Statcan eyes digital register of population and end of the short-form census
OTTAWA — The mandatory long-form census returned this year, a decade after it was last seen.
If things go as planned, a decade from now the short-form census won’t be seen again.
Statistics Canada is working on a plan for the 2026 census that would eliminate the mandatory short-form census that goes to every household and instead use existing government databases to conduct a virtual count of the population.
The plan would save taxpayers millions of dollars and provide the same information used by governments to plan roads, hospitals, schools and other public services.