MSAs for Canadian cities

[Docere]

You can get the 2016 census data for Census Divisions (counties) here:

https://tinyurl.com/jn4y5zyn

If 25% of a county commutes to central counties, it's part of the MSA.

Toronto-Mississauga-Hamilton MSA

Core counties:

Toronto 2,988,408
Durham 711,426
York 1,200,262
Peel 1,563,641
Halton 610,581
Hamilton 581,722

Outlying counties:

Dufferin 68,347
Kawartha Lakes 81,042

Total population (2020 estimate): 7,805,429

[Innsertnamehere]

Waterloo and Wellington don’t meet the standard I guess? I figured at least Wellington would.

[Doady]

I remember when I looked at the numbers for earlier years, Hamilton, Guelph (Wellington), and Barrie would be their own MSAs, but those MSAs would be in the same CMSA as the Toronto MSA. Waterloo did not qualify even for same CMSA, let alone the same MSA.

[Docere]

Wellington doesn't make the cut. 15% work in GTHA, 11% in Waterloo.

[Docere]

Greater Montreal contains the following regions/counties:

Montreal
Laval
Longueuil

MRC Deux-Montagnes
Mirabel
MRC de Therese-de-Blainville
MRC Les Moulins
MRC de l'Assomption

MRC Vaudreuil-Soulanges
MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry
MRC de Rousillon
MRC de la Vallee-du-Richlieu
MRC de Rouville
MRC de Marguerite-D'Youville

https://www.montrealinternational.co...graphic-zones/

Based on the 25% commuting threshold, these (I think) would classify as outlying counties:

D'Autray
La Rivierie-du-Nord
Le Haut-Saint Laurent
Les Jardins de Napierville
Les-Pays-d'en-Haut
Montcalm

Some of the above Greater Montreal regions are rather low density, and may not really belong with "core counties"

[Beedok]

Is ‘central counties’ all counties in an MSA? Because Halton is the main destination for outbound Hamilton commuters (Burlington gets significantly more than Toronto and Mississauga combined for the most recent numbers I could find).

[Docere]

The central counties are the contiguous urbanized counties. Rural or exurban counties with 25% commuting to the central counties are considered outlying counties and also included.

[Razor]

Using the MSA metric, Ottawa wouldn't change much..Stats Can is already including a few more outlying towns on the 2021 census. It's boundaries are ridiculous as it is.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Docere

Greater Montreal contains the following regions/counties:

Montreal
Laval
Longueuil

MRC Deux-Montagnes
Mirabel
MRC de Therese-de-Blainville
MRC Les Moulins
MRC de l'Assomption

MRC Vaudreuil-Soulanges
MRC de Beauharnois-Salaberry
MRC de Rousillon
MRC de la Vallee-du-Richlieu
MRC de Rouville
MRC de Marguerite-D'Youville

https://www.montrealinternational.co...graphic-zones/

Based on the 25% commuting threshold, these (I think) would classify as outlying counties:

D'Autray
La Rivierie-du-Nord
Le Haut-Saint Laurent
Les Jardins de Napierville
Les-Pays-d'en-Haut
Montcalm

Some of the above Greater Montreal regions are rather low density, and may not really belong with "core counties"

Montreal-Laval-Longueuil MSA

Total population (2020) 4,511,753

Montreal (Island) 2,069,849
Laval 442,648
Longueuil 435,671

Deux Montagnes 104,472
Mirabel 59,633
Therese-de-Blainville 164,556
Les Moulins 169,949
L'Assomption 128,622
Riviere du Nord 139,058

Vaudreuil-Soulanges 161,507
Beauharnois-Salaberry 67,902
Roussillon 195,016
Vallee-du-Richelieu 132,259
Rouville 37,794

D'Autray 44,120
Le Haut-Saint-Laurent 24,589
Les Jardins-de-Napierville 30,951
Les Pays D'En Haut 45,380
Montcalm 57,777

[Darkoshvilli]

Has Montreal passed Detroit?

[Beedok]

Wikipedia puts Detroit’s MSA estimate at 4.3 million.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Razor

Using the MSA metric, Ottawa wouldn't change much..Stats Can is already including a few more outlying towns on the 2021 census. It's boundaries are ridiculous as it is.

