Statistics Act

The Statistics Act was an Act by the Canadian government in 1918 which created the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, now called Statistics Canada since 1971. The act was last revised in 1985.

The Statistics Act gives Statistics Canada the authority to "collect, compile, analyze, abstract, and publish information on the economic, social and general conditions of the country and its citizens."

To balance Statistics Canada's extensive powers to collect information, the Act establishes the legal requirement for the agency to protect the confidentiality of respondents to Statistics Canada surveys. The legislation makes a formal commitment to respondents that the information they provide will never be released to anyone in a form that will identify them without their authorization.

Read more about Statistics Act:  Legal Requirement, Consent To Release Future Census Records

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