Find your ancestors in Canada census 1911

What can these records tell me?

Transcripts of the census have been provided for each result, along with a link to the image of the actual census (which will open in a new tab in your browser). Transcripts will include the following information:

• Name
• Relationship
• Marital status
• Sex
• Birth year
• Birth date (month and year)
• Birth place
• Race or Tribe
• Immigration year
• Naturalisation year
• Link to record image
• District name
• District number
• Subdistrict name
• Subdistrict number
• Film
• Page number
• Family number
• Province
• Country
• Other household members

Images will often provide you with additional information, such as occupation. Where individuals are employees or boarders in an establishment their relationship to the head of household is not listed, instead, it lists their occupation (also recorded in occupation field).

To assist you in deciphering the images, which are somewhat poor in quality, we have provided a list of the column headings below.

Column 1 – dwelling house

Column 2 – family, household, or institution

Column 3 – names of individuals in family, household, or institution (listed last name, first name)

Column 4 – place of habitation

Column 5 – sex

Column 6 – relationship to head of house

Column 7 – marital status—single (s), married (m), widowed (w), divorced (d), or legally separated (l.s.)

Column 8 – birth month

Column 9 – birth year

Column 10 – age at last birthday (as of 1 June 1911 and fractions are used for those under the age of one, such as 4/12 for 4 months old)

Column 11 – place / country of birth

Column 12 – year of immigration to Canada (if applicable)

Column 13 – year of naturalization (if applicable)

Column 14 – racial or tribal origin

Column 15 – nationality (for non-Canadians, birth country or country of professed allegiance is listed)

Column 16 – religion

• B.C. – Bible Church
• C. (of) E. – Church of England
• C. (of) S. – Church of Scotland
• E.M.C. – Episcopal Methodist Church
• F.C. – Free Church (Presbyterian)
• M.E.C – Methodist Episcopal Church
• P.C.L.P. – Presbyterian-Canada and Lower Provinces
• P.F.C. – Presbyterian Free Church
• R.P. – Reformed Presbyterian
• U.P. – United Presbyterian
• W.M. – Wesleyan Methodist

Column 17 – chief occupation or trade (for everyone 10 years or older and income listed for those on an independent income)

Column 18 – living on own means (for those 10 years or older who have some form of employment or occupation that supplement their earnings. A three-part numeric code is used for this column; the first number relates to the general field of occupation, the second to the class of worker, and the third to the trade. See the occupational codes chart in the Useful links & resources section for a full breakdown of the number codes.)

Column 19 – employer

Column 20 – employee (w listed for wage earner)

Column 21 – working on own account, meaning employed in gainful occupation but not an employer or employee (o.a. listed for own account)

Column 22 – physical place where person is employed

Column 23 – weeks employed in 1910 at primary employment

Column 24 – weeks employed in 1910 at employment other than primary employment (used if column 18 was utilised)

Column 25 – hours of average workweek at primary employment

Column 26 – hours of average workweek at employment other than primary

Column 27 – total earnings of 1910 from primary employment

Column 28 – total earnings of 1910 from employment other than primary

Column 29 – rate of earnings for those paid by the hour-cents

Column 30 – life insurance held at date, value of the policy in force as of 1 June 1911

Column 31 – accident or sickness insurance held at date, value of the policy in force as of 1 June 1911

Column 32 – total cost of insurance from 1 June 1910 to 1 June 1911

Column 33 – months at school in 1910 (for individuals ages 5 to 21)

Column 34 – whether individual can read

Column 35 – whether individual can write

Column 36 – language commonly spoken (E for only English, F for only French, E and F for both English and French, and if a language other than English or French, it was written out in full.

Column 37 – cost of education in 1910 for those older than 16

Column 38 – blind (the condition needs to reach the level of incapacity to be recorded. If developed in childhood, *child* with the age at the time of infliction is noted)

Column 39 – deaf and dumb (the condition needs to reach the level of incapacity to be recorded. If developed in childhood, *child* with the age at the time of infliction is noted)

Column 40 – crazy or lunatic (the condition needs to reach the level of incapacity to be recorded. If developed in childhood, *child* with the age at the time of infliction is noted)

Column 41 – idiotic or silly (the condition needs to reach the level of incapacity to be recorded. If developed in childhood, *child* with the age at the time of infliction is noted)

Learn more about these records

All ten provinces and two territories (Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories) are represented in these census records.

The census was begun on 1 June 1911 (earlier for the territories). The head of house would be listed first and be responsible for providing the details of all the household members. Individuals would be enumerated at their usual place of residence even if they were not currently there on the day of enumeration. The head of house would be asked a list of questions regarding the household and its inhabitants (an abbreviated version for residents in the territories).