No Okotokian Stats-Can hatred or Aidrie unfairness? Just think about how much greater your city instantly becomes when commuting patterns become reclassified.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

No Okotokian Stats-Can hatred or Aidrie unfairness? Just think about how much greater your city instantly becomes when commuting patterns become reclassified.

Oh yes! Forgot about that..Has that injustice gone to the Supreme court yet, and if so was there a ruling?..Was there ever a lawsuit launched against the Canadian government over that?..."The people vs.."

[Docere]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

No Okotokian Stats-Can hatred or Aidrie unfairness? Just think about how much greater your city instantly becomes when commuting patterns become reclassified.

Barrie is on the cusp of being part of a fast-paced, world class metropolis, once that commuting threshold is met.

[Docere]

I think Abbotsford/Fraser Valley comes up short using MSA defintions (24% commute to Metro Van).

Metro Vancouver 2,737,681
Fraser Valley 335,229

BC "counties" are ridiculously big though.

[someone123]

Part of Hants County NS is going to be added to the Halifax CMA for 2021 and it looks like all of Hants is already over the 25% threshold. It'll probably keep going up since there are more and more suburban subdivisions going up in that area. It is an easy commute from parts of Hants on the 101 or 102 highways to jobs in the northern part of the Halifax metro. Much of Hants is closer to the airport than downtown Halifax.

Colchester is around 10% commuters while Kings and Lunenburg are lower. It's conceivable that one day Hants would be a "core" county of Halifax metro by MSA standards and Colchester/Kings would hit 25%. Lunenburg is also a possibility. Other counties are too far away. Halifax includes a huge sparsely populated area to the east and so there is no real "border" county in that direction. One interesting hypothetical is a commuter train along the main rail route to Truro. Truro is about 80 km from downtown Halifax and has a census agglomeration population of about 45,000.

Halifax + Hants counties are right around the 500,000 mark and will probably cross it in a year or two.

[Laceoflight]

Originally Posted by Docere

Montreal-Laval-Longueuil MSA

Total population (2020) 4,511,753

Montreal (Island) 2,069,849
Laval 442,648
Longueuil 435,671

Deux Montagnes 104,472
Mirabel 59,633
Therese-de-Blainville 164,556
Les Moulins 169,949
L'Assomption 128,622
Riviere du Nord 139,058

Vaudreuil-Soulanges 161,507
Beauharnois-Salaberry 67,902
Roussillon 195,016
Vallee-du-Richelieu 132,259
Rouville 37,794

D'Autray 44,120
Le Haut-Saint-Laurent 24,589
Les Jardins-de-Napierville 30,951
Les Pays D'En Haut 45,380
Montcalm 57,777

Thanks for doing this, Docere!
I am surprised that Le Haut-Richelieu isn't included, given that 80% of its population is already included in Montreal's CMA. I think you also forgot Marguerite-D'Youville.

I would be curious to see the commuting numbers for Argenteuil also. I guess they have not reached 25% yet, but they must be slowly getting there.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by Laceoflight

Thanks for doing this, Docere!
I am surprised that Le Haut-Richelieu isn't included, given that 80% of its population is already included in Montreal's CMA. I think you also forgot Marguerite-D'Youville.

I would be curious to see the commuting numbers for Argenteuil also. I guess they have not reached 25% yet, but they must be slowly getting there.

I think it's more like 4.75M with these 3 added.

Then you have Saint-Hyacinthe, Lachute and Joliette that are getting closer to the 25% threshold. Even if they're not included, they already have a incidence on the traffic in the Metropolitan area. When driving on A-20, you exit the traffic of the metropolitan area only after passing Saint-Hyacinthe. Same thing on the A-40, the heavy traffic fades after the exit for Joliette (A-31). The MTQ will even double A-50 between Mirabel and Lachute, proof that traffic is growing significantly. The extended metropolitan area is pushing the 5M mark.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Laceoflight

Thanks for doing this, Docere!
I am surprised that Le Haut-Richelieu isn't included, given that 80% of its population is already included in Montreal's CMA. I think you also forgot Marguerite-D'Youville.

I would be curious to see the commuting numbers for Argenteuil also. I guess they have not reached 25% yet, but they must be slowly getting there.

So theoretically we can see Montreal officially add in (on paper) 500k to it's metro in one fell swoop if the commuting patterns consistently reach that threshold shift towards Montreal?..This update could happen within a census period, which would be interesting.A few Canadian cities are now poised to reach new benchmarks.