Census of Canada, 1911

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Interpreting the Records

• Schedule 1 (Population)
• Interpreting the Census Schedules - Schedule 1
• The Questions (Column Headings)
• Published Material

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The archival records of the 1911 census consist of Schedule 1 (Population) and Schedule A1, the form used to enumerate the population of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. Below, you will find detailed descriptions of Schedules 1 and A1 and the meaning of each heading. Unless otherwise noted, this information has been drawn from the Census and Statistics Office's Instructions to Officers, Commissioners, and Enumerators (Ottawa, 1911) or The Instructions for Taking the Census of the Northwest Territories and of the Yukon Territory (Ottawa, 1911), the explanatory documents issued to the enumerators for the 1911 census.

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Schedule 1 (Population)

Schedule 1 was created to enumerate the entire population of Canada by name. Every individual whose habitual home was within an enumerator's district as of June 1, 1911 was to be listed on the population schedule of that district. The head of the family (or household, or institution) was to be listed first, with the other members following. It was the responsibility of the "head" to provide the enumerator with the information.

In the case of an individual who was not present at enumeration time and for whom the head of the household could not give information (for example, boarders, lodgers, students at school, etc.), "Special Form A" was to be completed. This was a separate form that asked the same questions as Schedule 1, but that could be left for the absent individual to complete. The enumerator collected the form later and the information was entered into its proper place on Schedule 1.

For the census, a family was defined as parents, sons, daughters, any other relatives and servants in a living arrangement which performed its own housekeeping. As an expanded group, a household was considered to be "all persons in a housekeeping community, whether related by ties of blood or not, but usually with one of their number occupying the position of head." The occupants or employees of a hotel or boarding house, if that was their usual place of residence, were considered part of the same household. A single person, living alone, with their own dwelling and housekeeping, was also considered a household.

When members of a family (or household) were temporarily absent from their usual place of residence, they were enumerated under the de jure system. This meant that people were enumerated based on where they usually lived or slept, not where they were at the time of enumeration. If an enumerator was in doubt about whether an individual should be listed with a particular household, they were to complete the record, with information supplied by the head, and then enter the other address for the individual in question in column 4 ("Place of Habitation"). Special cases to be considered by enumerators included:

1. Persons visiting with the family: to be enumerated at their usual address.
   
   
2. Transient boarders or lodgers at hotels, or other places: to be enumerated at their usual place of living.
   
   
3. Persons who only took their meals with the family: to be enumerated where they lived, or slept.
   
   
4. Servants, apprentices or others who were employed and working with the family, but who slept elsewhere: to be enumerated where they slept.
   
   
5. Servants who lived or slept in the same household as their employers: to be enumerated with their employers.
   
   
6. Students or children living or boarding with a household to attend school: to be enumerated at their parents' home (and not where they boarded).
   
   
7. Individuals who were members of the family, but who had subsequently become inhabitants of an asylum, almshouse, home for the aged, reformatory, prison, or any similar type of institution: to be enumerated at the institution. However, if their home address was in Canada, it was to be entered in column 4 ("Place of Habitation").
   
   
8. Members of the family who were away for longer than twelve months: to be enumerated at their new address.
   
   
9. Members of railroad, construction or mining camps that moved frequently and who had no fixed address: to be enumerated where found.
   
   

An "institution" included "such establishments as hospitals, poorhouses, asylums for the insane, prisons, penitentiaries, schools of learning, military barracks, homes for the aged, homes of refuge, etc." The officials, attendants, servants and inhabitants of these places were to be entered in this order, with the name of the institution in column 1. Where an officer, attendant or servant did not live in the institution, they were to be entered at their usual place of residence. Enumerators were required to collect information for all institutions in their enumeration area.

Under the Census Act, the term "dwelling house" included any structure that provided shelter to a human -- not only houses, but rooms in factories, stores, railway cars and igloos. A structure was to be counted as one dwelling, no matter how many entrances it had or how many families lived within it.

