Every five years the Census of Population paints a portrait of Canada's changing mosaic. Now more than ever, trusted and reliable data and insights and analysis on socio-economic trends are important decision-making tools that governments, businesses, organizations and individuals rely on to understand where we came from, where we are, and where we are heading. Data from the 2016 Census have played a key role in understanding the impacts of COVID-19 and responding to them. Information from the 2021 Census will be even more crucial moving forward to policy- and decision-makers to assist communities, provinces, territories, and the country as a whole recover from the pandemic.
In 2016, Canadians set a record overall response rate of 98.4% for the Census of Population. When collection for the next census begins in May 2021, Statistics Canada challenges Canadians to achieve nearly 100% participation once again. The questionnaire can be completed online through an efficient, secure, and user-friendly application. The census questions are also translated into 25 other languages, including 13 Indigenous languages. Census collection staff are also available to assist in responding to questions.
Statistics Canada has a duty and a legal obligation to protect the rightful privacy of Canadians. Safeguarding Canadians' information and privacy guides our decisions and drives our work. We have rigorous processes in place to ensure personal information is kept private and confidential, and all information we collect is strictly protected. As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, Statistics Canada publishes information in the Trust Centre section of our website on how we protect Canadians' privacy, as we provide them with the data they have come to rely on.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Canada has adapted to ensure that the 2021 Census is conducted throughout the country in the best possible way. Procedures for the census have been redesigned to ensure respondents and census employees are safe by limiting the amount of contact needed to participate in this important exercise. Statistics Canada is aware that COVID-19 may have an impact on the way Canadians answer some of the census questions, and has been developing helpful guidelines to assist them in responding to these specific questions.
Canadians are invited to find out more information on the census by visiting our 2021 Census website which provide a full suite of information. Visitors will have the opportunity to review Painting a Portrait of Canada: The 2021 Census of Population. This comprehensive document outlines Statistics Canada's planned approach to the 2021 Census of Population, including historical, legal, operational and content aspects.
Decisions on the 2021 Census have been made in collaboration with Canadians and for Canadians. The 2021 Census content was published in the Canada Gazette on July 18, 2020. The 2021 Census of Population questionnaire will have returning content from 2016 and previous censuses to allow for ongoing trend analysis, and it will include new questions to continue to measure Canada's growing diversity.
The following five fact sheets—and their enclosed topics—explain the new and updated content of the 2021 Census of Population questionnaire:
- Family and demographic concepts, and activities of daily living (demographic concepts, sex at birth and gender, activities of daily living)
- Immigration, ethnocultural diversity and languages in Canada (immigration and citizenship, place of birth of person/parents, ethnic or cultural origins, population groups, religion, language, minority language educational rights)
- Indigenous peoples (returning content, membership within a Métis organization or Settlement, enrollment under an Inuit land claims agreement)
- Education, labour, commuting, and Veterans (education, labour market conditions, commuting to work, Veteran and military service)
- Income and expenditures, and housing (income and expenditures, housing).
Associated links
- 2021 Census
- 2016 Census: Your community in stats
- 2016 Census: Analytical products
- 2016 Census of Agriculture