Western Canadian Censuses

This is a page of census information for western Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. They are in order of year, country, province or territory, then city, running west to east (BC -> AB -> SK -> MB). I am indebted to the Universities of Toronto and Victoria for their research into Canadian censuses. [UPDATE 22 Nov 2022 – LAC has changed their web pages concerning censuses. Many of the links created only weeks ago may now be broken. Bear with me in the interim.]

It is surprising to see no single site holds a complete set of censuses although it’s interesting to compare the data between Ancestry, FamilySearch, and Library and Archives Canada. For example, the 1832-56, 1870 compiled data for Manitoba may be found at both Ancestry, which holds the indices, and FamilySearch, which holds the images.

The information in the table is not restricted to censuses but rather includes useful information for finding locations. Few census maps have survived but there are a number of ways to locate geographic information: the 1904 electoral map, and the street indices for large Canadian cities 1911 and forward.

Table of western Canadian censuses

NameDetailsWhere to find it
1832-56, 1870 – ManitobaName
Age
Residence Place
Ethnicity
Birth Place
Marital Status
Father’s Name
Father’s Religion
Ancestry ($) (indices only, from Hudson’s Bay Company lists and the 1870 census).
FamilySearch (images only).
1870 – Manitoba; schedule 1Name
Residence Place
Birth place
Age
Father’s name
Race if Métis or Indian
Marital status
Nationality if British or American
Religion if Catholic or Protestant
Library and Archives Canada.
1871 – British Columbia/ Victoria censusName
Location
Occupation
Household count
Record ID
viHistory (index)
1881 – Canada (BC, MB, NB, NWT, NS, ON, PEI, QC); schedule 1Dwelling details
Name
Sex
Age
Birth place
Religion
Country of origin
Occupation
Marital status
Attending school
Infirmities
Ancestry ($).
Automated Genealogy (index only, free but only NB and some QC).
FamilySearch.
FindMyPast ($).
Library and Archives Canada.
1881 – British Columbia/ Vancouver Island censusName
Family number
Sex
Age
Marital Status
Infirmities
Attending school
Religion
Occupation
Location
Building type
Place of origin
viHistory (index)
1884-85 – Census of the North-West Territories (AB, SK, MB)Compiled statistics only, 120 pages, no names; see Notes, below.Internet Archive
1886 – ManitobaCompiled statistics of the population, 242 pages, no names, see Notes, below.Internet Archive
1891 – Canada (AB, BC, MB, NB, NWT, NS, ON, PEI, QC, SK, YT); schedule 1Number of household in order of visitation
Names of each person in household as of 6 Apr 1891
Relationship to head of house
Sex
Age
Marital status
Country/ prov of birth
Race if French
Birthplace of father and mother
Religion
Occupation
Employer
Wage earner and if unemployed
If employer, no. of staff
Literacy
Infirmities
Ancestry ($).
Automated Genealogy (index only, free but only NB and some QC).
FamilySearch (index only).
FindMyPast ($).
Library and Archives Canada.
1891 – British Columbia/ Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands censusName
Family number
Sex
Age
Marital status
Relationship to head of household
Literacy
Infirmities
Religion
Occupation
Employement
Location and building type
Place of origin
Place of origin of father and mother
viHistory (index only)
1891 – British Columbia/ Victoria censusName
Occupation
Address
Total residents in household
Chinese or Indians?
viHistory (index only)
1891 – Manitoba’s Lisgar District (Gimli, Kildonan, MacDonald, Plessis, Rockwood, Selkirk)Full name
Age
Religion
Occupation
Birthplace
LAC details
Ancestry ($)
1896 – ManitobaCompares the population of 1896 with that of 1891 for the Census of Manitoba, districts of Brandon, Lisgar, Macdonald, Marquette, Provencher, Selkirk and Winnipeg City; no names in the document.Library and Archives Canada
1901 – Canada (AB, BC, MB, NB, NWT, NS, ON, PEI, QC, SK, YT); schedules 1 and 2Number of household in order of visitation
Names of each person as of 31 Mar 1901
Relationship to head of house
Sex
Colour: W (whites), R (Indigenous), B (Black), Y (Asians)
Marital status
Day, month, year of birth
Age
Country or place of birth
Year of immigration
Year of naturalization
Racial origin if European
Nationality
Religion
Occupation
Employment (9 questions)
Mths in school
Literacy
Infirmities
Ancestry ($).
