1871 Canadian Census

The 1871 Canadian Census marked the first regularly scheduled collection of national statistics of the Canadian population on April 2, 1871,[1][2] as required by section 8 of the British North America Act.[3] The constitution required a census to be taken in 1871 and every tenth year thereafter.[3] Parliament implemented the requirements of the constitution through the Census Act of May 12, 1870. In the first census, the population of Canada was enumerated to be 3,485,761.[4]

First Census of Canada
General information
Country	Canada
Date taken	April 2, 1871 (1871-04-02)
Total population	3,485,761
Most populous province	Ontario (1,620,851)
Least populous province	New Brunswick (285,594)

All inhabitants of Canada were included, including aboriginals. While this was the first national census of Canada, only four provinces existed at the time: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Other areas of what later became part of Canada continued to be enumerated in their own separate censuses. The results of the 1871 census, in both English and French, were reported in a five volume set.

The following census was the 1881 Census.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire was on a variety of subjects and asked 211 questions including area, land holdings, vital statistics, religion, education, administration, the military, justice, agriculture, commerce, industry and finance. Information was collected in tabular form on population, houses and other buildings, lands, industries and institutions. The population section included the age, sex, religion, education, race and occupation of each person, although not every household answered all 211 questions.[5]

Data products

Canada provinces July 1870 – July 1871.

As the data were compiled, Statistics Canada released various census data products.

Population and dwelling counts

Population of the provinces and territories:[6][2][7]

Province	Males	Females	Total
Nova Scotia	193,792	194,008	387,800
New Brunswick	145,888	139,706	285,594
Quebec	596,041	595,475	1,191,516
Ontario	828,590	792,261	1,620,851
Canada	1,764,311	1,721,450	3,485,761
Source: Statistics Canada. - Manitoba and Northwest Territories[8]

Religion

Religion	Population	Percentage
Adventist	6,179	0.18
Anglican	494,049	14.17
Baptist	239,343	6.87
Brethren	2,305	—
Christian	—	—
Congressionalist	21,829	0.63
Evangelical Association	4,701	0.13
Friends (Quaker)	7,345	—
Greek Church	18	—
Jews	1,115	0.03
Lutheran	37,935	1.09
Methodist	567,091	16.27
Mormon	534	0.02
No Religion	5,146	0.15
Pagan	1,886	0.05
Plymouth Brethren	2,229
Presbyterian	544,998	15.63
Protestant	10,146	0.29
Roman Catholic	1,492,029	42.80%
Unitarian	2,275	—
Other sects	27,553	—
Not given	17,055	0.49
Canada	3,485,761	100.0
Statistics Canada[9]

Origins

The figures for 1871 are for the four original provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) only.

Origins	Population	Percentage
European	3,433,315	98.5%
English	706,369	20.3%
Irish	846,414	24.3%
Scotch	549,946	15.8%
Other	7,773	0.2%
Totals, British	2,110,502	60.6%
French	1,082,940	31.1%
Dutch	29,662	0.9%
German	202,991	5.8%
Italian	1,035	0.0%
Russian	607	0.0%
Scandinavian	1,623	0.0%
Swiss	2,962	0.1%
Other	53,441	1.5%
Hebrew	125	—
Native Indian & Inuit (Eskimo)	23,037	0.7%
Black	21,496	0.6%
Various	1,222	0.0%
Unspecified	7,561	0.2%
Canada	3,485,761	100.0%
Statistics Canada.[10]

See also

• Census in Canada
• Canadians
• United States Census

References

1. "Census of Canada, 1871: How the Census Was Collected". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
2. "Canada Year Book population" (PDF). Statistics Canada. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
3. "History of the Census of Canada". Statistics Canada. 2006. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
4. "Canada: Overview of the 1871 Census". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
5. History of the Census of Canada The first national census in 1871
6. Series A2-14. Population of Canada by province, census dates, 1851 to 1976
7. Census of 1871: (33 & 34 Vict. C. 107.) ...By Great Britain. Census Office
8. They joined the Canadian confederation in July 15, 1870 but were not included in the 1871 official Census of Canada. In 1870 the Hudson's Bay Company-controlled Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory were transferred to the Dominion of Canada. Most of these lands were formed into a new territory named Northwest Territories, but the region around Fort Garry was simultaneously established as the province of Manitoba by the Manitoba Act of 1870. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec later received additional land from the Northwest Territories, and Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut were later created out of the Northwest Territories. The remaining provinces joined Canada as separate and previously independent colonies.
9. "God's Empire: Religion and Colonialism in the British World, c.1801–1908". Statistics Canada. 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
10. Coats, R. H. (1931). "Chapter III Canada: Table 45. Origins of the people according to the censuses of 1871, 1881, 1901, 1911 AND 1921 (P. 134–135)" (PDF). nber.org. Retrieved March 30, 2020.