In the mid to late 1700s British soldiers were positioned in Montreal and from that time the Anglo population of Montreal began to grow. The census returns before that time were comprised mainly of  French inhabitants. 

There were some earlier censuses taken in the Province of Quebec (or New France) which are available through the PRDH. Those available years are: 1666 (+another one), 1667, 1681, 1760, 1762 and 1765.

• Published census returns of Quebec: 

The years included for Montreal are 1653, 1731, 1741, 1764 (Protestants in Québec and Montréal), 1765 and 1825. 
• Quebec census film numbers, 1640-1851 Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
• Montreal 1731 with list of inhabitants. Far East Section,  Second Section Eastside

Also below many of the census years I've included bits & pieces of statistical data collected during those years. These tid-bits generally do not give names of people but will give you an idea of the demographics of the time.

Other known libraries/archives which hold permenant copies of the Montreal census films are:

Quebec
Archives Nationales du Québec (ANQ) in Montreal & Quebec City
Montreal Municipal Library, Central Branch, Salle Gagnon, Montréal

Ontario
Queen's University Library (Government Documents Department), Kingston, Ont.
North York Public Library, Toronto, Ont.
LDS - Don Mills & Eglington branch, Toronto, Ont. (1891 census only)
Windsor Public Library, Windsor, Ont.
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

Saskatchewan
Regina Public Library, Prairie History Room, Regina, Sask.
Saskatoon Public Library, Saskatoon, Sask.

Alberta
Calgary Public Library, Calgary, Alberta
Provincial Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

B.C.
Cloverdale Branch, Surrey Public Library, Cloverdale, B.C.
Greater Victoria Public Library, Victoria, B.C.

If you know of other libraries, archives or societies (inside or outside of Canada)  with copies of any of the Montreal census films in their permanent collections please e-mail me and I'll add it to this list.

• Returns prior to 1851 are rarely complete for any geographical area. Portions of the 1851 census have not survived. 
• In 1891, institutions were enumerated separately in one block and appear on reel T-6427.
• In 1901, most of the Indian agencies were enumerated separately and appear on reels T-6554 and T-6555.
• Abbreviations found in Census Returns

NAC film # H-1758 (not available through the LDS)

Notes about the 1811 / 1813 and 1816 "census" films  by Marc G. Vallieres :

Coming soon: the 1819 street index.

NAC  film # C-718 (not available through the LDS)
Montreal City and Montreal Country (including Rivieres-des-Praries, Sault-aux-Recollet, Longue-Pointe,
Pointe-aux-Trembles, Pointe-a-Calliers, Pointe Claire, St.Laurent, St.Joseph, Ste.Anne, Ste.Genevieve,
Lachine, Faubourg, St. Vincent-de-Paul (Effingham - Laval??), St. Rose Village (Effingham - Laval??) 
(Sault-St. Louise (Huntingdon).
NAC  film # C-717 (not available through the LDS)
includes Longueil (Huntingdon), Laprarie (Huntingdon), Longueil (Kent), Laprarie village (Huntingdon)

Population of the county of Montreal 1825 "The census taken in 1825 gives the following result as the population &c of the town, and the different villages on the island of Montreal." (source: "The British Dominion in North America", 1831)

Town and Villages	Present	Absent	Dwellings	Shops	Houses Shut	Houses Building
Montreal City and Suburbs	22,357	146	2,908	147	96	70
Village of St.Henry or Tanneries des Rollands (Division of St. Pierre, parish of Montreal)	462	1	66	3	2	1
Village des Tanneries Belair (Division of  St. Michael, parish of Montreal)	116	---	24	1	1	--
Pointe aux Trembles	185	---	28	---	1	1
Rivieres des Prairies	32	---	8	1	--	--
Sault	139	---	26	---	---	---
St. Laurent	328	---	58	4	6	1
Ste. Genevieve	164	---	25	1	1	---
Pointe Claire	333	3	57	1	2	---
Total in town and villages	24,116	153	3,200	158	109	73
Country	12,969	14	1,878	22	93	14
Grand Total  of the county	37,085	167	5,078	180	202	87

Categories in the 1825 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)

     Name of parish 
     Name of family head
     Total inmates in each family 
     Number belonging to each family absent from the Province 
     Number of the family under 6 years of age 
     Number of the family aged 6 and under 14 
     Number of the family aged more than 14 years and under 18 

      Males 

     Aged 18 but not 25 divided by married and single 
     Aged 25 but not 40 divided by married and single 
     Aged 40 but not 60 divided by married and single 
     Aged 60 and over divided by married and single 