Automated Genealogy (index only).
FamilySearch.
FindMyPast ($).
Library and Archives Canada.
1901 – British Columbia/ Vancouver Island and City of Victoria censusFamily
Names
Sex
Colour (race)
Relation to head of family
Marital status
Year, month, date of birth
Age
Birthplace
Year of immigration
Year of naturalization
Race
Nationality
Religion
Occupation
Employment
Mths in school
Literacy
Mother tongue
Infirmities
viHistory (index)
1904 – Electoral atlas – CanadaNot a census atlas but a good proxy onlineLibrary and Archives Canada
1906 – Census of the Northwest Provinces(AB, MB, SK); schedule 1Number of household in order of visitation
Name of each person in family
Relationship to head of house
Sex
Marital status
Age
Country or place of birth
Year of immigration
Post Office Address
Livestock
Ancestry ($).
Automated Genealogy (index only).
FamilySearch (index only).
Library and Archives Canada.
1911 – Canada (AB, BC, MB, NB, NWT, NS, ON, PEI, QC, SK, YT); schedule 1Number of household and dwelling in order of visitation
Name of each person in household
Place of habitation
Sex
Relationship to head of household.
Marital status
Month and year of birth
Age
Country or place of birth
Year of immigration
Year of naturalization
Racial origin
Nationality
Religion
Occupation
Employment (12 questions)
Life insurance carried
Mths in school
Literacy
Cost of education
Infirmities
Ancestry ($).
Automated Genealogy (index only).
FamilySearch (index only).
FindMyPast ($).
Library and Archives Canada.
1911 census street indices (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Quebec City, St. John, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg)Find the subdistrict by street, avenue, or institutionLibrary and Archives Canada.
1911 – British Columbia/ City of Victoria censusDwelling House
Family (residential hotel, boarding house, institution)
Names in full
Sex
Relationship to head of family
Marital stauts
Year, month and date of birth
Age
Birth place
Year of immigration
Year of naturalization
Racial origin
Nationality
Religion
Occupation
Employment
Life insurance
Mths in school
English or French literacy
Languages commonly spoken
Cost of education
Infirmities
viHistory (index)
1911 – British Columbia/ Alberni and Port Alberni censusDwelling House
Family (residential hotel, boarding house, institution)
Names in full
Sex
Relationship to head of family
Marital stauts
Year, month and date of birth
Age
Birth place
Year of immigration
Year of naturalization
Racial origin
Nationality
Religion
Occupation
Employment
Life insurance
Mths in school
English or French literacy
Languages commonly spoken
Cost of education
Infirmities
viHistory (index)
1916 – Census of the Prairie Provinces (AB, MB, SK); schedule 1Number of household in order of visitation
Name of each person in family
Military service
Place of habitation
Relation to head of household
Sex
Marital Status
Country or place of birth
Religion
Year of immigration to Canada
Year of naturalization
Nationality
Race
English or French spoken
Other language spoken as mother tongue
Literacy
Occupation
Employment
Ancestry ($).
FamilySearch.
Library and Archives Canada.
1916 census street indices (Edmonton, Winnipeg) Find the subdistrict by street, avenue, or institutionLibrary and Archives Canada.
1921 Census of Canada (AB, BC, MB, NB, NWT, NS, ON, PEI, QC, SK, YT); schedule 1Number of household and dwelling in order of visitation
Name of each person in the household
Place of habitation
Class of home
Sex
Relationship to head of house
Marital status
Age
Country or place of birth
Country or place of birth of father and mother
Year of immigration
Year of naturalization
English or French language
Religion
Literacy
Mths at school
Employment (7 questions)
Ancestry.
Automated Genealogy (index; NB only).
Library and Archives Canada.
1921 census street indices (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Quebec City, St. John, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg)Find the subdistrict by street, avenue, or institutionLibrary and Archives Canada.
1926 – Census of the Prairies (AB, MB, SK); schedule 1Number of household and dwelling in order of visitation
Name of each person in household
Place of abode
Relationship to head of household
Sex
Marital Status
Age
Place of birth
Place of birth of father and mother
Race
Year of immigration
Year of naturalization
Citizenship
English or French spoken
Mother tongue
Literacy
Mths at school

