| This map describes the 298 communities that are
50% or more dependent on forest-related industries.
There is a very wide range in population within these communities
between 260 and 75 150. Prince George is by far the largest place
and is the only community having a population of more than 29 000.
The communities are found in two large, but widely separated clusters.
Most communities are in a zone in Eastern Canada, along the southern
edge of the accessible boreal forest from the Ontario-Manitoba border
through to Newfoundland. The communities found in Western Canada
occur almost entirely within British Columbia. The populations represented
by communities in the two regions are similar: 445 830 in Eastern
Canada and 543 366 in Western Canada. However, two thirds of these
communities are in the east. On average, forest-reliant communities
in Western Canada are considerably larger in population than those
in the east.
In this issue the term community refers to one of the 5971 census
subdivisions (CSDs) defined in the 1996 Census. The locations of
map symbols are set automatically so that they fall at the approximate
centre of the area of the CSD.
For CSDs with small
areas (usually cities or towns), this means the symbol will fall
more-or-less at the centre of economic activity in the CSD. In the case of large-area CSDs
the symbol location does not give an idea of the full extent of
the CSD and is unlikely
to be at a centre of population.
Description of Socio-Economic Indices:
Reliance Index
This map indicates the degree of reliance of each of the communities
on forest-related industries. The index range spans the complete
range from 50% up to 100% with most communities having values in
the lower half of this range. Even though there are two widely-separated
zones of these communities in Eastern Canada and Western Canada,
there is little difference between the two zones in the overall
degree of reliance.
Income Index
The income index compares the average employment income value of
each community to that for Canada. The value for Canada as a whole
is set at 1.00. The range of the index is from 0.12 to 1.65, with
the median value for these communities being 0.73. Income index
values are generally higher in Western Canada.
Education
Index
The education index is a measure of the proportion of the population
15 years of age and over who have post-secondary qualifications
compared to the Canadian proportion meeting the same criteria. The
index values are generally lower than the Canadian average. The
median value is 0.78, and 88% of the communities have a value of
less than 1.00 which is the Canadian norm. The values tend to be
higher in Western Canada, especially in the southern part of British
Columbia, and also in the larger communities with a population of
5000 or greater.
5-Year Mobility Index
The 5-year mobility measures the percentage of the population aged
five years or older who moved (changed address) in the five years
preceding Census Day, 1996. The values are generally low. Three-quarters
of the places have a figure below the Canadian average and the median
for the entire set of 298 places is 29%, well below the Canadian
average of 40%. The higher values for these places are largely found
in Western Canada; where almost all of the values of 50.0% or more
are found.
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