Censuses

Censuses form 1825 to 1931 are available on the Library and Archives Canada website. Digitized images are on the website. The link below is to search any of the censuses using the census year you are interested in, the person’s name and province. More detailed information can also be specified. The search on Library and Archives Canada will use the exact spelling of the name you enter.

Census search

Census records can also be found at familysearch.org, Ancestry.ca and MyHeritage.com. familysearch.org is free to sign in and search. Ancestry.ca can be accessed at a Calgary Public Library or with a paid subscription. MyHeritage.com requires a paid subscription. These sites use the spelling of a name for searching as a guideline and produce a list of items with alternate spellings. The closest results are at the beginning.

Early Census and Related Documents, 1640 to 1945

Early census and related documents, 1640 to 1945

These are records for Acadia, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Types of records include census returns, tax assessments, lists of property owners, returns of settlers, including some Loyalists, population totals taken by civil and church officials. Not all are digitized.

1825 Census of Lower Canada

Data collected was names of heads of households and number of people in the household.

1831 Census for Lower Canada

Data collected was names of heads of households and number of people in the household.

1842 Censuses for Canada East and Canada West

This is limited with names of heads of households only and number of people in household. Canada East and Canada West are two separate databases.

1851 Census for the Province of Canada, including Canada East and West, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion and place of birth. An Agricultural census was also completed.

1861 Census Canada East and West, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information. An Agricultural census was also completed.

1870 Census of Manitoba

Completed after Manitoba joined Confederation. All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information.

1871 Census of Canada and Ontario

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information for Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The database for Ontario is also separate.

1881 Census of Canada

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information for Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.

1891 Census of Canada

1901 Census of Canada

1906 Census of Prairie Provinces

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

1911 Census of Canada

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information for Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories.

1916 Census of Prairie Provinces

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

1921 Census of Canada

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information for Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories.

1926 Census of Prairie Provinces

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

1931 Census of Canada

All members of each household are listed with age, occupation, religion, place of birth and other information for Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories.