Canada’s Census Records
The first national census enumeration occurred in 1871. From then a Canada-wide census was taken every 10 years until 1951. Starting in 1956 the census was taken every five years with the most recent occurring in 2021.
The Prairie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta) had a census every five years starting in 1906.
Due to privacy laws census records are held by Statistics Canada for 92 years before being released to Library & Archives Canada (LAC). Once in the care of LAC it can take a year or more to process and ready the census for public viewing.
The chart below includes only national census records or those that cover more than one province. For province-specific census records, please see the GenWeb that covers that area.
Unless marked with a $ all links to available census records are free to view (but some websites may require free registration).
Province/territory abbreviation legend available below the table
| Census Year | Provinces / Territories Included | Where Available |
|---|---|---|
| 1666 | QC (New France) | Library & Archives Canada |
| 1671-1753 | NS, NB, QC (Acadia) | Acadian & French-Canadian Ancestral Home |
| 1 Feb 1842 | QC, ON | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch: (ON) , (QC) $ Ancestry (QC) $ Find My Past (ON) $ MyHeritage (ON) |
| 1851 / 12 Jan 1852 | NB, NS, ON, QC | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch (index only) $ Ancestry $ Find My Past |
| 14 Jan 1861 | NB, NS, ON, PE, QC | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch: (NB) , (NS) , (ON) , (PEI) , (QC) $ Ancestry $ Find My Past |
| 2 Apr 1871 | NB, NS, ON, QC | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch (index only) $ Ancestry $ Find My Past |
| 4 Apr 1881 | BC, MB, NB, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch $ Ancestry $ Find My Past |
| 6 Apr 1891 | BC, MB, NB, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch (index only) $ Ancestry $ Find My Past |
| 31 Mar 1901 | BC, MB, NB, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC, YT | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch $ Ancestry Automated Genealogy $ Find My Past |
| 24 Jun 1906 | AB, MB, SK | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch (index only) $ Ancestry Automated Genealogy $ MyHeritage |
| 1 Jun 1911 | AB, BC, MB, NB, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch (index only) $ Ancestry Automated Genealogy $ Find My Past |
| 1 Jun 1916 | AB, MB, SK | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch $ Ancestry $ MyHeritage |
| 1 Jun 1921 | AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch (NL) $ Ancestry $ MyHeritage |
| 1 Jun 1926 | AB, MB, SK | Library & Archives Canada
FamilySearch |
| 1 Jun 1931 | AB, BC, MB, NB, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT | Library & Archives Canada
$ Ancestry $ Find My Past |
| 1 Jun 1936 | AB, MB, SK | Will be transferred to Library & Archives Canada on or after 1 Jun 2028 |
| 1 Jun 1941 | AB, BC, MB, NB, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT | Will be transferred to Library & Archives Canada on or after 1 Jun 2033 |
AB = Alberta
BC = British Columbia
MB = Manitoba
NB = New Brunswick
NL = Newfoundland
NS = Nova Scotia
NT = Northwest Territories & Nunavut
ON = Ontario
PE = Prince Edward Island
QC = Quebec
SK = Saskatchewan
YT = Yukon