada permanently; some will have lived in Canada for a number of years, while others have arrived recently. Recent immigrants are landed immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006.

Mobility status (1-year and 5-year)
County, regional county municipality, regional district, etc., where the enumerated person lived on May 16, 2005, one year before Census Day. (1 year ago)

County, regional county municipality, regional district, etc., where the enumerated person lived on May 16, 2001, five years before Census Day. (5 years ago)

• Non-movers are persons who, on Census Day, were living at the same address as the one at which they resided one year earlier.

• Movers are persons who, on Census Day, were living at a different address than the one at which they resided one year earlier.

• Non-migrants are movers who, on Census Day, were living at a different address, but in the same census subdivision (CSD) as the one they lived in one year earlier.

• Migrants are movers who, on Census Day, were residing in a different CSD one year earlier (internal migrants) or who were living outside Canada one year earlier (external migrants).

• Intraprovincial migrants are movers who, on Census Day, were living in a different census subdivision than the one at which they resided one year earlier, in the same province.

• Interprovincial migrants are movers who, on Census Day, were living in a different census subdivision than the one at which they resided one year earlier, in a different province.

Mother tongue - Refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census.

Period of immigration - Refers to ranges of years based on the year of immigration question. Year of immigration refers to the year in which landed immigrant status was first obtained. A landed immigrant is a person who has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities.

Visible minorities - Refers to the visible minority group to which the respondent belongs. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour".