What is it?
A census metropolitan area (CMA) is the “big-city area” Statistics Canada uses for the census and many other statistics. It joins a central city (the core) with the neighbouring municipalities that are closely tied to it.
When a Statistics Canada release shows a “Toronto” number, it usually means the Toronto CMA, not the City of Toronto. Inflation, jobs and the new condo price index are reported this way.
How is it drawn?
- Population: the CMA must have at least 100,000 people in total, and at least 50,000 of them must live in the core.
- Which neighbours are added: municipalities with a high degree of integration with the core, judged mainly by commuting flows to and from the core, plus a few other rules (such as whether the land connects and comparison with earlier borders). The commuting data comes from the place-of-work question in the previous census.
- A smaller area is a census agglomeration (CA), which needs a core of at least 10,000 people.
- In the 2021 Census, 84% of Canada’s population lived in a CMA or CA.
Is the Toronto CMA the same as the GTA?
- In the 2021 Census, the Toronto CMA had 6,202,225 people, the largest CMA in Canada.
- Hamilton is counted as its own CMA (785,184 people), so Hamilton is not in Toronto CMA statistics.
- The GTA that TRREB reports on and the Toronto CMA do not have exactly the same borders. Even when both say “Toronto”, do not compare TRREB numbers and Statistics Canada numbers directly.
- Borders can be redrawn with each census. Check Statistics Canada census material for the exact borders.
What the law and official sources say
Quotes are copied word for word. The "In plain words" lines are our explanation, not an official translation.
A census metropolitan area (CMA) or a census agglomeration (CA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 based on data from the current Census of Population Program, of which 50,000 or more must live in the core based on adjusted data from the previous Census of Population Program.In plain wordsA CMA is a group of neighbouring municipalities around a core. It needs at least 100,000 people in total, with at least 50,000 living in the core.
Source: www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/cma-rmr/cma-rmr-eng.htm · checked Nov 4, 2026
To be included in the CMA or CA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the core, as measured by commuting flows derived from data on place of work from the previous Census Program.In plain wordsA neighbouring municipality is included if it is closely tied to the core by commuting, based on place-of-work data from the previous census.
Source: www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2021001/geo/cma-rmr/cma-rmr-eng.htm · checked Nov 4, 2026
Common questions
Does the Statistics Canada “Toronto” number include neighbouring cities?
Neighbouring municipalities closely tied to the core by commuting are included. Which ones are in is set at each census, mainly by commuting rules, so check Statistics Canada census material for a specific city.