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Description: Data from the Census of Population are important for all communities and are vital to plan services that support education, employment, transportation, health care and housing. To maintain the relevance of the census, Statistics Canada evaluates and reviews the census questionnaire content for each census cycle. In preparation for the 2026 Census, Statistics Canada consulted Canadians from fall 2022 to spring 2023. Detailed responses were received from organizations and individuals representing federal, provincial, territorial and local government departments; First Nations people, Métis and Inuit; the general public; academia; special interest groups; and the private sector.

This report focuses on the findings of the 2026 Census data needs consultation and stakeholder discussions. Chapter 1 explains whom we consulted. Chapter 2 describes the strength of census data users’ needs such as the size of the population of interest. Chapter 3 provides an assessment of the perceived data gaps in census content and the availability and suitability of alternative data sources. Chapter 4 focuses on information needs by census topic and how preparations for the 2024 Census Test will help meet these needs.

Description: User consultation is the first step in determining Census Program content. The findings of content consultations are presented in these reports.

Description: This report presents the results of a study on the estimated number of children eligible for instruction in the minority official language, pursuant to section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, who were classified as ineligible in the 2021 Census because relationships between family members living at different addresses could not be established within this data source. Using other data sources, including previous censuses and administrative data (such as vital statistics and tax data), we were able to establish these family relationships within the 2021 Census. This report presents the methods and data sources used first, then the results by selected regions and age groups.

Description: Using data from the 2021 Census of Population, this article examines the prevalence of low income among persons in one-parent families with an immigrant parent. This article explores the prevalence of low income according to characteristics of the parent (e.g., admission category, period of immigration) and their family and household (e.g., number of children, household type).

Description: The newsletter offers information aimed at three main groups, businesses (small to medium), communities and ethno-cultural groups/communities. Articles and outreach materials will assist their understanding of national and local data from the many relevant sources found on the Statistics Canada website.

Description:

This report deals with Indigenous identity, Indigenous ancestry, Indigenous group, Registered or Treaty Indian status, Membership in a First Nation or Indian band, Membership in a Métis organization or Settlement, and Enrollment under an Inuit land claims agreement, and contains explanations of concepts, data quality, historical comparability and comparability with other sources, as well as information on data collection, processing and dissemination.

Description: This product presents 2021 Census of Population characteristic data for nine separate profiles of interest, including: age; ethnic origin; first official language; immigration; income distribution by income source; mother tongue; poverty, COVID-19 benefits and high income; religion; and visible minority. Data are available for various levels of geography, including Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, and communities with a 2021 population of 10,000 or greater.

Description: Census Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs) provide access to non-aggregated data covering a sample of the Canadian population. It is a comprehensive social, demographic and economic database about Canada, its people, and contains a wealth of characteristics on the population. These files enable the study of individuals, families and households. Geographic identifiers have been restricted to ensure respondents’ anonymity. This comprehensive file is an excellent tool for policy analysts, pollsters, social researchers and anyone interested in modeling and performing statistical regression analysis using Census microdata.

These products contain the data file, user documentation and license agreements. It is important to note that users will require knowledge of data manipulation packages (or software) such as SAS, SPSS or Stata to use this product.

Description: The Rural Canada Housing Profiles (RCHP) 2022 provides tables on housing in rural Canada. The tables were developed using data from several Statistics Canada programs: Canadian Housing Statistics Program (2021), Building Permits (2022) and Investment in Building Construction (2022). Information such as structure type (single or multiple residential property), year of construction, size of the building, and construction intentions (building permits issued by municipalities, number of units / value of the building) were used to provide a broader picture of housing stocks, flows and investments in rural and small town communities. The final output is five data tables (residential building permits; investment in residential building construction; residential property characteristics); occupied private dwelling characteristics; and private household characteristics).

Data are organized geographically at the following levels (where applicable): Canada, provinces or territories, census subdivisions (CSD), and Rural and Small Town (RST) or urban areas of Canada. A CSD is considered to be 'Rural and Small Town (RST)' in the RCHP if it is outside of census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (CMA/CA); otherwise, it is considered to be 'Urban'.

