Canadian Census Records

Canadian census records began in 1851.  Enumerated were the entire family including ages, religion, place of birth, gender, etc.

The census was taken every ten years, 1861, 1871, etc.  One unique feature of the 1901 census was the inclusion of full birthdates.  But remember, it is only as accurate as the person who provided the information.  Ontario has a great birth record collection found on Ancestry.com and this can confirm or dispute a birth date found in a census.

If you want the 1861 census for Prince Edward Island, you won’t find it.  Prince Edward Island didn’t join Canada until 1873 so 1881 is the first year it was included in the Canadian census.  The area including the present day province of Manitoba and west were known as the Northwest Territories and entered the Canadian union in 1870.  As a consequence some census records should be available in 1871.  Gradually, provinces were formed and ultimately absorbed more territory leaving the area currently known as the Northwest Territory.

My opinion is that few U.S. citizens are as familiar with the Canadian provinces as Canadians seem to be of US states.

The following list is a guideline to aid in Canadian research.  It may help to answer the question, “When my family went west, was it to a province?”

According to Wikipedia four provinces entered the Canadian confederation July 1, 1867:  Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  Manitoba joined July 15, 1870, British Columbia July 20, 1871, Prince Edward Island July 1, 1873, Saskatchewan and Alberta September 1, 1905 and Newfoundland and Labrador March 31, 1949.  Keep these dates in mind to avoid frustration when beginning a census search.

http://www.censusfinder.com/canada-census-records.htm is a good source for searching the Canadian census or at least its indexes.