Canada, Census, 1881

What is in This Collection?

The second national Canadian census was conducted on April 4, 1881. Census schedules were taken on large sheets of paper with pre-printed rows and columns. The census contains the following nine schedules arranged within sub-districts:

• Nominal return of the living
• Nominal return of the deaths within last twelve months
• Return of public institutions, real estate, vehicles, and implements
• Return of cultivated land, field products, plants and fruits
• Livestock, animal products, home-made fabrics, and furs
• Return of industrial establishments
• Return of products of the forest
• Return of shipping and fisheries
• Return of mineral products

The national government of Canada has taken censuses every ten years since 1871 and every five years since 1971. The 1871 census covers the four original provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. The first coast-to-coast census was taken in 1881. Newfoundland was not part of Canada until 1949. For Newfoundland few 19th-century censuses that list names have been found. They mostly contain statistical summaries.

Since the boundaries varied from census to census, it is not easy to tell which census district an eastern Canadian township or western Canadian village was in. Contemporary maps of the census districts have been lost or destroyed.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  Census 1881