Census of Canada, 1901

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why can't I search the database by family name?
• I hear that there are nominal indexes to the 1901 Census for some places. How can I find out if there is an index for the place I am researching?
• There is no nominal index to the 1901 Census for the place I am searching for. What can I do?
• The place I am looking for is not in the database. When will it be added?
• Why are there no references for Newfoundland?
• How do I search for a Saint/St. place name?
• Why don't I get any results when I enter my town or village as a keyword?
• How do I find out which ward to search for in a particular city?
• How do I search the database for a city or a city ward?
• I have no technical problems viewing census documents but some are still difficult to read. Why?
• Will other Canadian census records be put on-line?
• What questions did the census enumerators ask? Where can I download a blank census form to see the column headings and to transcribe information?
• Where are all the other schedules for the Census of Canada, 1901?

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Why can't I search the database by family name?

There is currently no general nominal index to the 1901 Census. It is a long-term goal to have such an index available on-line. The creation of the Genealogy and Family History, an initiative led by the Library and Archives Canada, will bring together many genealogy resources, including volunteers who are interested in a pilot project to index this national treasure. It will take some time, however, to index the over 143 000 images of Schedules 1 and 2.

I hear that there are nominal indexes to the 1901 Census for some places. How can I find out if there is an index for the place I am researching?

A good part of the 1901 Census has already been nominally indexed by different groups such as local genealogical and/or historical societies, regional archives or university research centres. The Genealogy and Family History has compiled an inventory of such indexes by districts. To know if the place of interest to you has already been indexed, please consult the Inventory of 1901 Census Indexes. This information will be updated regularly.

There is no nominal index to the 1901 Census for the place I am searching for. What can I do?

If the place of interest to you has not been indexed, you will have to search the scanned images for that district or sub-district page by page.

The place I am looking for is not in the database. When will it be added?

The database is complete. If you cannot find the place you are looking for, please see the following questions.

Why are there no references for Newfoundland?

As Newfoundland did not become a province of Canada until 1949, it was not included in the 1901 Census. The government of Newfoundland did not conduct a census in 1901.

How do I search for a Saint/St. place name?

In Quebec, these place names are written in full, for example, Saint-Henri, Sainte-Anne. For other provinces, these names use the abbreviations St. and Ste., for example, St. Vincent, St. Stephen, Ste. Anne, etc. The exception is the County and City of Saint John, New Brunswick, which is always spelled in full.

For all provinces, to search the database, you need to enter only the second part of the name, for example, Vincent, Stephen, Anne.

Why don't I get any results when I enter my town or village as a keyword? Which district and Sub-district should I search?

If the place you are researching does not appear in the database, it is usually because it was a small town or village, which were not enumerated separately. Those places were enumerated within the surrounding area, depending on how the province was divided at the time. In Ontario, the sub-districts usually correspond with townships; in New Brunswick, with parishes; in Manitoba, with rural municipalities; in Quebec, with townships and parishes; in Prince Edward Island, with Lots. There was no standardized system for the division of Nova Scotia and the districts west of Manitoba.

Examples: The village of Bell's Corners in Carleton County, Ontario, was enumerated within Nepean Township. The village of Petit Rocher in Gloucester County, New Brunswick, was enumerated within Beresford Parish.

To narrow your search, you can use the Detailed Search screen. When you enter a township, parish, etc. in the Sub-district Name field, do not type the word township, parish, etc., only the name of the place, e.g. Beresford, not Beresford Parish.

It is also possible that your town, city or village did not exist in 1901 or had a different name.

Districts usually correspond to county. For example, Portneuf County is a census district in the Province of Quebec. You can consult the list of Census Districts and Maps to see the Districts within each Province and the sub-districts within each district.

The following sources can assist you in identifying a relevant province and district/county, and sometimes also the sub-district:

• The Canadian Almanac and Miscellaneous Directory for the year 1901
  On pages 146-214, the section called Post Offices and Railroad Stations is an alphabetical list by place that indicates the electoral district. Electoral districts correspond to the census enumeration districts (almanacs are available at larger public libraries and University libraries);
• Maps, atlases and provincial gazetteers (available at most libraries);
• Most communities, even small ones, had post offices. The National Archives of Canada Post Offices and Postmasters database indicates the electoral (census) district for every post office;
• For Ontario: The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project [http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/CountyAtlas/default.htm] and the map of Ontario (1874);
• Provincial and County genealogy web sites often include maps and place-name information. Most of those sites are linked to the Canada GenWeb Project [http://www.rootsweb.com/~canwgw/].

How do I find out which ward to search for in a particular city?

The ward can often be determined by consulting the published city directories for the years 1900, 1901 or 1902. The directories are arranged alphabetically by surname and indicate name, occupation and address. In most directories, there is also a section arranged alphabetically by street name, which usually indicates the relevant ward for each street. If the street falls within the boundaries of several wards, determine the ward for the nearest cross streets to your address.

To locate a relevant city directory, we recommend that you contact the public library in the city of interest to you. Also, microfilm copies of many city directories are available for loan from the Library and Archives Canada.

How do I search the database for a city or a city ward?

Using the Detailed Search Screen, enter the city in the District Name field. In the Sub-district Name field, enter the name or number of the ward. As the word Ward appears in the database in the bilingual format Ward/Quartier, you can simplify your search by using the $ wildcard character, e.g. Ward$.

