The 1901 Census offers a rich source of information about Canada and Canadians at the turn of the 20th Century. The forth census of Canada. A complete nominal return that provides detailed information about each member of the family - giving name, age, sex, place of origin, etc. March 31, 1901 was the official enumeration date of this census, but the actual enumeration of the population took several weeks. Enumerators were instructed to record the information on the census returns as it existed on the official enumeration date. Enumeration was conducted by door-to-door interview, with enumerators individually visiting each house and asking the questions of the "head" of the household. 

With the proclamation of Census Day on March 31, 1901, the fourth census after Confederation, the first enumeration of Canada's population in the twentieth century began. The 1901 Census was a very large undertaking, consisting of 11 questionnaires and 561 questions, although, not every household was required to answer every question. The questions related to religion, birthplace, citizenship, period of immigration, ethnic origin, and many other topics.

Enumeration was to be completed within 30 days of March 31, however, commissioners were required to revise the schedules before transmitting the completed forms to the census office. By the end of August, 98 percent of the forms were received at the census office in Ottawa. [...more]

This census is available on microfilm, and could be purchased to be viewed at your local libraries' microfilm reader or arranged to be transferred to be viewed through a LDS Family History Centre (FHC) near you. This microfilm is found at the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management [NSARM] or could also be borrowed through your local library if it participates with the Library and Archives Canada's "Interlibrary Loan," (ILL) program.

Additional Source Material: Library and Archives Canada

The entire 1901 Canadian Census is available through the Library and Archives Canada [LAC] web site: Census of Canada, 1901 - Digitized Images from Microfilm

   --   This tool allows researchers to search by geographic location only. As this is not a nominally-indexed database, it is not searchable by family name. The digital images within this database are copies of the original microfilm records held by the Library and Archives Canada.

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