Canada Census, 1901 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The census day for Canada was March 31st, 1901. A number was assigned to a district, a letter to a sub-district and a number to a subdivision of a sub-district. Some sub-districts also have a number, i.e. "a(1)" means sub-district "a1" and "a1" means sub-district "a", subdivision "1". There are some printed forms that have been taken English and French. The responses that the people gave to the enumerator were either in English or French.

The national government of Canada has taken censuses every ten years since 1871 and every five years since 1971. The 1871 census covers the four original provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. The first coast-to-coast census was taken in 1881. Newfoundland was not part of Canada until 1949. For Newfoundland, few 19th-century censuses that list names have been found. They mostly contain statistical summaries.

These censuses list a large proportion of the population. Unfortunately, portions of some have been lost, and some geographical areas within the provinces were missed by the census takers.

The 1901 census also contains a buildings and lands schedule for each locality. This schedule gives a city street address or a farm land description—such as township and range, or township, concession, and lot number—for most families.

To see more information about the census, see Canada Census

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in this collection may include the following information:


 * Name of family
 * Nationality
 * Place of Birth
 * Full complete date of birth
 * Age
 * Relationship to the head of household
 * Gender
 * Sub-district name
 * Sub-district number
 * Year of birth
 * Year of immigration
 * Marital Status
 * Occupation

How to Use the Record
To find your ancestor in the census, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Ancestor’s name
 * Birth year
 * Birth place
 * Last place of residence

Search the Index
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

Can't Find Any information?
If you can't find any information on where your ancestor lives, try the following:


 * Guessing your ancestor’s birth year to narrow down the search.
 * Look at the last place where your ancestor was living in the previous census years.

Related Websites

 * 1901 Census of Canada Indexing Project
 * Census of Canada, 1901 on Library and Archives Canada
 * Canada Census Records Online from CensusFinder.com
 * Census Records in Canada from AllCensusRecords.com

Related Wiki Articles

 * Canadian Censuses Online
 * Canada Census
 * How Canadian National Censuses Are Organized

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in a Historical Record Collection
“Delaware Marriage Records,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 4 March 2011), William Anderson and Elizabeth Baynard Henry, 1890; citing Delaware, State Marriage Records, no. 859, Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Dover.

When the citation has been replaced with a citation specific to the collection being described, the heading should be changed to “Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection” in Heading style 3.