Download Canada Census Divisions Boundaries
Free download of all Canadian census divisions (CDs) — counties, regional districts, MRCs, and equivalents — in one file. Loads automatically — pick the format you need: GeoJSON, Shapefile, KML, SVG, DXF, GeoPackage, TopoJSON, or FlatGeobuf.
Boundary data provided by geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020), licensed CC-BY 4.0. Please provide attribution when using this data.
About the Canada census divisions dataset
This page provides a one-click download of all Canadian census divisions (CDs) — the second-level administrative geography used by Statistics Canada. Data is sourced from geoBoundaries — an open, peer-reviewed dataset released under CC-BY 4.0. The authoritative Canadian source is Statistics Canada Cartographic Boundary Files.
For higher-level (province/territory) boundaries see the Canada provinces page.
CD naming by province
- • Ontario — counties, regional municipalities, single-tier municipalities, districts.
- • Quebec — Municipalités régionales de comté (MRCs), territoires équivalents, plus the urban agglomerations of Montréal and Québec.
- • British Columbia — regional districts.
- • Alberta & Saskatchewan — census divisions named numerically (e.g. Division No. 1 through No. 18).
- • Manitoba — census divisions named numerically; there is no general local-government structure at the CD level.
- • Atlantic provinces — counties (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick), regional municipalities and census divisions elsewhere.
- • Territories — one or a few large CDs each (the entire Yukon is one CD, for example).
When to use which format
GeoJSON
The most flexible choice — opens in QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, Mapbox, Leaflet, MapLibre, D3. Use the simplified version for client-side web maps.
Shapefile
Use for desktop GIS workflows in ArcGIS, QGIS, or MapInfo. ZIP contains .shp / .dbf / .prj / .shx.
KML
Use for Google Earth and Google My Maps. Each CD appears as a labelled polygon.
SVG
Designer-ready vector paths with each CD as a separate path. Opens in Illustrator, Figma, Sketch, or Inkscape.
DXF
AutoCAD format for engineers and architects. Each CD becomes a closed polyline.
TopoJSON
Topology-encoded GeoJSON, much smaller for choropleths. Common in D3.js dashboards.
GeoPackage
OGC-standard single-file SQLite container. Ideal for portable GIS workflows.
FlatGeobuf
Binary streaming format optimised for fast loading in MapLibre, OpenLayers, or Leaflet.
Common uses for Canadian CD boundaries
- • Joining StatCan census data (population, income, language, age) to geometry
- • Provincial / federal election analysis at sub-provincial scale
- • Sales-territory mapping at sub-provincial resolution
- • Backgrounds for D3.js / MapLibre choropleths
- • Insurance / risk modelling at CD scale
- • Public-health and epidemiology reporting
- • Editorial maps for newspapers (SVG export)
- • Spatial joins to assign a CD to point data
Need to process these boundaries before download?
Download the Canada census divisions GeoJSON above, then drop it into the Workflow Builder to simplify, buffer, clip to a bounding box, generate centroids, or chain multiple operations before exporting in any format.
Alternative Canadian sources
- • Statistics Canada Cartographic Boundary Files — authoritative federal source. Multiple resolutions and vintages, freely available, includes both CDs and CSDs.
- • Natural Resources Canada — Atlas of Canada — official thematic and base mapping.
- • Provincial open-data portals — many provinces (Ontario, BC, Quebec) publish official boundary layers directly.
- • OpenStreetMap — community-edited boundaries via Overpass queries or Geofabrik extracts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a census division in Canada?
A census division (CD) is a Statistics Canada classification for second-level administrative geography in Canada. The actual local-government name varies by province: counties (Ontario, Quebec parts), regional municipalities (Ontario, Quebec parts), regional districts (British Columbia), municipalités régionales de comté (Quebec MRCs), or equivalent provincial groupings elsewhere. There are about 293 census divisions in total.
How is this different from a census subdivision (CSD)?
A census division (CD) is the second-level division — ADM2. A census subdivision (CSD) is the third-level division — ADM3 — and corresponds to cities, towns, villages, Indian reserves, and other municipalities. There are about 5,000 CSDs across Canada. CSDs are not included on this page; for those use Statistics Canada directly.
Where does this Canadian boundary data come from?
The boundaries are sourced from geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020), an open peer-reviewed dataset. The authoritative source is Statistics Canada via its Cartographic Boundary Files (CBF), which publishes CD boundaries for each census year. geoBoundaries data is released under CC-BY 4.0.
Are the CDs different in each province?
Yes — the type and naming convention of census divisions varies by province: Ontario uses counties, regional municipalities, and districts; Quebec uses MRCs; British Columbia uses regional districts; Alberta uses census divisions named numerically (e.g. Division No. 6); the territories generally have one large CD each. The geometries are however consistent at the ADM2 level.
How big is the Canada CD GeoJSON file?
The full-resolution Canada ADM2 GeoJSON is typically 30–80 MB because of the very long coastlines and the number of features. The simplified version is well under 5 MB. The SVG export is around 300–600 KB.
Can I download a single province’s CDs only?
This page is the full set of Canadian CDs in one file. To extract a single province — for example, only the CDs of Ontario — download the GeoJSON above, then use the QuickMapTools Workflow Builder to filter by the parent province name or clip by the province boundary.
Can I use this data commercially?
Yes — geoBoundaries data is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY) licence. You may use it in commercial products, modify it, and redistribute it as long as you provide attribution to geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020).