The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is slightly lower than the response rate for the 2016 census. It recorded a population of 36,991,981, a 5.2% increase from 2016.
Planning
Consultation on census program content was from September 11 to December 8, 2017. The census was conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...
, and was contactless as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...
. The agency had considered delaying the census until 2022.
About 900 supervisors and 31,000 field enumerators were hired to conduct the door-to-door survey of individuals and households who had not completed the census questionnaire by late May or early June. Canvassing agents wore masks and maintained a physical distance to comply with COVID-19 safety regulations.
Questionnaire
In early May 2021, Statistics Canada began sending mailings to households throughout Canada containing instructions for completing the census questionnaire. The questionnaires could be completed by returning the paper questionnaire, or by phone or online by using an access code provided in the mailing. Statistics Canada expected about 80% of households to complete the questionnaire online. It was also available in
large-print
Large-print (also large-type or large-font) refers to the formatting of a book or other text document in which the typeface (or font) are considerably larger than usual to accommodate people who have low vision. Frequently the medium is also increa ...
,
braille
Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displ ...
, audio, and video formats. The questionnaire questions were available in a number of languages (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
, Oji-Cree, Plains Cree, Swampy Cree, and Tłı̨chǫ), but the questionnaire had to be completed in either English or French.
The standard short-form questionnaire was to be completed by 75% of households. The other 25% completed a long-form questionnaire to collect data about the household's economic and social state, information about the occupied dwelling, and other data in addition to age, languages spoken, marital status, religious affiliation, and other basic data collected in the short-form questionnaire.
Those who completed the census questionnaire online could listen to a number of soundtracks on
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...
and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
prepared by Statistics Canada.
Completing the questionnaire is a legal requirement, and those who refuse to do so may be fined up to $500. It must be completed by citizens of Canada, permanent residents, refugee claimants, and those with a study or work permit.
Data release schedule
The release dates for data by release topic from the 2021 census are:
* February 9, 2022, for population and dwelling counts;
* April 27, 2022, for age, sex at birth, and gender, type of dwelling;
* July 13, 2022, for families, households, and marital status, Canadian military experience, and income;
* August 17, 2022, for language;
* September 21, 2022, for indigenous peoples, and housing;
* October 26, 2022, for immigration, place of birth, and citizenship, ethnocultural and religious diversity, and mobility and migration;
* November 30, 2022, for education, labour, language of work, commuting and instruction in the official minority language.
Data
Statistics Canada links income and related information obtained from the Canada Revenue Agency, and immigration status obtained from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, to the census responses.
The 2021 Canadian census included new questions "critical to measuring equity, diversity and inclusivity". For the first time, questions were asked about commuting methods and the census counted transgender people and people of
non-binary gender
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typica ...
. Canada has been noted in this instance to be the first country to provide census data on transgender and non-binary people.
Results
The 2021 census recorded a total federal population of 36,991,981, living in 14,978,941 of its 16,284,235 private dwellings. With a land area of , its population density was . Canada's most- and least-populated provinces were
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
respectively. Among the three territories, the Northwest Territories was the largest, while Nunavut once again became the smallest territory after briefly overtaking Yukon in 2016.
The population of Canada rose by 5.2 per cent federally since the 2016 census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. Three provinces' and one territory's population grew faster than Canada's overall population increase: Yukon – a 12.1 per cent increase, Prince Edward Island – an 8 per cent increase, British Columbia – a 7.6 per cent increase, and Ontario – a 5.8 per cent increase. The rapid growth in Yukon is largely credited to immigration and migration from within Canada. At the other end of the spectrum, only one province and one territory saw a decrease in population since 2016:
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
– a 1.8 per cent decrease, and the Northwest Territories — a 1.7 per cent decrease.
The majority of Canadians identified as female at 50.73%, while 49.27% of the population identified as male. The median age overall was 41.6 years – 40.4 years for males and 42.8 years for females.
59,460 Canadians identify as transgender and 41,355 identify as non-binary.
Statistics Act
The ''Statistics Act'' (the ''Act'') is an Act of the Parliament of Canada passed in 1918 which created the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, now called Statistics Canada since 1971.
The ''Statistics Act'' gives Statistics Canada the authority t ...
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...