      Females 

     Under 14 
     Aged 14 but not 45 divided by married and single 
     Aged 45 and over divided by married and single 

NAC film #s (not available through the LDS)
Montreal City -  C-5941 
 
 

Categories in the 1831 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)      Name of parish, seigniory, township, ward or division of a town       Name of family head       Owns home       Trade or profession       Total number of family members       Number of family members temporarily out of the province       Number aged 5 and under       Number greater than 5 and less than 14 MALES Married 14-17 Single 14-17 Married 18-20 Single 18-20 Married 21-29 Single 21-29 Married 30-59 Single 30-59 Married 60+  Single 60+ FEMALES Less than 14 Married 14-44 Single 14-44 Married 45+  Single 45+          Number of deaf and dumb persons and the occupation for which they show the greatest aptitude       Number of blind persons       Number of insane persons       Number of Anglicans       Number of Church of Scotland       Number of Roman Catholics       Number of Methodists       Number of Presbyterians and Congregationalists not members of Church of Scotland       Number of Baptists       Numbers of Jews       Other denominations       Number of families earning their subsistance by agricultural employment       Number of male farm servants employed in each family      Number of families engaged in commerce and trade       Number of Persons in each family subsisting on alms

Industries in Montreal 1831

Grist Mills	233
Saw Mills	241
Fulling Mills	47
Carding Mills	46
Oil Mills	9
Iron Works	37
Foundaries	14
Distilleries	56
Pot & Pearl Asheries	462
Other Manufacturers	70

NAC film # H-1758 (not available through the LDS)

NAC film #s  (not available through the LDS)
Montreal City and County - C-729 and C-730 
Chambly - C-731

To determine which Ward your relative was living in at the time of  the census consult the Montreal City directories. In most directories there is also a street index. This street index will usually mention which ward the particular street was situated in. For the 1842 census see the 1842/43 street guide.

Categories in the 1842 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)

     Houses with their local situations in any range, concession, street, etc. divided by houses
     inhabited, houses vacant, and houses under construction 
     Head of each family 
     Proprietor of real property 
     Non-proprietor of real property 
     Tenant entitled to vote at any election in City, Town etc. 
     Trade or profession 
     Total number of people in family 
     Number of family members temporarily absent 
     Natives of England in family 
     Natives of Ireland in family 
     Natives of Scotland in family 
     Natives of Canada of French origin in family 
     Natives of Canada of British origin in family 
     Natives of Continent of Europe or otherwise, specifying country 
     Natives of the United States of America 
     Number of years each person has been in the Province if not native thereof 
     Number of aliens not naturalized 
     Number of family members aged 5 and under divided by gender 
     Number of family members aged 6 and less than 14 divided by gender 

      Males 
     Aged 14 and less than 18 divided by married and single 
     Aged 18 and less than 21 divided by married and single 
     Aged 21 and less than 30 divided by married and single 
     Aged 30 and less than 60 divided by married and single 
     Aged 60 and up divided by married and single 

      Females 
     Aged 14 and not 45 divided by married and single 
     Aged 45 and up divided by married and single 

     Number of children in family aged between 5 and 16 in each family 
     Number of deaf and dumb people in each family and the occupation for which they show the greatest
     aptitude, divided by gender 
     Number of blind people in family, divided by gender 
     Number of idiots in family, divided by gender 
     Number of lunatics in family, divided by gender 
     Number of family members belonging to Church of England 
     Number of family members belonging to Church of Scotland 
     Number of family members belonging to Church of Rome 
     Number of family members belonging to British Wesleyan Methodists 
     Number of family members belonging to Canadian Wesleyan Methodists 
     Number of family members belonging to other Methodists 
     Number of family members belonging to Presbyterians not in connection with the Church of Scotland
     Number of family members belonging to Congregationalists or Independents 
     Number of family members belonging to Baptists and Anabaptists 
     Number of family members belonging to Lutherans 
     Number of family members belonging to Quakers 
     Number of family members belonging to Moraviana and Tunkers 
     Number of family members belonging to Dutch Reformed Church 
     Number of family members who are Jews 
     Number of family members of other religious denominations 
     Number of colored persons in family, divided by gender 
     Number of male farm servants employed by family 
     Number of other servants employed by family, divided by gender 
     Number of family members engaged in trade or commerce 
     Number of family members existing on alms or paupers 
     Number of acres or arpents of land occupied by each family 
     Number of acres or arpents of improved land occupied by each family 
     Followed by detailed commercial and agricultural statistics 

To determine which Ward your relative was living in at the time of  the census consult the Montreal City directories. In most directories there is also a street index. This street index will usually mention what ward the particular street was situated in. For the 1851 census see 1851 street index. 
 

