Census in Canada

A national census in Canada is conducted every five years by Statistics Canada. The census provides demographic and statistical data that is used to plan public services including health care, education, and transportation, determine federal transfer payments,^[1] and determine the number of Members of Parliament for each province and territory. At a sub-national level, two provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan) and two territories (Nunavut and Yukon) have legislation that allows local governments to conduct their own municipal censuses.^[2]

In an article in the New York Times in August 2015, journalist Stephen Marche argued that by ending the mandatory long-form census in 2011, the federal government "stripped Canada of its capacity to gather information about itself" in the "age of information." Nearly 500 organizations in Canada, including the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Catholic Council of Bishops, protested the decision to replace the long form Census in 2011 with a shorter version.^{[3] [4]}

On November 5, 2015, during the first Liberal caucus meeting since forming a majority government, the party announced that it would reinstate the mandatory^[5] long-form census,^[6] starting in 2016.

History

The first census in what is now Canada took place in New France in 1666, under the direction of Intendant Jean Talon.^[7] The census noted the age, sex, marital status and occupation of 3,215 inhabitants.^[8]

The first national census of the country Canada was taken in 1871, as required by section 8 of the then-British North America Act (now the Constitution Act of 1867).^[9] The constitution required a census to be taken in 1871 and every tenth year thereafter.^[9] Parliament implemented the requirements of the constitution through the Census Act of May 12, 1870. All inhabitants of Canada were included, including aboriginals. While this was the first national census of Canada, only four provinces existed at the time: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Other areas of what later became part of Canada continued to be enumerated in their own separate censuses. The results of the 1871 census, in both English and French, were reported in a five volume set.

In 1881, the governing legislation was amended to require census takers to take an oath of secrecy.^[9] By this time, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and British Columbia were part of Canada and included in the national census, as was the North-West Territories.

A special census was conducted in 1906 after Alberta and Saskatchewan were delineated from the North-West Territories and became provinces. These special censuses continued every 10 years until 1956, at which time all of Canada was included. Since that time, a census has been conducted in Canada every five years.

In 1912, the federal government transferred responsibility for conducting the census from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce.^[9] In 1918, the government established the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, which was renamed Statistics Canada in 1971 and continues to be responsible for the census.^[9]

With Newfoundland's entry into Canada in 1949, that province has been included in the Canadian census since 1951.^[9]

Accessibility, disclosure, and publication

All censuses prior to 1906 were publicly available at the National Archives of Canada as the legislation at the time did not include any confidentiality provisions. In general, a census was released to the National Archives 92 years after the date of collection.

In 1998, the National Archivist requested that the 1906 census records be turned over to the National Archives. However, the Chief Statistician of Canada refused the request, citing the instructions given to enumerators at the time data had been collected and a promise made by legislators that the confidentiality of the census was "perpetual".

As a result, Industry Minister John Manley appointed the "Expert Panel on Access to Historical Census Records" in November 1999 to study the issue. The panel issued a report on December 15, 2000, concluding that there was no evidence that legislators of the day intended that census records were to remain perpetually confidential. The panel recommended allowing public access to all census records 92 years after collection. However, by the time the report had been issued, Brian Tobin had become Industry Minister and chose not to follow the recommendations. Instead, he stated the issue would be considered as part of the ongoing review of privacy legislation. The matter did not proceed to a resolution until after several further government inquiries and the commencement of court proceedings. In the meantime, the 92-year period for the release of the 1911 census records elapsed, which was met by a further refusal by Statistics Canada to release the records.

After years of study by expert panels, discussion, debate (privacy vs the interests of genealogists and historians), and two earlier legislative attempts, Bill S-18 An Act to Amend the Statistics Act received Royal Assent on June 18, 2005.^[10] The Act creates section 18.1 of the Statistics Act which releases personal census records for censuses taken between 1911 and 2001, inclusive, 92 years after each census. In addition, starting with the 2006 Census, Canadians can consent to the public release of their personal census information after 92 years. Census returns are in the custody of Statistics Canada and the records are closed until 92 years after the taking of a census, when those records may be opened for public use and transferred to Library and Archives Canada subject to individual consent where applicable.^[11]

Highlights

Highlights of the census in Canada include:^[9]

• 1666 – colony's first census
• 1825 – Lower Canada, for each household, includes name of head and number of members
• 1831 – Lower Canada, for each household, includes name of head and number of members
• 1842 – Lower Canada, for each household, includes name of head and number of members
• 1852 – Originally scheduled for 1851, this census was for the Province of Canada, comprising Canada East and Canada West to attempt to record every member of every household by name
• 1861 – last census for the Province of Canada
• 1871 – first census of the Canadian federation
• 1881 –
• 1891 – census advertising through newspapers and from pulpits
• 1901 – census adds questions on religion, birthplace, citizenship and period of immigration
• 1906 – the first special census of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba entitled the Census of Population and Agriculture of the Northwest Provinces
• 1911 – last census to ask questions on "infirmities"
• 1916 – the second special census of the three prairie provinces, renamed from its 1906 title to the Census of Prairie Provinces^[12]
• 1921 – census adds questions on birthplaces of both parents^[13]
• 1926 – the third special census of the three prairie provinces^[14]
• 1931 – census adds questions to assess unemployment
• 1936 – the fourth special census of the three prairie provinces^[14]
• 1941 – questions on fertility
• 1946 – the fifth special census of the three prairie provinces^[14]
• 1951 – first census covering all 10 provinces and (then) 2 territories
• 1956 – first mid-decade mini census; the Census of Agriculture and Census of Population would be taken together every 5 years
• 1961 – census adds question on level of education
• 1966 – last census to use only interviews
• 1971 – self-enumeration and long/short forms introduced
• 1976 – last mini-census; "head" of family changed for husband-wife families to refer to either "husband" or "wife"
• 1981 – reference "head" was dropped altogether
• 1986 – first full mid-decade census
• 1991 – question on common-law relationship
• 1996 – census questions translated into 49 non-official languages
• 2001 – collection of data on same sex common-law couples
• 2006 – online questionnaire
• 2011 – the short form version of the census was mandatory while the long form was voluntary ^[3]
• 2016 – long-form census once again mandatory ^[5]

See also

• Census geographic units of Canada
• Census division statistics of Canada
• Demographics of Canada
• Canadian Census of Agriculture
• Ethnic groups in Canada
• List of largest Canadian cities by census
• Population of Canada by year

References

External links

• Statistics Canada (2008). Canada Year Book (CYB) annual 1867-1967. Ottawa: Federal Publications (Queen of Canada). 
• Statistics Canada (October 27, 2010). Canada Year Book. Ottawa: Federal Publications (Queen of Canada). Catalogue no 11-402-XPE. 
• List of Census Tables from 1665 to 1871.
• 2006 Census release topics

Canada censuses
1871 1881 1891 1901 1906 1911 1916 1921 1926 1931 1936 1941 1946 1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016
Statistics Canada Population by years Population by municipalities Largest cities by census