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About the Census of Agriculture > HistoryHow the Census of Agriculture began The British North America (BNA) Act of 1867 determined that a census would be taken every 10 years starting in 1871. However, rapid expansion in western Canada at the turn of the last century made a more frequent census necessary. Starting in 1896, a separate Census of Agriculture was taken every five years in Manitoba, and in Alberta and Saskatchewan beginning in 1906. Expansion of the Census of Agriculture By 1956, rapid economic growth and development created the need for both national demographic and agricultural information at more frequent intervals. In 1956, the five-year Census of Agriculture was extended to the entire country, and the Census of Population became a regular enumeration every five years. That year the two started a long tradition of being conducted concurrently. Relationship between the Census of Agriculture and the Census of Population Although the Census of Agriculture and the
Census of Population are conducted at the same time, they do have separate
questionnaires. Most of the development, testing, processing, data validation
and preparation for disseminating data for the Census of Agriculture and
the Census of Population is handled by different groups within Statistics
Canada. However, collecting the data and sharing communications activities
for both censuses streamlines procedures and reduces costs considerably.
Another important benefit of conducting the two together is that information
from the two questionnaires can be linked to create the Census of Agriculture-Population
Linkage database. This unique database, started in 1971, provides users
with a wealth of information pertaining to the social and economic characteristics
of the farm population. |