Canada Administrative Divisions

What is the hierarchy of administrative divisions in Canada?

Canada operates on a multi-level system starting with ten provinces and three territories as the primary administrative divisions. These are further subdivided into various local government units, which may include counties, regional municipalities, districts, or regional districts, depending on the province or territory. The smallest administrative units are municipalities, such as cities, towns, villages, and townships. Census divisions and census subdivisions are statistical units used by Statistics Canada and do not always correspond directly to administrative boundaries.

Here’s a breakdown of the hierarchy:

Provinces and Territories: Canada is divided into provinces and territories, which are the primary administrative divisions.

Local Governments: Each province and territory is subdivided into local governments, which may include counties, regional municipalities, districts, or regional districts, depending on the province or territory.

Municipalities: Local governments are further subdivided into municipalities, such as cities, towns, villages, and townships, which are the smallest administrative units in Canada.

List of Canada's administrative divisions with their counts and names

These are the summarized administrative divisions. The full dataset is available in the Download Center.

isocountryadmin level 1admin level 2admin level 3admin level 4
CACanadaAlberta (Province)19 Census divisionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaBritish Columbia (Province)29 Regional districtsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaManitoba (Province)23 Census divisionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaNew Brunswick (Province)12 Regional service commissionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaNewfoundland and Labrador (Province)11 Census divisionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaNorthwest Territories (Territory)6 Census divisionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaNova Scotia (Province)18 Regional service commissionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaNunavut (Territory)3 Census divisionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaOntario (Province)10 Districts, 22 Regional service commissions, 8 Regional municipalities, 9 Unitary AuthoritiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaPrince Edward Island (Province)3 Regional service commissionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaQuebec (Province)17 Administrative regions16 Equivalent territories, 1 Census subdivision (CSD), 87 Regional county municipalityThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaSaskatchewan (Province)18 Census divisionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.
CACanadaYukon (Territory)1 Census divisionThis level doesn’t exist for this country.This level doesn’t exist for this country.

Why is building an Administrative Divisions Database complex?

The complexity arises from inconsistent global standards, frequent boundary changes, non-uniform naming conventions (e.g., “suburb” in Australia vs. “county” in the US), and variations in administrative levels across countries. Integrating and harmonizing data from multiple sources requires advanced normalization, versioning, and geospatial validation techniques.

How does GeoPostcodes solve the problem for you?

Our standardized database overcomes the complexity of different administrative division
systems worldwide. Our database follows a unified structure that you can integrate
seamlessly into your system or platform of choice without needing to become an expert in
each country’s unique administrative hierarchy.

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