In order to do research I need to understand how Canada "breaks down" The United States has states; each state has counties; counties have cities; cities have townships. How does it work in Canada? Like Keppel, Grey, Wiarton, Ontario, Canada.

Canada has provinces & territories and each one breaks down differently. As this is the OntarioGenWeb only Ontario will be explained here (please see CanadaGenWeb for links to the other GenWebs across Canada for information on their individual breakdowns). Like U.S. states Ontario also has counties which have townships. Cities are geographically within townships but are large enough to have their own municipal government. For more information on how Ontario breaks down and how this effects your genealogy research please see Research By Area