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Interpreting the Census Schedules - Schedule 1

The enumerators were instructed to record the following information at the top of each census page: the name of the province; the district number; the sub-district number; the enumeration district number; whether the area was part of a city, town, village, township or parish; the name of the enumerator; and the date on which the page was completed. Page numbers were to be entered consecutively on the left and right side of the census page (with the same number on each side of the same page). In some situations, this did not occur and the enumerator filled in the identifying information on the first page only, simply indicating the page number on subsequent pages.

Enumerators were instructed to complete each subdivision before beginning another, writing: "Here ends the enumeration of ...," giving the name of the township, city, town, village, ward or other subdivision after the entries and leaving the remaining lines on the page blank. The next subdivision began on the following page.

Each line of the census was numbered and each person to be enumerated was to receive one line. All entries were handwritten in English or French. The information was recorded by the enumerator as given by the "head" of the household or institution.

Because"[t]he Census [was] intended to be a permanent record, and its schedules ... [to] be stored in the Archives of the Dominion," enumerators were instructed to follow a standardized recording method:

• Enumerators were to use ink of good quality, preferably black, and to make all marks legible.
  
  
• Items to be counted as one were to be indicated by either a downward stroke (|) or the figure "1". Items to be counted as zero were to be indicated by a dash (-) or a blank.
  
  
• The months of the year were to be entered using their first syllable, for example "Jan." for January, "Nov." for November, etc. May, June and July were to be written in full.
  
  
• Ditto marks (") were not to be used, except where specifically called for under the instructions.
  
  
• The names of provinces and territories were to be abbreviated as follows:
  • Alb. - Alberta
  • B.C. - British Columbia
  • Man. - Manitoba
  • N.B. - New Brunswick
  • N.S. - Nova Scotia
  • N.W.T. - Northwest Territories
  • O. - Ontario
  • P.E.I. - Prince Edward Island
  • Q. - Quebec
  • Sask. - Saskatchewan
  • Yuk. - Yukon

Researchers should refer to electoral atlases for the period 1895 and later for information about electoral boundaries; these were often the basis for districts and sub-districts. Some descriptions of census districts can also be found in the published census reports.

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The Questions (Column Headings)

Numbered in the order of visitation

* Column 1 - Dwelling House
These were to be numbered in the order visited by the enumerator. The first dwelling house visited would then be number 1, the second 2, and so on, until all the houses in the sub-district were enumerated. The number was to be entered beside the first person enumerated in the household (the head), and all other individuals in the same house were to have this field left blank. Column 1 could also be used to list the names of institutions.

* Column 2 - Family, Household, or Institution
The same numbering pattern was to be used for Column 2: the first family enumerated was number 1, the second family was number 2, etc. Again, the number was only entered beside the first person enumerated in the family.

Please note that, as a dwelling house could have been inhabited by more than one family, the numbers in these two columns do not always correspond.

Residence and personal description

* Column 3 - Name of Each Person in Family, Household, or Institution
Names were to be entered with the surname (or last name) first, followed by the given (or first) name, with both names written in full. Members of the family or household were to be entered in the following order: head, wife, sons/daughters in order of age, relatives, servants, boarders/lodgers, and/or others living in the family or household. If the surname was the same as that of the individual listed above, it did not need to be repeated. Those living in an institution could be described as officer, principal, inmate, patient, prisoner, pupil, etc.

* Column 4 - Place of Habitation (township or parish, city, town or village; range or concession and lot or cadastral number if in township or parish; street and house number if in city, town or village; or other description)
This referred to the residence of the individuals listed in column 3. For cities, towns or incorporated villages, the number of the house and the name of the street were to be entered (for example, "14 Bay Street"). For rural districts, the name of the township, lot, parish or cadastral number was to be entered (for example, "lot 13, concession 1"). For Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the location was to be noted by township, range or meridian (for example, "T. 14, R. 9, W. 3," to indicate township 14, range 9, west of the third meridian).

When the census results were compiled, it was discovered that four Canadian cities had a population of over 100 000-: Montréal (470 480 people), Toronto (376 538), Winnipeg (136 035) and Vancouver (100 401).¹

* Column 5 - Sex
Sex was to be denoted by "m" for male and "f" for female. In 1911, 3 821 067 males and 3 383 771 females lived in Canada.²

* Column 6 - Relationship to Head of Family or Household
The head of the family or household, whether husband, father, widow or unmarried person of either sex, was to be entered as such ("head"), with the remaining members of the group designated by their relationship to the head (for example, wife, son, daughter, servant, boarder, lodger or partner).

People in an institution could be described as officer, inmate, patient, prisoner, pupil, etc. The chief officer of the institution was to be designated through his/her proper title (for example, warden, superintendent or principal).

* Column 7 - Single, Married, Widowed, Divorced or Legally Separated
Conjugal condition was to be designated with "s" (single), "m" (married), "w" (widowed), "d" (divorced) or "l.s." (legally separated). Those couples only separated by location were to be considered married. Some people had their conjugal condition entered as "not given." Generally, these were responses from a household head who did not know the marital status of a person who was away -- such as a boarder, lodger, or employee. 1911 was the first year in which "legally separated" was offered as an option; "divorced" had been introduced in 1901. For men, 2 369 160 claimed to be single, 1 331 564 married, 89 121 widowed, 839 divorced, 1 286 legally separated and 29 097 were not given. For women, 1 941 354 were single, 1 251 182 married, 179 598 widowed, 691 divorced, 1 584 legally separated and 9 362 not given.³

* Column 8 - Month of Birth
Birth month was to be noted through the first syllable for each month, except in the cases of May, June or July, which were to be written in full.

* Column 9 - Year of Birth
Birth year was to be entered in full for each individual (for example, 1901, 1868, etc.).

* Column 10 - Age at Last Birthday
For those over the age of one, age was considered the number of years completed before June 1, 1911. For those children under the age of one on June 1, 1911, the age was to be entered in completed months, expressed as twelfths of a year. For example, a three-month-old would be entered as 3/12. If the child became one year old on June 2, or any other date in June, they were to be entered as 11/12, since that was their age on the day the census began. Children not yet one month old on June 1 were to have their age entered in days, for example 12 days, 4 days, etc.

Citizenship, Nationality and Religion

* Column 11 -Country or Place of Birth (if Canada specify province or territory)
Those born in Canada were to be denoted by the proper abbreviation for the province or territory of their birth.

Those born outside of Canada were to have their country (not city, town or state) of birth entered in full.

Those born in the British Isles were to have a specific region entered (for example, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Hebrides, the Orkneys or the Shetlands.).

Those born in Austria-Hungary were to have their particular province noted (for example, Austria, Tyrol, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Galicia, Bukovinia, Dalmatia, Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, Sclavonia, etc.)

Those born in Poland were to have their place of birth listed by the country that controlled the area in 1911 (for example, Germany [Pol.], Austria [Pol.] or Russia [Pol.]).

Similarly, those born in Lithuania were to have their birthplace entered as "Russia (Lith.)" or "Germany (Lith.)," which controlled this territory in 1911.

Those born in Finland were to have Finland entered and not Russia, which controlled this territory in 1911.

For an entrant from Turkey, the enumerator was to differentiate between European and Asiatic Turkey, specifically by "Turkey (E.)" or "Turkey (A.)."

Those born at sea were to have that listed.

Enumerators were specifically instructed not to rely on language to determine birthplace, as one language could be used in many countries (for example, people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland often spoke German as their mother tongue).

Between 1901 and 1911, the Canadian population grew by 1 835 328 people. This population increase was distributed as follows: 947 867 people born in Canada; 394 507 people from the British Islands; 13 324 from other parts of the British Empire; 279 392 from Europe; 17 366 people who were "Asiatic-born, exclusive of Hindus"; and 175 781 people born in the United States. Another 5 347 were born in an "unknown place in the British Empire" or at sea, and 1 744 in "all other countries".⁴

* Column 12 - Year of Immigration to Canada, if an Immigrant
This referred to the year in which a person born outside of Canada first entered Canada. Moreover, those born in Canada who had been living elsewhere were to have the year in which they permanently returned to Canada entered.

* Column 13 - Year of Naturalization, if Formerly an Alien
This applied to persons 21 years of age and over, who were born in a country outside the United Kingdom or any of its dependencies, and who had subsequently become naturalized. A person who had applied for citizenship papers but that had not yet achieved full citizenship was to have "pa." (for papers) entered.