Description: This article provides a profile of official language minority owned businesses who received federal business innovation and growth support to better understand their demographics and business characteristics, including the age and gender of the owners, the business size and its revenues, the geography of operations, the level of support received, and the distribution of businesses across industries.

Description: This product presents 2021 Census of Population characteristic data for nine separate profiles of interest, including: age; ethnic origin; first official language; immigration; income distribution by income source; mother tongue; poverty, COVID-19 benefits and high income; religion; and visible minority. Data are available for various levels of geography, including Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, and communities with a 2021 population of 10,000 or greater.

Description: Census Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs) provide access to non-aggregated data covering a sample of the Canadian population. It is a comprehensive social, demographic and economic database about Canada, its people, and contains a wealth of characteristics on the population. These files enable the study of individuals, families and households. Geographic identifiers have been restricted to ensure respondents’ anonymity. This comprehensive file is an excellent tool for policy analysts, pollsters, social researchers and anyone interested in modeling and performing statistical regression analysis using Census microdata.

These products contain the data file, user documentation and license agreements. It is important to note that users will require knowledge of data manipulation packages (or software) such as SAS, SPSS or Stata to use this product.

Description: The Rural Canada Housing Profiles (RCHP) 2022 provides tables on housing in rural Canada. The tables were developed using data from several Statistics Canada programs: Canadian Housing Statistics Program (2021), Building Permits (2022) and Investment in Building Construction (2022). Information such as structure type (single or multiple residential property), year of construction, size of the building, and construction intentions (building permits issued by municipalities, number of units / value of the building) were used to provide a broader picture of housing stocks, flows and investments in rural and small town communities. The final output is five data tables (residential building permits; investment in residential building construction; residential property characteristics); occupied private dwelling characteristics; and private household characteristics).

Data are organized geographically at the following levels (where applicable): Canada, provinces or territories, census subdivisions (CSD), and Rural and Small Town (RST) or urban areas of Canada. A CSD is considered to be 'Rural and Small Town (RST)' in the RCHP if it is outside of census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (CMA/CA); otherwise, it is considered to be 'Urban'.

Description: This product presents information from the Census of Population for various levels of geography. Data are from the 2021 Census of Population and are available according to the major releases of the 2021 Census release dates: February 9, 2022 – Population and dwelling counts; April 27, 2022 – Age, Sex at birth and gender, Type of dwelling; July 13, 2022 – Families, households and marital status, Canadian military experience, Income; August 17, 2022 – Language; September 21, 2022 – Indigenous peoples, Housing; October 26, 2022 – Immigration, place of birth, and citizenship, Ethnocultural and religious diversity, Mobility and migration; November 30, 2022 – Education, Labour, Language of work, Commuting, Instruction in the official minority language.

Description: This individuals file provides data on the characteristics of the population. The 2006 Census Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs) contain samples of anonymous responses to the 2006 Census questionnaire. The files have been carefully scrutinized to ensure the complete confidentiality of the individual responses.

Microdata files are unique among census products in that they give users access to non-aggregated data. The PUMFs user can group and manipulate these variables to suit data and research requirements. Tabulations excluded from other census products can be created or relationships between variables can be analysed using different statistical tests. PUMFs provide quick access to a comprehensive social and economic database about Canada and its people.

Most of the subject matter covered by the census is included in the microdata files. To ensure the respondents' anonymity, geographic identifiers have been restricted to provinces/territories and large metropolitan areas.

With 123 variables, this comprehensive tool is excellent for policy analysts, pollsters, social researchers and anyone interested in modelling and performing statistical regression analysis using census data.

Note: Users will require knowledge of data manipulation packages such as SAS or SPSS to be able to use the data contained in these files.

