The Canada 2011 Census is a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population on May 10, 2011. Statistics Canada—an agency of the Canadian government—conducts a nationwide census every five years. In 2011, it consists of a mandatory short form census questionnaire and an inaugural National Household Survey (NHS), a voluntary survey which replaces the mandatory long form census questionnaire; this substitution has been the focus of much controversy. Completion of the census is mandatory for all Canadians, and those who do not complete it may face penalties ranging from fines to jail time.
The Statistics Act mandates a Senate and/or House of Commons (joint) committee review of the opt-in clause (for the release of one's census records after 92 years) by 2014.
The 2011 Census is the fifteenth decennial census, required by section 8 of the Constitution Act, 1867. As with other decennial censuses, the data will be used to adjust federal electoral district boundaries.
As of August 24, 2011, Canada's overall collection response rate was 98.1%, up over a full percentage point from 96.5% in the 2006 Census. Ontario and Prince Edward Island each hold the highest response rate at 98.3%, while Nunavut holds the lowest response rate at 92.7%.
Read more about Canada 2011 Census: Forecasts, Voluntary Long-form Survey Controversy, Data Releases
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“In Canada an ordinary New England house would be mistaken for the château, and while every village here contains at least several gentlemen or “squires,” there is but one to a seigniory.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)