* Column 14 - Racial or Tribal Origin
Ethnicity was generally traced through the father. Possible answers included English, Scotch, Irish, Welsh, French, German, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Bohemian, Ruthenian, Bukovinian, Galician, Bulgarian, Chinese, Japanese, Polish and Jewish.

Native people were to have their "racial or tribal origin" traced through their mothers, with the specific name of the First Nation entered (for example, Cree, Chippewa, Mohawk, etc.).

Children of a white parent and a parent belonging to another race were to be classed as a member of the other race (for example "Negro," "Mongolian [Chinese]" or "Mongolian [Japanese]").

The 1911 census determined that people of British origin represented 54.08% of the Canadian population. The next largest group was people of French origin, who represented 28.51% of the population. Following these major groups, people claimed their ethnic origin as German (5.46%), Austro-Hungarian (0.34%) and Japanese, Chinese or Hindu (0.55%).⁵ In all, 105 492 people were of Native origin, 27 774 Chinese, 2 342 Hindu, 9 021 Japanese, 75 681 Jewish, 16 877 "Negro" and 169 535 "unspecified".⁶

* Column 15 - Nationality
Canadian⁷ was to be entered for those who lived in Canada and who had acquired rights of citizenship. Any person born in the United Kingdom, or in a British colony, who resided permanently in Canada, was also to be considered Canadian. Non-Canadians were to be classified by the country of their birth, or the country to which they professed allegiance.

Of the 752 732 people not born in the British Islands, the British Empire or Canada in 1911, 353 588 "had acquired the rights of Canadian citizenship."⁸

* Column 16 - Religion
The religion to which an individual claimed to belong was to be named in full. If children professed a different religion from their parents, their own professed religion was to be entered -- otherwise, it was to be assumed they followed the religion of their parents.

Canadians claimed to belong to over 203 "sects and denominations," which represented an increase of 46 over the number of religions reported in 1901. Of these, 2 833 041 people were Roman Catholic, 1 115 324 Presbyterian, 1 079 892 Methodists, 1 043 017 Anglican, 382 666 Baptist and 229 684 Lutheran.⁹ Non-Christian groups enumerated included Jews (74 564), Confucians (14 562), Pagans (11 840), Buddhists (10 012), Sikhs and Hindus - enumerated together - (1 758), Shinto (1 289), Mohammedans - or Muslims - (797) and Socialists (206). According to the census, 26 027 people did not claim affiliation to any religious group.¹⁰

In their final report, the Census and Statistics Office declared that some people might object to the inclusion of "socialist" under religious choice, however, they were not "concerned with the name by which a number of people designat[ed] their sect or denomination, [instead] every person was classified as he or she gave the information to the enumerator."¹¹

Profession, Occupation, Trade or Means of Living

Enumerators were not required to collect employment information from people in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, as it was assumed that the majority of the inhabitants were involved in mining, hunting, or fishing. Moreover, it was believed that the small size of the population in these areas would not greatly affect the national statistics.¹²

* Column 17 - Chief Occupation or Trade
Every person ten years of age and over was to have an entry in column 17, specifically:

• The title that most accurately described the "gainful" work through which the individual earned money (or a money equivalent) - (for example, "physician," "nurse," "carpenter," "farmer," "stenographer," etc.)
• In the case of those temporarily unemployed, their regular form of employment
• "Income," for those individuals that did not have a specific occupation, but that instead subsisted on an independent income, such as investments, pensions, superannuations, etc.
• "None," for those individuals ten years of age and over who did not have an occupation and who did not live on an independent income

The person in charge of a farm was to be entered as a farmer, whether they owned the land or operated it as a tenant, renter or cropper. A person who managed a farm for wages or salary was to be entered as a farm manager or farm overseer. A person who worked on a farm for someone else, but not as a manager, tenant or cropper, was to be entered as a farm labourer.