Description: This hierarchical file provides data on the characteristics of the population. The 2006 Census Public Use Microdata Files (PUMFs) contain samples of anonymous responses to the 2006 Census questionnaire. The files have been carefully scrutinized to ensure the complete confidentiality of the individual responses. The individual file was released on March 4, 2010 and the hierarchical file is available as of today, May 2, 2011.

Microdata files are unique among census products in that they give users access to non-aggregated data. The PUMFs user can group and manipulate these variables to suit data and research requirements. Tabulations excluded from other census products can be created or relationships between variables can be analysed using different statistical tests. PUMFs provide quick access to a comprehensive social and economic database about Canada and its people.

Most of the subject matter covered by the census is included in the microdata files. To ensure the respondents' anonymity, geographic identifiers have been restricted to provinces/territories and large metropolitan areas.

This product, offered on CD-ROM, contains the data file (in ASCII format), user documentation and SAS and SPSS program source codes to enable you to read the set of records. Note: users will require knowledge of data manipulation and retrieval software such as SAS or SPSS to be able to use this product.

Description: This Hierarchical File, 2016 Census Public Use Microdata File (PUMF) product provides access to non-aggregated data covering a sample of 1% of the Canadian households. It is a comprehensive social, demographic and economic database about Canada and its people, and contains a wealth of characteristics on the population. The file enables the study of individuals in relation to their census families, economic families and households. Geographic identifiers have been restricted to the provinces, the three territories grouped into a region called Northern Canada and selected metropolitan areas (Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary) to ensure respondents’ anonymity. This comprehensive file is excellent tool for policy analysts, pollsters, social researchers and anyone interested in modeling and performing statistical regression analysis using 2016 Census microdata.

This product contains the data file (in ASCII format); user documentation and supporting information; all licence agreements; and SAS, SPSS and Stata program source codes to enable users to read the set of records. It is important to note that users will require knowledge of data manipulation packages (or software) such as SAS, SPSS or Stata to use this product.

Description: These tables provide 2021 Census highlights on immigration, place of birth and citizenship. Counts and percentage distributions are available for various levels of geography, including Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census divisions and census subdivisions with a 5,000-plus population.

Description: These tables provide 2021 Census highlights on visible minorities and religious diversity. Counts and percentage distributions are available for various levels of geography, including Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census divisions and census subdivisions with a 5,000-plus population.

Description: These tables are available for each major Census of Population days of release, starting with population and dwelling counts. They will present focused information for various levels of geography. These tables allow users to perform simple rank and sort functions, and include percentage distributions and percentage change from previous censuses to facilitate comparisons between years and different geographic areas.

Description:

This Census in Brief examines the citizenship status of Canada's population. It presents some insights into the trends of Canadian citizenship, the naturalization rate of immigrants and those with multiple citizenships.

Description: This Census in Brief article focuses on the experiences of poverty in Canada based on data from the 2021 Census. It examines disaggregated poverty trends by age, gender, family situation, immigration status as well as by Indigenous identity and for racialized groups. When possible, comparisons are made to data from the 2016 Census.

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Based on the 2021 Census data, the following infographic provides information on Canadian citizenship.

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This video identifies the census questionnaires and questions that help provide a portrait of Indigenous peoples in Canada. It also explains why data on the Indigenous peoples is collected and its use and importance to Indigenous governments, organizations and service providers.

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Data collected by the Census of Population are used to create different household indicators to help governments and organizations assess housing needs in Canada. This video focuses on six key household indicators that help governments and organizations manage the state of housing in Canada, namely, shelter costs, shelter-cost-to-income ratio, housing adequacy, housing suitability, housing affordability and core housing need.

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This video is designed to provide you with a basic understanding of ethnic or cultural origin, population group, visible minority and religion concepts. It defines each of these concepts and explains the importance of this data in painting a picture of Canada's multicultural communities.

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The infographic provides a high-level description of how the Census counts people, including Indigenous people, particularly those in urban areas. This includes efforts before and during data collection including communications and advertising, reminders, follow up calls and visits, and special outreach. It also outlines the practice of counting people based on usual place of residence on Census day. Finally, the infographic discusses studies that Statistics Canada undertakes to estimate undercoverage, that is, the net impact of some people being missed and others that are being counted more than once by the Census.

