2006 Census: Educational Portrait of Canada, 2006 Census: Definitions and note

Aboriginal identity:
Refers to those persons who reported identifying with at least one Aboriginal group, that is, North American Indian, Métis or Inuit, and/or those who reported being a Treaty Indian or a Registered Indian, as defined by the Indian Act of Canada, and/or those who reported they were members of an Indian band or First Nation.

CEGEP:
A postsecondary education institution exclusive to the province of Quebec in Canada. CEGEP is a French acronym for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning 'College of General and Vocational Education.'

Highest certificate, diploma or degree (Highest level of educational attainment):
This is a derived variable obtained from the educational qualifications questions, which asked for all certificates, diplomas and degrees to be reported. There is an implied hierarchy in this variable (secondary school graduation, registered apprenticeship and trades, college, university) which is loosely tied to the 'in-class' duration of the various types of education. However, at the detailed level, a registered apprenticeship graduate may not have completed a secondary school certificate or diploma, nor does an individual with a master's degree necessarily have a certificate or diploma above the bachelor's degree level. Therefore, although the sequence is more or less hierarchical, it is a general rather than an absolute gradient measure of academic achievement.

Less than high school:
Encompasses the persons who have no certificate, diploma or degree.

Location of study:
This variable indicates the province, territory (in Canada) or country (outside Canada) where the highest certificate, diploma or degree was obtained. It is only reported for individuals who had completed a certificate, diploma or degree above the secondary (high) school level.

Major field of study – Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP):
Refers to the main subject area of the person's highest certificate, diploma or degree after high school.

On-reserve population:
The 'on-reserve' population is defined according to criteria established by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). On reserve population includes all people living in the following census subdivision (CSD) types or communities affiliated with First Nations or Indian bands: Indian reserve / Réserve Indienne (IRI), Indian settlement / Établissement indien (S-É), Indian Government District (IGD), Terres réservées aux Cris (TC), Terres réservées aux Naskapis (TK), Nisga'a village (NVL), Nisga'a land (NL) and Teslin land (TL), as well as selected CSDs of various other types that are northern communities in Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory, which have large concentrations of Registered Indians. All other CSDs are considered to be 'off reserve.'

Postsecondary qualification:
Encompasses the persons who have acquired a trades certificate, a college diploma or a university certificate or diploma.

Registered or Treaty Indian:
Refers to those persons who reported they were registered under the Indian Act of Canada. Treaty Indians are persons who are registered under the Indian Act and can prove descent from a band that signed a treaty.

University degree:
Encompasses the persons who have a bachelor's degree, a university certificate or diploma above bachelor level, a degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry, a master's degree or an earned doctorate.

Urban areas:
Urban areas have a population of at least 1,000 and no fewer than 400 persons per square kilometre. They include both census metropolitan areas and urban non-census metropolitan areas.

Urban census metropolitan area (CMA):
Area consisting of one or more neighbouring municipalities situated around a major urban core. A census metropolitan area must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more live in the urban core.