Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 149, Number 26: ORDERS IN COUNCIL

June 27, 2015

(Erratum)

STATISTICS CANADA

2016 Census of Population

P.C. 2015-789 June 10, 2015

Notice is hereby given that the 2016 Census of Population published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 149, No. 25, on Saturday, June 20, 2015, contained errors. Parts of question 2 of Step E (page 1345) and questions 5 and 6 of Step E (page 1346), the first paragraph of the “Background” section of the Explanatory Note (page 1354) and the third paragraph of the “Implications” section of the Explanatory Note (page 1355) should have read as follows:

IF THIS ADDRESS IS:
Graphic - Detailed information can be found in the surrounding text. ○  a SECONDARY RESIDENCE (for example, a cottage) for ALL PERSONS who stayed here on May 10, 2016 (all these persons have their main residence elsewhere in Canada), mark this circle. Print your name, your telephone number and your main residence address at the bottom of this page. Do not answer other questions.
○  a DWELLING OCCUPIED ONLY BY RESIDENTS OF ANOTHER COUNTRY VISITING CANADA (for example, on vacation or on a business trip), mark this circle. Print your name, your telephone number and your country of residence at the bottom of this page. Do not answer other questions.
○  the HOME OF A GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ANOTHER COUNTRY (for example, an embassy or a high commission) and family members, mark this circle. Print your name, your telephone number and the country that you represent at the bottom of this page. Do not answer other questions.

Name

________________________________________________________

Telephone number

_____-_____-_____

5 Is this person living with a common-law partner?

Common-law refers to two people who live together as a couple but who are not legally married to each other.

○  Yes

○  No

6 What is the relationship of this person to Person 1?

If none of the responses in the list describes this person's relationship to Person 1, then specify a response under “Other relationship”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order fixes May 2016 as the month in which Statistics Canada will conduct the 2016 Census of Population pursuant to subsection 19(1) of the Statistics Act, and prescribes the schedules for the 2016 Census of Population, as provided by section 7 of the Statistics Act.

Background

The Statistics Act specifies that the Census of Population shall be taken by Statistics Canada every five years in a month to be fixed by the Governor in Council (subsection 19(1)) and gives the Minister of Industry the authority to prescribe the rules, instructions, forms, and schedules to carry out the work of Statistics Canada (section 7). The Statistics Act also requires that the questions included in the Census of Population shall be prescribed by order of the Governor in Council and published in the Canada Gazette (section 21).

All residents of Canada are legally required to complete the census questionnaire, according to the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada is bound by law to protect the confidentiality of the information respondents provide in the census. Every household in Canada is included, as well as Canadians and their families who are working abroad for the federal, provincial and territorial governments, Canadian embassies or the Canadian Armed Forces.

Implications

The Census of Population collects demographic and linguistic information on every person living in Canada. It is the main source of data available in a standardized format for small geographical areas. It provides nationally comparable data that can be cross-classified to show details. The Census of Population is taken to meet statutory requirements as well as to support decision-making by both the public and private sectors. The questions for the 2016 Census of Population are the same as the 2011 Census of Population. Minor modifications have been made to the instructions.

To substantially reduce the burden on Canadians, and improve the quality of income data compared to previous censuses, Statistics Canada will use income and benefits data from the Canada Revenue Agency for all census respondents to replace questions previously asked on the 2011 National Household Survey questionnaire.

The month of May is proposed to maintain comparability of the data with previous censuses that have been conducted in the same month, comparability being a key requirement for users.

Consultations

To determine the questions to be asked in the 2016 Census of Population, Statistics Canada conducted comprehensive consultations with 293 organizations, including 38 federal departments, 136 provincial/territorial and municipal government organizations, Aboriginal organizations, organizations representing official language minority communities, organizations representing or providing services to Canadians with disabilities, immigrant communities, academia, and non-profit organizations.

There was overall support for the content included in the 2011 Census and no new priority data needs were identified during consultations. The final report entitled Census Program Content Consultation Report, Census year 2016 can be viewed on the Statistics Canada Web site at http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/consultation/contentReport-RapportContenu/index-eng.cfm.

The general public was also invited to participate in online consultations. Consultations for the 2016 Census of Population occurred from December 2010 to November 2012. Testing of the questions occurred between June 2013 and May 2014.

Statistics Canada contact

Marc Hamel
Director General
Census Management Office
Statistics Canada
613-951-2495
Marc.Hamel@statcan.gc.ca

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