The Census in Canada is a census that takes place every five years. The census is conducted 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.
Contents |
The first census in what is now Canada took place in New France in 1666, under the direction of Intendant Jean Talon.[2] The census noted the age, sex, marital status and occupation of 3,215 inhabitants.[3]
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).[4] The constitution required a census was to be taken in 1871 and every tenth year thereafter.[4] 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.[4] 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 carved out of 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.[4] 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.[4]
With Newfoundland's entry into Canada in 1949, that province has been included in the Canadian census since 1951.[4]
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. Ultimately, Parliament resolved the matter in 2005 with the passage of Bill S-18, "an Act to amend the Statistics Act".[5] The statute allows for the release of census records for the years from 1910 to 2003 once 92 years have elapsed after collection of the data. The legislation restricts the scope of access to genealogical purposes and historical research. The statute provides for unlimited access to census records 112 years after the data had been collected.
Highlights of the census in Canada include:[4]
|
|||||
|
||||||||