RT @paulisci: Live footage of Canadians hurrying to fill in the census right away. pic.twitter.com/VuJRwEpU5M
— Andrea Eidinger (@AndreaEidinger) May 5, 2016
It’s Census time! I know I was super excited to get my card in the mail, and then bitterly disappointed that I got the short-form questionnaire. Some of you (ok most of you) might be wondering what the heck is wrong with us census-lovers. In news reports on the subject, you’ve likely come across references to the first census in Canada, conducted in New France (Quebec) in the 1660s, some discussion of the abolishment of the long-form questionnaire and its subsequent return, and some about how Canadians broke the census website in their enthusiasm. But what these news stories don’t tell you is why the census is important.So this week, I’m going to talk about the history of the census in Canada, what purpose it serves, and why Canadian historians are in love with it. And I promise to not talk about numbers. 😉