Our Government recognizes the value of good-quality data and how it helps government, non-profits, businesses, and researchers make informed decisions. That’s why we re-instituted the long-form census in 2015, and reinforced Statistics Canada’s independence through legislation in 2017. The development of the 2021 Census of Population has seen us working to ensure that the information collected reflects Canada’s changing society, and addressed information gaps. Information from the census is critical to the work of governments, businesses, associations, community organizations and many others as they make important decisions for our communities, provinces or territories, and the entire country. 

Our government will continue to stand up for evidence-based decision-making and strike the right balance between the potential of a data-driven economy and the privacy of Canadians.

Census 2021 will provide us an updated profile of the ethno-cultural characteristics of the Canadian population, at low levels of geography. This will allow us to target policies towards groups that may need additional support for employment equity, access to education, income supports, and housing affordability.

In response to stakeholder needs, there are new additions to the census. Statistics Canada conducted a series of tests of the content throughout 2018 and 2019, including a live 2019 Census Test involving 135,000 households across the country. 

Additions will include:

1. Gender and Sex: There were some gaps in the 2016 Census in measuring gender identity and non-binary populations. The 2021 Census will fill this gap with a question on gender on the short-form. Questions on sex will be revised to ask sex-at-birth providing more accuracy and inclusivity.

2. Ethnic origins: Our methodology on ethnic origin in 2016 had resulted in some bias and under-representation, and this concern was voiced by several stakeholders – especially Jewish Canadians. In response, Statistics Canada created a working group formed with experts from the Jewish community, including academics and organization representatives (such as the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs).

   - Following extensive consultations on this issue, the new question addresses the issue of bias that results from providing the ‘prompt’ or specific examples. Census 2021 will not include any examples on the questionnaire itself but instead provide respondents with a brief description of different types of origins and offer a link to an extensive list of more than 400 origins. Almost 76% of Canadians are expected to fill out the Census online, so they will be able to quickly look at the several examples with the click of a button. This approach is scientifically proven to provide the most accurate picture of different ethnic origins in Canada.

3. Veterans: There are more than 600,000 veterans in Canada, but not all are known to Veterans Affairs Canada. There are challenges in the provision of services and programs to support them and their families because of the gaps that exist in our administrative records. To fill these gaps, a question on Veterans is being added to the census, which will help backfill the known data gaps in historical administrative records.

4. Indigenous: We are adding a new question on membership in a Métis organization and a question on enrollment under an Inuit land claims agreement. These two questions, in addition to the existing module of Indigenous questions, will provide a robust base on which to build on our commitment to this relationship.
5. Labour market conditions: To better capture the dynamic labour market, the changes to the quality of employment and attachment to the labour force, especially among vulnerable populations, we are adding two new questions: one, the main reason for working part-time, and two, the main reason for not working full-year.
6. Commuting: The environment remains a priority for our government, and transportation is a key element. Understanding changes in the distance and modes of commuting to work is important. That is why we will also capture multiple modes of commuting. These data are important for both transportation infrastructure planning and the environment.
7.  Religion: Every ten years, Statistics Canada asks a question on religion. This will be included in the 2021 Census as well.
8. Official Languages: For the first time ever, we will be collecting data on minority language rights holders and these questions will be on the short form census. For decades, Francophones outside of Quebec and Anglophones in Quebec have been fighting for their Charter rights to provide their children the opportunity to be educated in the official language of their community.  The 2021 Census is an opportunity for us to provide Canadians with an accurate and reliable portrait of official language minority rights holders in this country.

The inclusion of these questions in the census is an important next step, and one that we have worked hard for as Government. It will continue the progress we have made in improving the integrity and accuracy of our data across the country. The census can be viewed here.

For an exclusive and in-depth look at the census, its history, the laws that regulate it, how it is planned and conducted, please visit Painting a Portrait of Canada: The 2021 Census of Population online.

For the latest 2021 Census information and developments, please visit  The road to the 2021 Census.