Women who performed housework in their own homes, without earning a salary or wages, and who were not employed outside the home, were to have "none" entered under "Chief Occupation or Trade". However, those working at housework for wages were to have the appropriate employment title entered (such as "servant," "cook," "chambermaid," etc.) as appropriate, with a description after of the place where they worked, such as "private family," "hotel," or "boarding house." A woman who, in addition to housework in her own home, regularly earned an income from another occupation, either in her own home or outside, was to have that other occupation stated in column 17, with the place of employment entered in column 22. For example, a woman who regularly brought in laundry was to be entered as "laundress" or "washerwoman," in column 17, with the location of her work described in column 22.

Members of the Census and Statistics Office did not necessarily agree with the exclusion of those performing housework in their own home: "It may here be noted that in every census, women performing household duties in their own homes, have not been regarded as being 'gainfully employed' and are therefore not included in the statistics of occupations. This restriction is more or less arbitrary as in the agricultural class, particularly, the female portion of the family often performs as large a proportion of the work about the farm as does the male portion and is therefore entitled to be classed as 'gainfully employed.'"¹³

Among children ten years of age and over, only those who spent the majority of their time at home, and who materially assisted their parents through the performance of work other than household duties, were to have an employment entry.

For individuals who performed piecework at home, the type of work performed was entered, whether the individual was employed under contract with a manufacturer or under any other such agreement. These individuals were to be classed as "employees."

Enumerators were specifically asked to ensure that general terms were not used, but rather that a specific class of employment (column 17), with its location (column 22), was entered. Thus, the final entry for people employed in a gold mine could be "miner (gold - placer)," "labourer (gold mine)," etc.

The title "mechanic" was to be avoided, and the particular trade was to be entered, such as "carpenter," "blacksmith," "painter," etc.

With the term "agent," the particular kind was to be stated.

"Retail merchants" and "wholesale merchants" (column 17) were to be distinguished through denoting the type of business, such as dry goods, groceries, hardware, etc. in column 22.

The term "clerk" was to be avoided whenever a definite occupation could be specified. Thus, someone that sold goods in a store was to be recorded as a "salesman" or "saleswoman." A worker in an office was similarly to be distinguished as a "stenographer," "typewriter," "accountant," "bookkeeper," "cashier," etc., rather than simply "clerk."

Despite these instructions, the Census and Statistics Office found that the use of "indefinite terms" by enumerators made it impossible to develop detailed employment statistics. For example, with workers in a carriage factory, some enumerators would specify the various trades employed in the factory, while others would simply designate all the employees as "carriage builders."¹⁴

* Column 18 - Employment Other Than at Chief Occupation or Trade, if any
This was to detail any employment or occupation that supplemented an individual's earnings. Again, these entries were to be made for anyone ten years of age and over.

Individuals who were retired - whether because of age, permanent physical disability, or any other reason -- were to have different information entered, based on their situation:

• If they were living on their own income, "income" was to be entered in this column.
• If they were being supported by others or living in an institution, "none" was to be entered.
• Farmers, business people and others who were retired, but who still had an interest in their former occupation, were to have their former occupation entered, followed by "(r)" (for example, "farmer [r]," "grocer [r]," etc.)

For the first time in 1911, information taken for the census was compiled by mechanical appliances. Perforated cards were used to record more accurately information on occupations, using codes. However, it seems that it was not a great success and the system was changed in 1921.

The use of this code is reflected in column 18. Genealogists will see numbers separated by hyphens. Example: 6-0-32, 6-6-32 or 6-9-32.

The numbers are from the Index to Occupations based on the results of the Fourth census of Canada (1901). (Index to Occupations. Ottawa, Census and Statistics Office, 1911, 230 p. AMICUS : 7693172). This publication gives a list of the codes; only a few copies are available in libraries throughout Canada. The following explanations were taken from this publication.

The first part of the code refers to one of the general main divisions of occupations or industries as follows:

The second part of the code refers to the class of worker

Note that a special code was created for the third category, Civil and municipal government, to include military ranks.

The third part of the code refers to the trade. For each category, a list of trades was created using the numbers 00 to 99. On the original census returns, take note of the first and third parts of the code then consult the chart (PDF format 34 Kb) to obtain the meaning of the code.