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This fact sheet provides a concise description of the context to the understanding of confidence intervals. Confidence intervals are a useful data quality indicator. Confidence intervals will usually be available in data tables accessible through the Statistics Canada website.

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The objective of this video is to offer insights into housing variables and key household indicators like housing adequacy, suitability and affordability. It explains where housing questions are found on the Census of Population questionnaire, the importance of housing data and how housing data are used by governments, businesses and social service agencies.

Description:

This video introduces household and dwelling characteristics and their use in dissemination and analysis. It also presents the housing variables that are commonly used in analyses such as household maintainer, tenure, total income of household, household size and household type. In addition, the video shows the dwelling characteristics that describe the physical attributes of the living quarters occupied by the household, such as number of rooms, number of bedrooms, period of construction, dwelling condition, condominium status and value (owner estimated).

Description: Data from the Census of Population are important for all communities and are vital to plan services that support education, employment, transportation, health care and housing. To maintain the relevance of the census, Statistics Canada evaluates and reviews the census questionnaire content for each census cycle. In preparation for the 2026 Census, Statistics Canada consulted Canadians from fall 2022 to spring 2023. Detailed responses were received from organizations and individuals representing federal, provincial, territorial and local government departments; First Nations people, Métis and Inuit; the general public; academia; special interest groups; and the private sector.

This report focuses on the findings of the 2026 Census data needs consultation and stakeholder discussions. Chapter 1 explains whom we consulted. Chapter 2 describes the strength of census data users’ needs such as the size of the population of interest. Chapter 3 provides an assessment of the perceived data gaps in census content and the availability and suitability of alternative data sources. Chapter 4 focuses on information needs by census topic and how preparations for the 2024 Census Test will help meet these needs.

Description: User consultation is the first step in determining Census Program content. The findings of content consultations are presented in these reports.

Description: This report presents the results of a study on the estimated number of children eligible for instruction in the minority official language, pursuant to section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, who were classified as ineligible in the 2021 Census because relationships between family members living at different addresses could not be established within this data source. Using other data sources, including previous censuses and administrative data (such as vital statistics and tax data), we were able to establish these family relationships within the 2021 Census. This report presents the methods and data sources used first, then the results by selected regions and age groups.

Description:

This report deals with Indigenous identity, Indigenous ancestry, Indigenous group, Registered or Treaty Indian status, Membership in a First Nation or Indian band, Membership in a Métis organization or Settlement, and Enrollment under an Inuit land claims agreement, and contains explanations of concepts, data quality, historical comparability and comparability with other sources, as well as information on data collection, processing and dissemination.

Description: This reference guide is intended for users of the Census Subdivisions Boundary File. The guide provides an overview of the file, the general methodology used to create it, and important technical information for users.

Description:

This reference guide provides information to help users effectively use and interpret place of birth, generation status, citizenship and immigration data from the 2021 Census. This guide contains definitions and explanations of concepts, questions, classifications, data quality and comparability with other sources for this topic.

Description: Updated in April 2023 to include newly released data from the 2021 Census, the 2021 Census Teacher's Kit is for use in elementary, intermediate and secondary classes across the country. It includes five fun, classroom-ready activities that will help students gain an understanding of what the census is used for, how it is conducted, and the role it has played in shaping present-day Canada.

Description:

As is the case in advance of each Census, content consultations are being held with data users. The Census Content Consultation Guide gives you the opportunity to provide input.

Description: This reference guide provides information to help users effectively use and interpret income data from the 2021 Census. This guide contains definitions and explanations of concepts, questions, classifications, data quality and comparability with other sources for this topic.

Description: This reference guide provides information to help users effectively use and interpret education data from the 2021 Census. This guide contains definitions and explanations of concepts, questions, classifications, data quality and comparability with other sources for this topic.