Examples:

• District Name: Montreal
  Sub-district Name: Saint-Louis (or just Louis)
• District Name: Winnipeg
  Sub-district Name: Ward$ No. 1

Additional Notes:

If you do not know the ward name or number, enter only ward$ in the Sub-district Name field.

In Quebec, Saint/Sainte place names are written in full, for example, Saint-Henri, Sainte-Anne. For other provinces, these names use the abbreviations St. and Ste., e.g. St. George. The exception is the County and City of Saint John, New Brunswick.

Prince Edward Island

For Charlottetown, enter Queen's in the District Name field and Charlottetown in the Sub-district Name field. There are no ward divisions.

Nova Scotia

For Halifax, the wards are listed as Ward/Quartier No. 1. Enter Halifax in the District Name field and the ward in the Sub-district Name field. Search by using the $ wildcard, e.g. ward$ no. 2. If you do not know the ward number, enter Halifax in the Sub-district Name field.

New Brunswick

For Fredericton, enter York in the District Name field and Fredericton plus the ward name in the Sub-district Name field.

For Saint John, enter Saint John in the District Name field and the ward name in the Sub-district Name field.

Quebec

For Montreal, enter Montreal in the District Name field and the ward name in the Sub-district Name field. Note that Saint-Denis Ward, Hochelaga Ward and Saint-Jean-Baptiste Ward are in Maisonneuve District, not Montreal District. Saint-Gabriel Ward is in Hochelaga District.

For Sherbrooke, enter Sherbrooke in the District Name field and Sherbrooke and the ward name in the Sub-district Name field. The ward names appear as South/Sud, East/Est, North/Nord, Centre. You can use the wildcard, e.g. south$

Ontario

For Brockville, enter Brockville in the District Name field and the ward name in the Sub-district Name field. The wards are listed as South/Sud, East/Est, North/Nord, West/Ouest, Centre. You can use the wildcard, e.g. south$

For Hamilton, the wards are entered as Ward/Quartier No. 1. Enter Hamilton in the District Name field and the ward in the Sub-district Name field. Search by using the $ wildcard, e.g. ward$ no. 3.

For London, the wards are entered as Ward/Quartier No. 1. Enter London in the District Name field and the ward in the Sub-district Name field. Search by using the $ wildcard, e.g. ward$ no. 3. Also search using London in the Sub-district Name field and Middlesex in the District Name field, as some parts of the city were enumerated in Middlesex District (County).

For Toronto, the wards are entered as Ward/Quartier No. 1. Enter Toronto in the District Name field and the ward in the Sub-district Name field. Search by using the $ wildcard, e.g. ward$ no. 3. Also search using Toronto in the Sub-district Name field and York in the District Name field, as some parts of the city were enumerated in York District (County).

If you know the address in Toronto, you can identify the district and sub-district numbers, courtesy of the Ontario Roots web site [http://www.ontarioroots.com/].

Manitoba

For Winnipeg, the wards are entered as Ward/Quartier No. 1. Enter Winnipeg in the District Name field and the ward in the Sub-district Name field. Search by using the $ wildcard, e.g. ward$ no. 3.

Alberta

For Calgary, enter Alberta in the District Name field and Calgary in the Sub-district Name field. There are no ward divisions.

For Edmonton, enter Alberta in the District Name field and Edmonton in the Sub-district Name field. There are no ward divisions.

British Columbia

For Vancouver, there are no ward divisions. Enter Burrard in the District Name field and Vancouver in the Sub-district Name field. You can also search New Westminster Sub-district in New Westminster District.

For Victoria, there are no ward divisions. Enter Victoria in the District Name and Sub-district Name fields. The areas outside the city are in Vancouver District, Victoria North and Victoria South Sub-districts.

For Nanaimo, enter Vancouver in the District Name field and Nanaimo plus the ward name in the Sub-district Name field.

I have no technical problems viewing census documents but some are still difficult to read. Why?

These records were microfilmed in the 1950s and were not produced to archival standards. After filming, the originals were not retained. Unfortunately, due to the poor quality of the microfilm, scanning the images from the microfilm was not able to correct the quality of some of the images, and they can therefore be difficult to read.

Also, some of the ink used in the original documents had faded before the records were microfilmed.

Will other Canadian census records be put on-line?

The Library and Archives Canada does want to make more and more archival material available on-line, including other national census; however these are costly and labour-intensive projects. Census records before 1901 are only available on microfilm. Information about census records and how to access them can be found in the Genealogy section of our web site.

What questions did the census enumerators ask? Where can I download a blank census form to see the column headings and to transcribe information?

A summary of the instructions to the census enumerators and the column headings are included in the Introduction to the database under Interpreting the Records.

A blank 1901 Canadian census form can be downloaded for free from the FamilySearch [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/Rg/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&
Gid=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide=
FCan1901.ASP] web site. Some such as the Ontario Genealogical Society [http://www.ogs.on.ca/publications/researchforms.html], sell paper copies of blank forms.

Where are all the other schedules for the Census of Canada, 1901?

Only schedules 1 and 2 were microfilmed. Schedules 3 to 9 were not retained.