WARD / DISTRICT	NAC film #	LDS  film #
City of Montréal - St. Antoine Ward	C-1150	517305
City of Montréal - St. Lawrence Ward	C-1150	517305
City of Montréal - St. Louis Ward	C-1149 & C-1150	517305 AND ?
City of Montréal - St. Mary's Ward	C-1150	517305
City of Montréal - General Hospital	C-1150
Montréal (villages of Lachine and St.-Louis, and parish of Montréal)	C-1129 & C1130	517462
Montréal (parishes of St.-François [Longue Pointe], L'Enfant Jésus [Pointe-aux-Trembles] St.-Joseph [Rivière-des-Prairies], Sault-aux- Récollets, St.-Laurent, Ste.-Geneviève, Ste.- Anne, St. Joachim [Pointe Claire],and St.- Michel [Lachine])		517461
Chambly (parish of St.-Joseph-de-Chambly, village of Chambly, Chambly College, village of Longueuil, part of St.-Antoine-de-Longueuil parish, part of Laprairie (La Pinière) parish, and Boucherville parish)		517446

Categories in the 1851 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)

     Name of place, division
     Names of inmates 
     Profession, trade or occupation 
     Place of birth 
     Religion 
     Residence if out of limits 
     Age next birth day 
     Sex (M/F) 
     Married or single 
     Colored persons--Negroes 
     Indians if any 
     Residents broken down into family members and non-family members, again sorted by gender 
     Absent family members sorted by gender 
     Deaf and dumb sorted by gender 
     Blind sorted by gender 
     Lunatics sorted by gender 
     Attending school sorted by gender 
     Births during the year 1851 sorted by gender 
     Deaths during year 1851 sorted by gender, age and cause of death 
     Brick, Stone, Frame, Log, Shanty or other kind of residence 
     Number of stories 
     Number of families occupying 
     Vacant 
     Building 
     Shops, stores, inns, taverns, etc. 
     Public buildings 
     Places of Worship 
     Information as to Mills, Factories etc, etc their cost, power, produce, etc. 
     No. of persons usually employed therein 
     General remarks of the enumerator
     Also includes agricultural census at the end of each district which gives range and lot numbers for farms. 

To determine which Ward your relative was living in at the time of  the census consult the Montreal City directories. In most directories there is also a street index. This street index will usually mention what ward the particular street was situated in. For the 1861 census the best I can offer (for now) is the street index for 1858 and the street index for 1866.
 

WARD / DISTRICT	NAC  film number	LDS  film number
Centre Ward	C-1232	517314
East Ward	C-1232 & C-1233	517315
West Ward	C-1248 & C-1249	517336
St. Antoine Ward	from C-1236 to C-1239	from 517320  to 517323
St. James Ward	from C-1239 to C-1241	from 517324  to 517326
St. Lawrence Ward	from C-1241 to C-1244	from 517327  to 517329
St. Louis Ward	from C-1244 to C-1246	from 517330  to 517332
St. Anne's Ward	from C-1233 to C-1236	from 517316  to 517319
Ste Mary's Ward	from C-1246 to C-1248	from 517333  to 517335
Montréal, Religious institutions	C-1249	517337
Lachine	C-1285 Agricultural census - C-1286
Chambly		517364 ??
Hochelaga	C-1280 & C-1281	517376
Laprairie		517387
Laval		517388

Categories in the 1861 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)

     Name of place, district 
     Names of inmates 
     Profession, trade or occupation 
     Place of birth 
     Married during the year 
     Religion 
     Residence if out of limits 
     Age next birth day 
     Sex (M/F) 
     Married or single 
     Widower, widow 
     Colored persons, Mulatto or Indians 
     Residents broken down into family members and non-family members, again sorted by gender 
     Absent family members sorted by gender 
     Deaf and dumb 
     Blind
     Lunatics or idiots 
     Children attending school sorted by gender 
     Persons over 20 who cannot read or write sorted by gender 
     Births during the year 1860 sorted by gender 
     Deaths during year 1860 sorted by gender, age and cause of death 
     Brick, Stone, Frame, Log, or other kind of residence 
     Number of stories 
     Number of families occupying 
     Vacant 
     Being built 
     Livestock of townspeople and persons not farmers 
     Qunatity of land attached to tenement 
     Name of business or manufacture 
     Capital invested in business in real and personal estate 
     Raw material used, exclusive of fuel sorted by quantity, kind and value 
     Motive power or machinery 
     Average number of hands employed, sorted by gender 
     Average monthly cost of labour, sorted by gender 
     Annual product of business or manufacture sorted by quantity, kind and value 
     General remarks of the enumerator 
     (Agricultural census stored on separate reel) 

To determine which Ward your relative was living in at the time of  the census consult the Montreal City directories. In most directories there is also a street index. This street index will usually mention what ward  the particular street was situated in. For the 1871 census the best I can offer (for now) is the street index for 1866.
 

