Fountains of Knowledge – Census Reports

Perhaps the go to of research tools to track your family is the Census Reports. In Canada, census returns are official Government of Canada records that enumerate the country's population. Starting in 1851, most census records included the names of every resident, their country or province of birth, age and many other details.

The first census of the Dominion of Canada taken after Confederation was in 1871 and occurred every 10 years in Canada. The original purpose of the census was to help determine parliamentary representation based on population. Before 1871, census enumerations were conducted in different areas in various years. Many of those early records have not survived, including portions of the 1851 census. As provinces joined Confederation, they were included in subsequent federal census returns, for example Prince Edward Island in 1881.

In 1871 the questionnaire covered a variety of subjects, and asked 211 questions on area, land holdings, vital statistics, religion, education, administration, the military, justice, agriculture, commerce, industry and finance. Information was collected in tabular form on population, houses and other buildings, lands, industries and institutions. The population questions included the age, sex, religion, education, race and occupation of each person. Not every household answered all 211 questions.

It is interesting to look at the use of terms in the census at this time. For example, the only options for “marital status” were married, widowed or other. Today there are five categories: legally married, separated but still legally married, divorced, widowed, or never legally married. Similarly, from 1871 to 1911, the census asked questions on “infirmities”. Respondents were asked to indicate whether members of their household were “blind, deaf, or simple-minded.” These questions were dropped from the 1921 and subsequent censuses.

According to the Census and Statistics Act of 1905, a general census of Canada was to occur in 1911, and every 10 years thereafter, and a census of population and agriculture was to be taken in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1906, and every 10 years thereafter. Since 1956, the Census of Agriculture and the Census of Population have been taken together every five years across the entire country.

The most recent census reports available to the general public via the Library and Archives Canada web site are the 1921 Census of Canada and the 1926 Census of the Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta). Census reports are also available through most of the Genealogical Databases (Family Search, Ancestry, etc.)

Under the Statistics Act and the Act to Amend the Statistics Act legislation, census records will be opened for public use and transferred to Library and Archives Canada 92 calendar years after the taking of a census. Therefore, we should be able to review the 1931 Census of Canada sometime in 2023.

Next month I’ll run through some areas of caution you must exercise when reviewing the early Canadian Census Reports.

Cheers.