1931 Canada Census Comes Available June 1

The Dominion Bureau of Statistics Canada, Seventh Census of Canada, 1931

By law, the personal information in this census can only be made public 92 years after the census was completed. As a result, access will be made available on June 1, 2023.  Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has been preparing for this release and you can find the latest update at LAC Preparing 1931 Census.  Users will be able to browse the digitized census returns (234,678 images) by district and sub-district on the LAC website on June 1st.  As you can see from their timeline, LAC is utilizing both Ancestry and Family Search International to do the AI driven digital transcription of the images and indexing review.

The Government of Canada Publications website has the 14 volume summary of the census which was published in 1936.  This is a fascinating snapshot of what Canada was like in 1931.  These broad statistics covers population ages for each province/territory, where people were born so you can get a clear idea of where the immigrants came from, what earnings were like, information about housing, unemployment, and much more.  If you are interested in what it was like in those days, these census summaries will give you that information.

VOL. I—POPULATION—SUMMARY
II—POPULATION—LOCAL SUBDIVISIONS
III—POPULATION—AGES
IV—POPULATION—CROSS-CLASSIFICATION
V—POPULATION—EARNINGS, HOUSING, FAMILIES AND MISC.
VI—POPULATION—UNEMPLOYMENT
VII—OCCUPATIONS AND INDUSTRIES
VIII—AGRICULTURE
IX—INSTITUTIONS
X—MERCHANDISING AND SERVICES
Xl-MERCHANDISING AND SERVICES
” XII—MONOGRAPHS
” XIII—MONOGRAPHS
XIV—STATISTICAL ATLAS

The newly revamped Library and Archives Canada webite Census Search page can be found here:  https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census2/index

Circle June 1st on your calendar.  This is great news for genealogists all over the world with Canadian ancestors.  Most people didn’t move that often, so if you know where your ancestors lived for the 1921 census, you can use the district/sub-district to find them on the 1931 census—we hope!

FREE Webinar on the 1931 Census

Wondering what information is on this census?  Visit the link below for images of the Canada Census Forms for 1911, 1921, 1931, 1941, and 1951.

Images of the Canada Census Forms

Wondering How To Prepare to Search the 1931 Census Now?

Although the 1931 Canadian Census will be released on June 1, 2023, it will take some time for the indexing to occur.  You can search immediately if you know where they lived.  Want to know where they were living in 1931?

Start with listing the ancestors who were living in 1931 that you want to research.
Look where they were living during the 1921 Canadian Census.
Check Voter’s Lists for their address.
Check City Directories for their address (ie. Henderson Directories)
Check tax records for their address.

Once you think you know where they were living in 1931, check the 1931 Canadian Census for that address, and if the stars align, you will find them long before the indexer’s have done their task, and who knows what interesting bits of information you may learn along the way.  Happy hunting!

RESOURCES:

Family Tree Magazine 1931 Canada Census

CanGenealogy website

Library and Archives Canada news release

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