WARD / DISTRICT	NAC  film number	LDS  film number
Centre Ward	C-10040	0493449
West Ward	C-10040	0493449 ( item 18-22.)
East Ward	C-10040	0493449
Montréal-Est (St.-Louis & St.-Jacques wards)		0493450
Montréal-Est  (Ste.-Marie ward)		0493451
Montréal-Ouest  (Ste.-Anne ward)		0493452
Montréal-Ouest (St.-Antoine and St. Laurent wards)		0493453
Lachine	C-10051
Laprairie		493458 Items 1-12
Laval		493445 Items 13-19

Categories in the 1871 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)

     For living people: 

    Vessels 
     Shanties 
     Dwelling houses in construction 
     Dwelling houses uninhabited 
     Dwelling houses inhabited 
     Families 
     Names 
     Gender 
     Age 
     Born within last 12 months 
     Country or provinces of birth 
     Religion 
     Racial origin 
     Profession, occupation or trade 
     Married or widowed 
     Married within last 12 months 
    Instruction: sorted under going to school, over 20 unable to read, over 20 unable to read 
     Infirmities: sorted under deaf and dumb, blind, unsound mind 

     For those who have died within the last 12 months: 

     Name 
     Gender 
     Age 
     Born within last 12 months (gives month) 
     Faith 
     Country or province of birth 
     Profession or occupation 
     Married or widowed 
     Married within last 12 months 
     Month of death 
     Cause of death 

See Also:
Jewish residents of Montreal and Quebec City in the 1871-1901 censuses of Canada
LDS film # 1698008 Items 6-7

French Canadian Heads-of-Households in the Province of Quebec in 1871
Cities Beginning with A-C  /  D-L  /  L-M

The 1881 census is on-line AND searchable through the LDS! 
But if you prefer to scroll through the films here are the film numbers:
 

WARD / DISTRICT	NAC  film number	LDS  film number
Centre Ward	C-13217	1375853 (no. 90, a-e)
East Ward	C-13217	1375853
West Ward	C-13217	1375853
St. Antoine Ward	C-13219 & C-13220	1375855 & 1375856
St. James Ward	C-13218 & C-13219	1375854 & 1375855
St. Lawrence Ward	C-13220 & C-13221	1375856 & 1375857
St. Louis Ward	C-13217 & C-13218	1375853 & 1375854
St. Anne Ward	C-13217	1375853
St. Mary's Ward	C-13219	1375855
Longueuil - St. Lambert - St. Hubert - Chambly  - Laprairie		1375841
HOCHELAGA DIST.  St. Jean-Baptiste,  St. Louis, Mile End,  Côte la Visitation, Hochelaga, St. Henri, Ste. Cunégonde, St. Gabriel,  Verdun, Côte St. Paul, Notre-Dame de Grâce, W.		1375857 (no.91, a-k)
Côte St. Antoine, Côte des Neiges, Côte St. Paul - Longue Pointe - Pointe aux Trembles - Rivières des Prairies - Sault aux Récollets - Outremont,		1375858 (no. 91, a-k)
JACQUES-CARTIER DIST.  Lachine, Pointe Claire, Ste. Anne (du Bout de l'Île) - Ste. Anne de Bellevue,Ste. Geneviève - Isle Bizard,  - St. Laurent	C-13222	1375858 (no. 92, a-k)
LAVAL DIST.:  St. Vincent de Paul - Ste. Rose - Ste. Rose, Village - St. Martin - Ste. Dorothée - St.François de Salles		1375858  (no. 93, a-f)

Categories in the 1881 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)

     Vessels 
     Shanties 
     Houses in construction 
     Houses uninhabited 
     Houses inhabitted 
     Families 
     Name
     Sex 
     Age 
     Born within last 12 months 
     Country or province of birth 
     Religion
     Racial origin 
     Profession, occupation or trade 
     Married or widowed 
     Going to school 
     Infirmities broken down under deaf and dumb, blind, unsound mind 

See Also:
Jewish residents of Montreal and Quebec City in the 1871-1901 censuses of Canada
LDS film # 1698008 Items 6-7

To determine which Ward your relative was living in at the time of  the census consult the Montreal City directories. In most directories there is also a street index. This street index will usually mention what ward the particular street was situated in. I'll try to get the 1895 (closest year I have to 1891) street index up sometime soon.
Major construction here! Will hopefully have film numbers up soon.