FamilySearch.
Library and Archives Canada.
1926 census street indices (Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg)Find the subdistrict by street, avenue, or institutionLibrary and Archives Canada.
1924 Federal electoral district mapsFull colour digitized electoral maps, “Based on population data from 1921 census.”Library and Archives Canada: find the detailed maps for AB (image 230); BC (image 247), Vancouver Chinatown (image 257), Victoria Chinatown (image 260); MB (image 190); SK (image 208)
1931 Census of CanadaTBAAncestry
Library and Archives Canada
Name of censusDetails on the censusWhere to find it
Table of available western Canadian censuses, compiled by Linda Yip, Past-Presence.com.

Notes

This is a work in progress and will be updated as more and better digital information is located.

1886 Census of Manitoba

LAC holds only the blank forms for this census, which appears to have been a census of population, buildings, lands, livestock, and goods produced. No known copies of the schedules have survived.

1896 Census of Manitoba

The 1896 census of Manitoba was taken “to ascertain the population of the province in order to make up the per capita allowance to be paid by the Dominion to the province.” No knowns copies of the population schedule exist.

References

Ancestry, “Census and Voter Lists,” Archives, Ancestry (Ancestry.ca : accessed October 25, 2022).

Automated Genealogy, “Indices to Canadian Censuses,” 2008, Archives, Automated Genealogy (http://automatedgenealogy.com/ : accessed 25 Oct 2022). Useful site but does not appear to have been updated recently.

Patrick A. Dunae, Alex Dunae, and David Badke, “Census,” 2011, Archives, University of Victoria (vihistory.uvic.ca : accessed 25 Oct 2022).

FamilySearch, “Start Your Family Tree – Search Genealogy Archives,” 2002, Archives, FamilySearch (FamilySearch.org : accessed 25 Oct 2022).

FindMyPast, “Full List of Canadian Records,” Archives, 2022, FindMyPast (Findmypast.com : accessed 25 Oct 2022).

Library and Archive Canada, “1885 Census of The Territories, and 1886 Census of Manitoba, Schedules and Instructions,” archives, 2022, textual record, archives, Library and Archives Canada (BAC-LAC.gc.ca : accessed 28 Oct 2022).

Library and Archives Canada, “Censuses,” archives, 4 Oct 2012, Library and Archives Canada (BAC-LAC.gc.ca : accessed 25 Oct 2022).

Library and Archives Canada, “Census of Manitoba – Min Agri [Minister of Agriculture], 1896/05/11, Recds [Recommends] Authority to Take – Appt [Appointment of] Mr. St. Denis Census Commr [Commissioner], Date, Books, Rates Payt [Payment] Enumerators Etc.,” digital images, 2022, 3rd of five pages, memo from Department of Agriculture to Ottawa dated 7 May 1896 re Manitoba census, Library and Archives Canada (BAC-LAC.gc.ca : accessed October 28, 2022); citing Privy Council minutes, 8 May – 15 May 1896, RG2, series 1, volume 688.

Library and Archives Canada and Linda Yip, email, 28 Oct 2022, “Manitoba Censuses?” Personal Correspondence, 2022; RE: Manitoba censuses 1884, 1886, 1896; privately held by Yip, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Manitoba Archives and Linda Yip, email, 27 Oct 2022, “Western Canadian Censuses,” Personal Correspondence, 2022; RE: Manitoba censuses 1884, 1886, 1896; privately held by Yip, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The noted censuses regarding Manitoba are not held at the Manitoba Provincial Archives.

University of Toronto Libraries, “Census of Canada | Map and Data Library,” Archives, Census of Canada, University of Toronto Library (https://mdl.library.utoronto.ca : accessed 25 Oct 2022).