About the Census of Agriculture >
History
How the Census of Agriculture began
The British North America (BNA) Act of 1867 determined that a census
would be taken every 10 years starting in 1871. However, rapid expansion
in western Canada at the turn of the last century made a more frequent
census necessary. Starting in 1896, a separate Census of Agriculture
was
taken every five years in Manitoba, and in Alberta and Saskatchewan beginning
in 1906.
Expansion of the Census of Agriculture
By 1956, rapid economic growth and development created the need for
both national demographic and agricultural information at more frequent
intervals.
In 1956, the five-year Census of Agriculture was extended to the entire
country, and the Census of Population became a regular enumeration every
five years. That year the two started a long tradition of being conducted
concurrently.
Relationship between the Census of Agriculture and the Census of Population
Although the Census of Agriculture and the Census of Population are
conducted at the same time, they do have separate questionnaires. Most
of the development,
testing, processing, data validation and preparation for disseminating
data for the Census of Agriculture and the Census of Population
is handled
by different groups within Statistics Canada. However, collecting the
data and sharing communications activities for both censuses streamlines
procedures and reduces costs considerably. Another important benefit
of
conducting the two together is that information from the two questionnaires
can be linked to create the Census of AgriculturePopulation Linkage
database. This unique database, started in 1971, provides users with a
wealth of information pertaining to the social and economic characteristics
of the farm population.
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