QUEBEC (PAC no. T-6405)   1465830
Montmagny District (no. 170, i)
Montmorency District (no. 171, a-m)
Montréal City District (no. 172, a-c17)
QUEBEC (PAC no. T-6406)   1465831
Montréal City District (no. 172, c18-d16)
QUEBEC (PAC no. T-6407)   1465832
Montréal City District (no. 172, d17-e34)
QUEBEC (PAC no. T-6408)   1465833
Montréal City District (no. 172, e35-g14)
QUEBEC (PAC no. T-6409)   1465834
Montréal City District (no. 172, g15-h29)
QUEBEC (PAC no. T-6410)   1465835
Montréal District (no. 172, h30-i)
Napierville District (no. 173, a-g)
Nicolet District (no. 174, a-i)

1891 T-6405 - T-6410,  1465830 - 1465835   T-6427(institutions)

Categories in the 1891 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)

     Vessels and Shanties 
     Houses in construction 
     Houses uninhabited 
     Houses inhabited 
     Families 
     Names 
     Sex 
     Age 

     Married or widowed 
     Relation to head of family 
     Country or province of birth 
     French Canadians 
     Place of birth of Father 
     Place of birth of Mother 
     Religion 
     Profession, occupation or trade 
     Employers 
     Wage earner 
     Unemployed during week preceding census 
     Employer to state average number of hands employed during year 
     Instruction divided under subtitles Read, Write 
     Infirmities divided under subtitles Deaf and dumb, Blind, Unsound of mind 

See Also:
Jewish residents of Montreal and Quebec City in the 1871-1901 censuses of Canada
LDS film # 1698008 Items 6-7

The 1901 census is on-line through the National Archives of Canada.  It's searchable by location but NOT searchable by name (yet) 

To determine which Ward your relative was living in at the time of  the census consult the Montreal City directories. In most directories there is also a street index. This street index will usually mention what ward the particular street was situated in. I'll try to get the 1899 (closest year I have to 1901) street index up sometime soon.
 

WARD / DISTRICT	NAC  film number	LDS  film number
Montreal City - St-Anne's Ward	T-6532 (no. 174, a1-a14) T-6533 (no. 174, a15-c)	1843614  1843615
Montreal City - St-Antoine Ward	T-6533	1843616
Montreal City - St-James Ward		1843616 1843617
Montreal City - St-Lawrence Ward		1843617 1843618
Montreal City - Ste-Mary's Ward		1843618 1843619
Hochelaga District	T-6522 (no. 155, a-b26) T-6523 (no. 155, b27-d)	1843604 1843605
Jacques-Cartier District	T-6524 (no. 157, a-x)	1843606
Laprairie & Napierville District

Montréal City 
St-Anne Ward (District) - NAC film # T-6532 (no. 174, a1-a14) ;  LDS film # 1843614
St-Anne District - NAC film # T-6533 (no. 174, a15-c) ; LDS film # 1843615
St-Antoine District - NAC film # T-6533 (no. 175, a1-a29) ; LDS film # 1843615

QUEBEC (NAC no. T-6534)   1843616
Montréal City (St-Antoine) District
(no. 175, a30-a74)
Montréal City (St-Jacques) District
(no. 176, a-b20)
QUEBEC (NAC no. T-6535)   1843617
Montréal City (St-Jacques) District
(no. 176, b21-b67, b-Extra)
Montréal City (St-Laurent) District
(no. 177, a1-a22)
QUEBEC (NAC no. T-6536)   1843618
Montréal City (St-Laurent) District
(no. 177, a23-b)
Montréal City (Ste-Marie) District
(no. 178, a1-a6)
QUEBEC (NAC no. T-6537)   1843619
Montréal City (Ste-Marie) District
(no. 178, a7-a77)
Nicolet District (no. 179, a-c)
(  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjmartin/census.htm  )

1901 ? 1843614 - 1843619

Categories in the 1901 Census (kindly supplied by Marlene Simmons)

