The
census divisions of Ontario are used by
Statistics Canada to aggregate
census data. With two exceptions, they correspond to Ontario's first-level administrative divisions, of which there are three types: single-tier municipalities, upper-tier municipalities (which can be
regional municipalities or
counties), and
districts. These differ primarily in the services that they provide to their residents, and their different structures result from the vast disparities among Ontario's different regions. They may comprise smaller municipalities or other types of administrative divisions, which are generally treated as
census subdivisions by Statistics Canada.