* Column 19 - Employer
An employer was someone for whom persons, other than domestic servants, worked in the employer's business. The correct entry in this column was "emp." Sample entries included "mill owner," "store keeper," "manufacturer" and "large farmers."

* Column 20 - Employee
An employee was someone who worked for salary or wages, whether as general manager of a bank, superintendent, insurance agent, railway foreman, or day labourer. The term "W", for wage earner, was to be entered. Doctors, lawyers, and others that worked for fees were not to be included in this column, nor were those who were not subjected to the control and direction of those for whom they worked. A domestic servant was always to be considered an employee, although the person for whom they worked was not always to be considered an employer.

* Column 21 - Working on Own Account
This column was to be used for those who were employed in a gainful occupation and who were neither employers nor employees. They were considered to be working on their own account. "O.A" for "own account" was therefore to be entered in this column. Examples of the "Chief Occupation or Trade" (column 17) for individuals considered to be working on their own account included farmers, doctors, lawyers, small storekeepers and country blacksmiths, who employed no helpers. Essentially, these were individuals who did not receive a regular pay, salary or wage. Dressmakers, washerwomen, laundresses and other individuals who performed work in their own home or shop were also to be classed as "O.A.". If they had employees, they were to be entered instead as employers.

Of the total 2 965 645 Canadian males ten years of age and over in 1911, 2 358 813 (or 79.53%) were gainfully employed. In contrast, of the 2 548 743 females, 364 821 (or 14.31%) were reported as gainfully employed.¹⁵

Wage Earners

Every individual with an entry in "Chief Occupation or Trade" and classed as an employee was to have an entry under "Wage Earners."

* Column 22 - State Where Person Is Employed, as "on Farm," "in Woolen Mill," "at Foundry Shop," "in Drug Store," etc.
This referred to the physical place where the individual performed his or her work. For example, if the person was a labourer, then the kind of work performed was to be given, such as "odd jobs," "street work," "garden," "railway," "sawmill" or "stone quarry."

* Column 23 - Weeks Employed in 1910 at Chief Occupation or Trade
As the title suggests, this referred to the number of weeks the individual worked in their chief occupation.

* Column 24 - Weeks Employed in 1910 at Other Than Chief Occupation or Trade, if Any
This was only to be used if an entry had been made under "Employment Other Than at Chief Occupation or Trade, if Any" (Column 18).

* Columns 25 and 26 - Hours of Working Time per Week at Chief Occupation and Hours of Working Time per Week at Other Occupation, if Any
This was the number of hours worked by the person, during an average work-week at any (or all) occupations.

* Column 27 - Total Earnings in 1910 From Chief Occupation or Trade
This was to include the total wage earned from the "Chief Occupation or Trade" (column 18).

* Column 28 - Total Earnings in 1910 From Other Than Chief Occupation or Trade, if Any
This would include wages from any other than chief employment.

* Column 29 - Rate of Earnings per Hour When Employed by the Hour - Cents
Persons employed in the building and mechanical trades were believed to be paid according to a fixed schedule of rates per hour. Those paid in such a manner were to have an entry in this column.

Insurance Held at Date

* Columns 30 and 31 - Upon Life $ and Against Accident or Sickness $
Any person, male or female, who carried life or accident/sickness insurance, was to have the value of the policy which was in force as of June 1, 1911 entered in the appropriate column.

* Column 32 - Cost of Insurance in Census Year $
The total cost of the insurance from June 1, 1910 to June 1, 1911 -- both life and/or accident and/or sickness -- was to be entered in this column.

Education and Language of Each Person Five Years of Age and Over

"Education and Language" entries were only to be made for those individuals five years of age and older.

* Column 33 - Months at School in 1910
This applied only to those considered to be of school age -- over five and under twenty-one. If the person had attended school during the census year, the time was to be entered in months. If the individual had not attended school at all during the year, the column was to be left blank.

* Column 34 and 35 - Can Read and Can Write
These were to be answered "yes" if the individual was at all capable of these skills in any language and "no", if not. Most Canadians (88.98% of the population five years of age and over) indicated that they could read and write.

* Column 36 - Language Commonly Spoken
For individuals who spoke only English, the entry was to be "E". For those who spoke only French, the entry was "F", and for those that spoke both languages, with a mother tongue of either English or French, the entry was to be "E" and "F".