     House number 
     Name of each person in family or household on March 31, 1901 
     Sex
     Colour 
     Relationship to head of family or household 
     Single, married, widowed or divorced 
     Month and date of birth 
     Year of birth 
     Age at last birthday 
     Country of place of birth (if in Canada specify province or territory and add r or u to signify rural
     or urban) 
     Year of immigration to Canada 
     Year of naturalization 
     Racial or Tribal origin 
     Nationality
     Religion 
     Profession, occupation, trade or means of living of each person (r means retired), subdivided by
     categories living on own means, employer, employee, working on own account 
     Wage earner divided under categories working at trade in factory or in home, months employed
     at trade in factory, months employed at trade in home, months employed in other occupation
     than trade in factory or home, Earnings from occupation or trade, other earnings from other
     sources. 
     Education and language of each person aged 5 and over divided under months at school in
     year, can read, can write, can speak English, can speak French, mother tongue (if spoken).
     Infirmities (with note that if infirmity dates from childhood, specify) divided under deaf and
     dumb, blind, unsound mind 

See Also:

Jewish residents of Montreal and Quebec City in the 1871-1901 censuses of Canada
LDS film # 1698008 Items 6-7

InGeneas has a database that contains extractions from the 1901 census "of those giving a year of immigration and a place of birth outside of Canada ('outside of Canada' includes Newfoundland)." Only the searchable index is free, but from this you can either order a copy of the extraction from Ingeneas or take it upon yourself to hunt through the census at your local library or LDS.

More details of the 1901 census by Bill Martin

According to Gordon A. Watts of the Canada Census Campaign :

"Those interested in Canadian heritage and history, are faced with the current dilemma because responsive politicians were lobbied by a concerned constituency, who drafted and passed legislation in the early part of this century (1906), to remove the fear that their personal information would be distributed.

Statistics Canada, the agency charged with the responsibility of collecting the Census of Canada every five years, has taken the position that no public access will be allowed to individual Census records taken after 1901. They have refused to transfer control of these records to the National Archives which would then permit the National Archivist to allow public access to them 92 years after collection. Their position is that the release of individual census records is explicitly prohibited by law for all censuses following 1901. This position is based on a series of legal opinions obtained from Justice Canada from 1981 through 1985.

Officials of Statistics Canada have stated there has never been an intention to destroy the census data but if it were up to former Privacy Commissioner Bruce Phillips, all census records would be destroyed immediately following statistical compilation. Government records, however, cannot be destroyed without the approval of the National Archivist. Canada’s current National Archivist, Ian Wilson, is determined to see these records preserved. He has rescinded an order for destruction of the 1996 Census enumeration forms issued by the former National Archivist. Mr. Wilson also favours allowing public access to Historic Census records and made a presentation to the Expert Panel on Access to Historic Census Records that called for that access.

Since late 1998 efforts have been made via the Internet and various genealogical mail lists to inform concerned individuals and organizations regarding the Post 1901 Census situation. All of those concerned have been encouraged to sign petitions and write letters and email to their Members of Parliament and various government officials, expressing their concerns about the situation, and requesting that steps be taken to allow public access to Historic Census Records 

In April of 1999, Rick Roberts of Global Genealogy, created the Post 1901 Census Project Website and provided space on his server for it. A loosely knit group of concerned individuals from across Canada began working together, through the Internet, to promote efforts for the release of Post 1901 Census records. They have come to be known as the Canada Census Committee. For the most part members of this adhoc Committee have not met except via the Internet. They are not the only group working to the same goal, however no other group we know of is encouraging participation from all Canadians, coast to coast. We are also actively seek the participation and co-operation of all Genealogical and Historical societies.

We must continue to write letters and email to our Members of Parliament, and other government officials, expressing our desire to obtain public access to Historic Census records. Theses letters and email should stress that the Expert Panel has recommended allowing public access to all Census – past, present and future, 92 years after collection as allowed in Regulations attached to the current Privacy Act. We must continue to seek a commitment by our MPs that they will vote in favour of a Bill that would allow public access to Historic Census."

• Post 1901 census project
• Lunenburg County's Canadian Census Campaign Lots of GREAT info & links re: the census campaign
• Expert Panel on Access to Historical Census Records from Statistics Canada  (The whole section)
• Join the Canada-Census Campaign mailing list
• Canadian Census History
• History of the census of Canada (from Statistics Canada)

The National Registration File of 1940
Searches of the National Registration File of 1940

Also check out the 1911 census  info on demographics of Montrealers by religion and by origin.