The Internet: A new collection method for the Census

Major changes were made to the data collection process for the 2006 Census. One of those changes was the Internet response option, which was offered to all private households in Canada. Nearly one in five households chose to complete and return the questionnaire on-line. In addition, a new method of promoting Internet response was tested via the Internet Response Promotion (IRP) Study. The new approach proved very effective at increasing the on-line response rate. Planning for the 2011 Census, which is under way, calls for the use of a wave collection strategy, and wave 1 would be the IRP method. This paper provides an overview of Internet data collection in the 2006 Census - evaluations, results, lessons learned - and the methodology that will be used in the next census in 2011.