For those individuals whose mother tongue was not English or French, and who had learned either or both of these languages later, the language of origin, if still spoken, was to be written in full on the line, with the initial "E" or "F" written in the space above the line, as appropriate. If neither English nor French had been learned, then only the full name of the spoken language was to be entered.

A list of languages other than English and French, which were "likely to be spoken in Canada," was provided to enumerators, with the instructions, "The enumerators should avoid giving other names when one given in the list can be applied to the language spoken:"

Enumerators were strictly instructed not to assume that the place of birth, or racial origin was in any way indicative of the language spoken.

* Column 37 - Cost of Education in 1910 for Persons Over 16 Years of Age at College, Convent or University
This was to be entered for the 1910 calendar year for every individual over 16 years of age, whether at high school, collegiate institute, college, seminary, university, or any other place.

Infirmities (specify age when infirmity appeared)

* Column 38 - Blind
* Column 39 - Deaf and Dumb
* Column 40 - Crazy or Lunatic
* Column 41 - Idiotic or Silly

Enumerators were specifically asked to use a great deal of tact when asking about familial infirmities, particularly "Crazy or Lunatic" or "Idiotic or Silly." 1911 represented the first year when people who were "insane" were differentiated from the "feeble-minded" or "idiotic".¹⁶

For it to be noted, the degree of the infirmity did not need to be complete; however, it needed to have reached the stage of incapacity. If the infirmity developed in childhood, "child," for childhood, was to be entered for the age at which it appeared.

Those who were deaf but not dumb were not to be entered.

In 1911, 3 238 people were reported as blind, 4 584 as deaf and dumb, 14 702 insane and 5 387 idiotic. Of the total 28 611 infirm people, 15 530 were male and 13 081 female.¹⁷

Published Material

For further information about the 1911 census, you may wish to consult the following publications:

Canada. Census and Statistics Office. Fifth Census of Canada, 1911 [microform]. Ottawa: C.H. Parmelee, 1912-1915. 6 volumes.

_____. Fifth Census of Canada, 1911. Bulletin. [Ottawa: Census and Statistics Office], 1912-1914. One bound volume comprising 19 numbers.

_____. Instructions to Officers, Commissioners and Enumerators. Ottawa: Government Printing Bureau, 1911.

Canada. Census Office. Manufactures for 1910 as Enumerated in June 1911. [Ottawa: Census Office, 1913].

Canada. Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Fifth Census of Canada, 1911: Instructions to Enumerators in the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory. Ottawa: Government Printing Bureau, 1911.

Worton, David A. The Dominion Bureau of Statistics: A History of Canada's Central Statistical Office and its Antecedents, 1841-1972. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1998.

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1 The Census and Statistics Office, Fifth Census of Canada, 1911, vol. 1, Areas and Population by Provinces, Districts and Subdistricts (Ottawa, 1912), 554-555.

2 Ibid., vi.

3 Ibid., vii.

4 The Census and Statistics Office, Fifth Census of Canada, 1911, vol. 2, Religions, Origins, Birthplace, Citizenship, Literacy and Infirmities by Provinces, Districts and Sub-districts (Ottawa, 1913), x.

5 Ibid., vii-viii.

6 Ibid., 340-341.

7 While the Instructions to Enumerators called for these individuals to be called "Canadians", this term did not legally exist until the passage of the Citizenship Act in 1947.

8 The Census and Statistics Office, Fifth Census of Canada, 1911, vol. 2, Religions, Origins, Birthplace, Citizenship, Literacy and Infirmities, xi.

9 Ibid., vi.

10 Ibid., 2-3.

11 Ibid., vi.

12 The Census Office, Fifth Census of Canada, 1911, vol. 6, Occupations of the People (Ottawa, 1915), ix.

13 Ibid., xviii.

14 Ibid., xi.

15 Ibid., xv.

16 Ibid., xiv.

17 The Census and Statistics Office, Fifth Census of Canada, 1911, vol. 2, Religions, Origins, Birthplace, Citizenship, Literacy and Infirmities, xv.